Which Makes You Lose More Weight, Cardio or Weight Training

It's what we always wonder when we head into the gym. If my goal is weight loss, would my time be better served doing weights or just doing cardio? I've always heard doing weights would make me bigger.

I remember watching this 48 Hour investigation many years ago when I was in college and thought it was worth viewing again and having this conversation.



Since the time this video has aired, science and sports medicine has shifted. Resistance training is also good for the heart. Now 20 minutes and resistance training only is extreme and kind of a gimmick. But it does highlight the importance of resistance and weight training as a important factor of overall health and weight loss. In the end, muscles burn fat. You can do all the cardio you want, but if you don't have enough overall muscle density, your time may not be spent effectively. It's why bodybuilders get as big and as muscular as possible first, then jump on the cardio on their second phase to lose weight for competition, because they have now put on so much muscle, the cardio will be that much more effective.

It's why at All Out Effort, as we move clients through a program, we start them out in Conditioning (o not be overwhelmed by training, Stability (for health and safety reasons), Muscle Endurance (so your muscles don't burn out and you get a more quality work out), Hypertrophy (to now work on defining your muscles), Maximal Strength (to make you stronger than you ever were before, so all the heavy resistance training), Power (to learn explosive movements like jumping, there is no jumping or even jumping backs until this phase), then finally Power Endurance (jumping, burpees, all those hard cardio stuff people have you do to try to lose all that weight, we save for last when it is most efficient and effective).

We do Power Endurance last because now you can safely do them, your ankles and knees can stabilize you, you are conditioned for it, you have the endurance, you built up the muscles and strength, now it's time for the metabolic and fat burning pay off. Your long term results will kill the results of friends who only lost weight initially. This video highlights a small training concept trainers of athletes know, but these concepts hardly trickle down to the regular population. This is our diffidence, training regular people with the techniques used for athletes.

About the Author:

Coach Sam Y. is a Master Personal Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Coach, Certified Nutritionist, Performance Enhancement Specialist, Corrective Enhancement Specialist, Pilates and Yoga instructor, and holds multiple certifications. He is also an avid Martial Artist, training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA. He is also the author of the popular fitness blog All Out Effort as well as the popular martial arts blog Inner BJJ. You can find him in the Los Angeles area personal training his clients, or at home annoying his wife, or on Facebook and Pinterests.