For decades, conventional wisdom said that cardio it was the best exercise by weightloss. Then strength training came into the spotlight as the must-have move to revive your metabolism and increase your resting metabolic rate.
The key to achieving any fitness goal is to be consistent, and if weight loss is your goal, health experts insist that the way to do it is to achieve a calorie deficit, which means you need to burn more calories than you need. that consumes When we say weight loss, it has to be in the form of fat loss and not muscle loss, and any change in body weight consists of a change in both components: muscle mass and body fat.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Rhea Singh Anand, co-founder of Flexnest, suggested: “The best way to burn the most calories is to get your heart rate up, which usually happens with cardio. However, only cardio makes you burn your muscles in addition to your fat. Strength training, on the other hand, burns fewer calories but shapes your body by building and retaining muscle. The correct way to lose weight is to burn fat while maintaining muscle. This is where the combination of strength and cardio comes in. This combination complemented with a good nutrition plan is the key to achieving a weight loss goal.
Aanan Khurma, co-founder and CEO of Wellversed, advised: “Our goal should always be to gain muscle tissue, which is the active metabolic tissue in the body, and lose fat tissue, which is nothing more than energy stored in fat tissue. Speaking of the best weight loss strategy, we should focus on the 5 components of physical fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, musculoskeletal strength, flexibility, and ideal body composition. Therefore, there has to be a balance in all the components to achieve the desired results.”
He highlighted: “We do cardio to increase our cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance so that we can perform daily activities such as walking, running, climbing stairs, etc., efficiently and we do strength training or weights to avoid early degeneration and have a more fit body. definite”. Body. If we focus more on cardio to lose weight, there will be an unnecessary loss of muscle tissue leading to reduced strength and an unsightly physique. If we focus more on strength training, our muscles will tire quickly as they lack the necessary endurance. So a balance needs to be maintained between the two, i.e. cardio and strength training.”
He stated: “It is also important to remember one essential fact about exercise and weight loss, which is that exercise alone will not lead to great weight loss. What and how much you eat has a much bigger impact on the amount of weight you lose. Therefore, the best strategy for weight loss is simply to follow the fitness tripod: exercise (cardio+strength training), proper nutrition, and rest and recovery. If any of the tripod legs are missing, you will not get the desired result.”
According to Binita Kar, Health Coach at MyHealthBuddy, any workout like biking, running, Zumba, weight training, calisthenics, dancing, Pilates can be classified primarily as cardio or strength training.
cardio workout – Our heart and lungs are also muscles, and exercising them helps make our heart and lungs stronger and more efficient at providing oxygen to the body.
strength training – Strength training targets every muscle group in your body to get stronger overall.
So which one to include in our daily routine for optimal fat loss? Answering the same, she listed her pros and cons of it:
cardio professionals –
1. It can help burn more calories.
2. It can be done in a short period of time, like running or HIIT.
3. Can be done anywhere, such as jogging, skipping, climbing stairs, etc.
4. No equipment needed.
Cons –
1. Low intensity cardio needs more time.
2. HIIT, jogging or jumping makes you prone to injury.
3. It can result in loss of muscle mass.
strength training professionals
1. It also burns calories after the training session.
2. Fewer injuries compared to High Impact Cardio.
3. It can be done anywhere, at home or in the gym.
4. No equipment needed at first, body weight can be used.
5. Helps you look toned while preserving muscle mass.
Cons –
1. Equipment is needed as you go.
2. Learning the correct technique and form can take a long time.
3. It can get boring.
Binita Kar noted: “If you are overweight or obese, low-impact cardio or walking, along with 2-3 days of strength training, can work wonders. The optimal use of cardio as a tool will also depend on the situation, preference, individual’s medical condition and injury, time management, etc. Both cardio and strength training can have a place in your training plan. Both can be used effectively to prevent burnout from overtraining while achieving optimal fat and weight loss.”
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