Cardio Vs Weight Lifting For Fat Burning

When it comes to burning fat everyone wants to know one thing, what is the best way to do it? Losing that extra stubborn body fat will help in one of two ways, to either turn your lifestyle around or to prepare your body for the beach this summer. However, besides just to look good, losing that stubborn body fat also has heart health benefits such as preventing heart disease!

I've been there myself and I know what it feels like, it can seem like an impossible task at first, to burn that weight off! But believe me when I say that you can do it, as there are so many ways in which you can burn fat like running, swimming and even by lifting weights.

Losing weight boils down to one thing, burning more calories than you consume. And yes, some ways are more efficient than others, but which is better for losing weight, cardio or weight lifting?

Cardio

There are many forms of cardio out there, but as I'm sure you know the most popular form of cardio is jogging. Jogging is a great way to get the blood pumping as it has the ability to increase your lung capacity and the health of your heart! On average, a 15 minute jog will burn about 220 calories; however I do realize that it isn't the most exciting form of exercise out there.

If you are like me and you get bored quickly, the best thing that you can do is mix it up with a bit of interval training. Interval training is simply mixing standard cardio with short interval of high intensity bursts! So next time you are out jogging, try adding a few sprints to your routine.

Weight lifting

Now don't worry, when I say weight lifting, I necessarily mean that you have to be Mr. Muscle in order to burn a few calories! Weight lifting can accomplish many long-term and short-term goals like losing weight. A weight lifting session can burn about 200 Calories a hour depending on the intensity of your work out.

It's no secret, muscle helps to burn extra body fat! It's not the only reason, but is why a lot of people fall into a 'plateau' because they focus only on their diets and neglect exercise altogether! The best way to start weight lifting is to start slowly and build your way up to heavier weights. A good rule of thumb is when you are ready to move on, increase you weights by about 10% at a time!

So which is better for weight loss, cardio or weight lifting? Here is the answer: the one that you enjoy the most! After all you aren't going to see any results if you give up after one week because you didn't enjoy the activity.

Both cardio and weight lifting burn similar amounts of calories if you are using the most efficient version of each. Also there is nothing that says you can't do both! So if you want to keep your exercise routine exciting, try switching it up by doing both cardio and weight lifting. Just remember to give yourself at least one rest day a week!

Reference:

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