The one lesson I wish I had learned years ago is that aerobics are not the only way to lose weight. Or that resistance training may be equally important when it comes to burning off fat.
Hmmmm. No wonder I was struggling with weight loss even though I spent hours on the stationary bike and treadmill. Yet for some reason my fat loss was more or less minimal to say the least. More of less limited to what you could say was "not so much".
All of which made me wonder why is aerobic training said to be the best for burning fat? Seems like maybe we should clear the air because you too may have assumed that aerobics is your best bet. And could benefit from finding out how resistance training might help as well.
Well from what I can tell aerobic exercises have always been associated with fat loss. The reason is not hard to see. Aerobics is relatively easy and not all that uncomfortable to do. I mean come on now. It's not THAT tough compared to some things. Besides the theory is simple enough. Reach your fat burning zone. Stay there for 30-40 minutes duration. And you are done.
All the better you can watch TV, listen to your iPOD, even read the paper during your aerobics session.
On the other hand, strength or resistance training is synonymous with work. At least so we think. Struggling to do 2 or three sets of 12-20 reps with weights doesn't even sound like fun. Which may explain why so few choose to get out of their aerobics comfort zone.
Well maybe we'd be wise to dig further to compare the list of benefits offered by strength training verses those from cardio exercise, as defined, alone.
Cardio, it seems, offers these fat burning pluses and minuses.
With any cardiovascular routine you will likely burn a few more calories than resistance training does.
Your body burns fewer calories after the fact though - that is after your workout is over.
Plus you can't ignore the serious stress you're putting on your joints and the strain on your muscles unless of course you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
Believe it or not, depending on the amount of weight used and number of repetitions done you can burn more or less the same amount of calories as with an aerobic workout.
And get this. Post workout, your metabolic rate remains elevated by as much as 30% and will stay that way for as long as 36 hours. Meaning that as your muscles rebuild and repair you are still burning calories. Even while you sleep.
Any core workout that strengthen your ab muscles means there's less chance of injury because you're improving your overall balance and coordination.
There you go. Resistance training helps you lose fat and develop muscle tissue that burns more fat. So now that you know that, what's your next step?
For sure, don't go crazy and stop your cardio workout routine upon reading this since aerobic activities bring with them their own health benefits. Rather, the sensible things to do is, meld low intensity aerobics with measured resistance training to get the best of both worlds. Or additional benefits from cardio like:
They strengthen your heart and lungs making them more efficient.
They improve blood circulation.
They assist in the development of improved stamina, endurance, and level of fitness.
They help speed repair of any muscle damage done during your strength training workout.
That makes the success formula obvious. Simply embrace a complete system of cardio, resistance training and better diet to become a fitter, leaner you. Easy, right?
Hmmmm. No wonder I was struggling with weight loss even though I spent hours on the stationary bike and treadmill. Yet for some reason my fat loss was more or less minimal to say the least. More of less limited to what you could say was "not so much".
All of which made me wonder why is aerobic training said to be the best for burning fat? Seems like maybe we should clear the air because you too may have assumed that aerobics is your best bet. And could benefit from finding out how resistance training might help as well.
Well from what I can tell aerobic exercises have always been associated with fat loss. The reason is not hard to see. Aerobics is relatively easy and not all that uncomfortable to do. I mean come on now. It's not THAT tough compared to some things. Besides the theory is simple enough. Reach your fat burning zone. Stay there for 30-40 minutes duration. And you are done.
All the better you can watch TV, listen to your iPOD, even read the paper during your aerobics session.
On the other hand, strength or resistance training is synonymous with work. At least so we think. Struggling to do 2 or three sets of 12-20 reps with weights doesn't even sound like fun. Which may explain why so few choose to get out of their aerobics comfort zone.
Well maybe we'd be wise to dig further to compare the list of benefits offered by strength training verses those from cardio exercise, as defined, alone.
Cardio, it seems, offers these fat burning pluses and minuses.
With any cardiovascular routine you will likely burn a few more calories than resistance training does.
Your body burns fewer calories after the fact though - that is after your workout is over.
Plus you can't ignore the serious stress you're putting on your joints and the strain on your muscles unless of course you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
Believe it or not, depending on the amount of weight used and number of repetitions done you can burn more or less the same amount of calories as with an aerobic workout.
And get this. Post workout, your metabolic rate remains elevated by as much as 30% and will stay that way for as long as 36 hours. Meaning that as your muscles rebuild and repair you are still burning calories. Even while you sleep.
Any core workout that strengthen your ab muscles means there's less chance of injury because you're improving your overall balance and coordination.
There you go. Resistance training helps you lose fat and develop muscle tissue that burns more fat. So now that you know that, what's your next step?
For sure, don't go crazy and stop your cardio workout routine upon reading this since aerobic activities bring with them their own health benefits. Rather, the sensible things to do is, meld low intensity aerobics with measured resistance training to get the best of both worlds. Or additional benefits from cardio like:
They strengthen your heart and lungs making them more efficient.
They improve blood circulation.
They assist in the development of improved stamina, endurance, and level of fitness.
They help speed repair of any muscle damage done during your strength training workout.
That makes the success formula obvious. Simply embrace a complete system of cardio, resistance training and better diet to become a fitter, leaner you. Easy, right?
About the Author:
Do not forget to check out other articles about workouts like jumping rope found at MeltOffTheInches.com. Because if you don't know the rope jumping benefits then you don't know what you're missing. That site is where those who want solutions to problems with losing inches go for help.
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