Cardio vs Weight Lifting: Which Is Better For Weight Loss?

Once you decide to lose weight and start working out, you find yourself stuck with a tricky question – should you head to the treadmill or go to the weight room? They are both popular types of workouts and that both have great benefits for your health. But which one is better for weight loss? To help you find the best workout routine, we at Fitness Trainer Dubai are going to tell you all you need to know about cardio vs weight lifting for weight loss.

What is the difference: Cardio vs Weight Lifting?

If you want to lose weight it is obvious that you need to balance your diet and exercise. But, what type of exercise you should focus on? Cardio and weight lifting are different exercises. Strength training includes lifting weights and it is an anaerobic activity. This kind of exercise includes lifting free weights like kettlebells, dumbells, or using weight machines. The anaerobic activity uses glucose for energy and more energy is used in a short amount of time.

Unlike weight lifting, cardio training is an aerobic activity that uses oxygen to increase your heart rate. Running is the most common cardio activity, but you can also try swimming, walking, dancing, or even Zumba. Everything that makes you move and breathe harder and faster counts as cardio training.

Benefits of cardio training

If you opt for cardio training, you will get many benefits from it.

Improves heart health and endurance

When you do your cardio training for the first time you will probably feel as if you were about to pass out, since your heart will beat wildly. However, when you repeat the exercise for the third or fourth time, you will breathe much easier. That is because your heart pumps oxygen more efficiently when you are working out. This kind of exercise will not only help you get through longer workouts but will also prevent huffing and puffing whenever you take the stairs.

Burn more calories and lose weight

We are all searching for weight loss tricks, but with cardio training, there are no tricks. Burn your calories and you will lose weight, it is simple as that. One of the huge benefits of cardio is that you will burn more calories during the workout than you would with weight training. Comparing cardio vs weight training it is proved that plain cardio will burn more calories and help you lose weight faster.

Benefits of weight training

Now, the heavy part. Weight lifting will help you burn your fat, sculpt muscle tissue and keep your metabolism healthy.

Build your muscle

It is not a surprise that weight lifting builds muscle tissue. Training with weights puts more resistance on your muscle, which leads to broken tissue. The body’s response is to heal the tissue and grow the muscle in the process.

Burn calories all day long

If you decide to work on building muscle, you will increase your metabolic rate. This means that your body will burn more calories during the day. During cardio training, you will burn more calories, however, with weight training you will keep that slow burn all day long. This will lead to a larger calorie burn over the course of the day.

Weight lifting protects bones

One of the benefits of weight training for females is good bone health. Working out with bodyweight or added resistance protects bones and increases bone health. If you sit at the desk most of the day, your bones will require a little extra force to stay strong. You can try squatting, lunging, or light circuits as bodyweight exercises that will keep your bone resilient.

So, which is better for weight loss?

All things considered, weight lifting is better for fat burning and building lean muscle. However, cardio training will help you lose weight, improve your cardiovascular health and help you uncover the muscle you have sculped. Therefore, if you want to tone up while sculpting muscle, then you should do each type of exercise to achieve your body composition and aesthetic goals. When talking about cardio vs weight lifting, the important thing to mention is that you need to enjoy exercising, no matter which type of training you prefer. Basically, if you want to lose weight you need to keep your body moving and maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Stay away from sweets and give priority to vegetables, lean protein sources, and complex carbohydrates.

Finally, losing weight shouldn’t be your only reason to work out

Yes, aerobic activities will make your heart stronger, will lower your blood pressure, and will help you lose weight. But, regular cardio activity will also lower stress and improve your sleeping habits. Strength training is also beneficial because it will improve bone density and metabolism. That said, you must admit to yourself that even if you work out, you won’t lose any weight if you eat pizzas and fries. Thus, you need to eat clean, have a daily workout routine and try not to focus only on losing weight. Finally, in debate cardio vs weight lifting, it doesn’t make much difference which one will you choose. You need to exercise regularly because it has many benefits for your well-being. Trust us, no matter which type of exercise you choose, you will lose weight, feel happier and be healthy.