Comments on: How does weight lifting lose fat faster than a diet or cardio?

By: Hiram

Hiram — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 00:16:38 +0000

This is similar to asking who makes the better pickup, Ford or Chevy? Weight lifting or cardio — it’s a question that is going to forever stir controversy. In fact, I’m currently researcing this for an article that I’m posting on my own site at http://www.Balance-Your-Health.com.

As a martial artist, I was convinced that cardio was the best approach. There’s no way I can force myself to sit at a bench and do curls for hours at a time. Up one two, down one two, up one two…. I’d get bored to tears in no time!

However, lots of people, including those that have already posted, will tell you that building muscle through resistance training is much more efficient at burning fat, burning calories, burning carbs, and whatever else you want to get rid of.

Here’s what my research is revealing. By the way, this is medical research that you can verify in any medical textbook on physiology.

The truth is (drum roll please), you need both. That’s right, you need both. If you don’t have a strong cardio base, you’ll never be able to lift weights with “intensity.” You’ll run out of breathe after 3 or 4 reps. It’s a fact. Your body has a built in failsafe system that forces you to slow down if your heart and lungs can’t pump enough fuel to your muscles to meet demand.

If you work on nothing but cardio, on the other hand, you lose muscle, not to mention muscle tone and body strength. In other words, you end up with a great set of lungs, but the rest of you goes to pot.

The REAL answer? You need to do both strength and cardio. The best way to burn fat is to do interval training or “circuit” training where you alternate cardio based activities with resistance training.

Those “guru’s” that are promoting one over the other — and I have to admit that I was one of them — are only telling you half the story.

Throw in good nutrition — not necessarily eating less, just eating better — on top of your cardio and weight lifting routine and you’ve got the best forumla for a fit and healthy body.

That’s the “balanced” answer and is what my site is all about. Stop on by at http://www.Balance-Your-Health.com and sign up for a free email course that gives you other little tips that make a big difference in your health.

Hiram
http://www.balance-your-health.com

By: Darin L. Steen

Darin L. Steen — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 21:24:58 +0000

Weight training is a much more efficient fat burning exercise than cardio. Any body can lose scale weight. Just eat a salad a day and walk 10 miles. This is the general mindset when it comes to weight loss. This leads to your hormones going wacko, being tired, lethargic and irritable. If you start out pair shaped, you will just end up being a smaller pair. It is the yo-yo syndrome at its worst. Restrict calories, do cardio, lose muscle, lower your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and create a fat storage machine. Binge on what you have been craving (because you have been restricting calories) and become fatter and fatter with less muscle. It is a technical fact that for every pound of muscle that you have in the future, that you don’t have now, your BMR will increase 50-70 calories per day, just to support the new muscle tissue that demands and burns energy just sitting there (fat does not). Gain 10lbs. of muscle and you are burning an extra 500-700 calories per day, 24/7. Move and use that new muscle throughout the day and burn 1000-2000 calories more per day. What I have found with my well over 18,000 client hours since 2001 is that one or two 30-45 minute cardio sessions done first thing in morning in a fasted state, and 2 or 3 60 minute resistance sessions per week, along with a precise athletic nutrition plan, and a little goal setting, is all that is needed to radically change your body and your life in a time efficient manner. Please check out some of my clients testimonials @ http://www.darinsteen.com in the testimonial link. Since most of you are advanced I will share with you one trick that I have learned from competing against the best truly drug-free professional bodybuilders in the world (in the WNBF federation). For the two days before your intense resistance sessions (back, legs, chest) consume 50-150 grams more of starch complex carbs (brown rice, oatmeal) in you 2nd, 3rd and 4th meals of the day. Start out those two days with some cardio (30-45 min.) The extra carbs will not be stored as fat because of the cardio and your back, legs, and chest sessions will go better because of the extra glycogen from the extra carbs. You will be stronger, have more endurance, and recover faster. For more info on my precise athletic nutrition program design click on my nutrition link. Thanks, and good luck on getting those next 10 lbs. of muscle!!

By: ritesh

ritesh — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 04:52:55 +0000

Well it all depends, weight lifting can be a great fat-buring workout, if you do the exercises intensily. That’s right, INTENSITY, that’s the key to loosing fat and putting on muscle. Don’t get me wrong, “intensity” is made up of a few things,

1) Stamina
2) Diet
3) Will (the will to do those extra reps, even though your muscles feel like they are on fire).

If you workout your 1 or 2 muscle’s (e.g. Chest/Back, Bi’s/Tri’s etc.) It should take you almost 1.5 hrs to complete. All the workouts should be done 3 sets each, and increasing on every set. Day by day, week by week, month by month. And within 6 months (realistic number) you can see the big difference in yourself that would only give you more confidence to do more.

Now, doing just weight lifting is not enough, you must also add some cardio to your workout 3-4 days a week. I personally don’t like the treadmill, or bike, or any of those cardio machines. I don’t even like to jog. My method of cardio is “swimming.” I swim laps, for 30-50 min each time, “AFTER” my workout, which makes it more challenging, and hence more “INTENSE.”

– I hope this helps somebody out.

Ritesh Singh.