Walk into any gym these days and you will see two groups of people. There are the ones in the cardio room, running on the treadmill or spinning away on the bikes. Then there are the people in the weight room slinging heavy dumbbells around. Ask either group and they will tell you without a doubt that their workout of choice is the best one for weight loss and overall fitness.
There are definitely benefits of both cardio and weight lifting and we are going to take a closer look at each one and see if one is actually better than the other.
Benefits of Cardio
Fitness and medical professionals agree that cardio is king when it comes to increasing overall health and longevity. It reduces the risk of many life shortening conditions, including:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Stroke
- Some cancers
It has also been shown to reduce anxiety and improve symptoms of depression.
Cardio has other benefits as well. It is a great calorie burner. You can burn up to 10-12 calories per minute when running or cycling. Considering that 3500 calories equals 1 pound of fat, cardio can be very helpful when following a reduced calorie weight loss plan.
Benefits of Weight Lifting
The most important benefit of weight lifting is that it builds muscle. Muscle is crucial to fat loss because the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn even when you are sitting on the couch watching TV. In fact if you build just three pounds of muscle you will burn 120 extra calories per day.
Even though weight lifting burns fewer calories than cardio, it continues to burn calories long after you leave the gym. This is very beneficial to overall calorie reduction.
Muscle is also important because it is what gives you a lean toned physique. Since a pound of muscle is 4 times smaller than a pound of fat, the more muscle you have, the smaller you will be and the better your jeans will fit.
Which exercise is best?
Both cardio and weight lifting are beneficial to any fitness and weight loss plan. Depending on your specific fitness goals, you should make room for each type of exercise in you weekly workout routine. Try to incorporate weight lifting at least two days per week in addition to cardio three to five days per week.