Cardio, or cardio vascular training and weight lifting also known as resistance training are the two most popular forms of workouts that people partake in, however when losing fat is the primary goal it can be hard to know which approach is a better use of your time.

In general, you’ll often burn more calories during a bout of cardio vascular training than you will during a weight lifting session of equal length; however this is only the tip of the iceberg.

This one dimensional thought coupled with the unfortunate consensus of each of the disciplines being gender specific (weights for men, cardio for women) led to a general misconception that resistance training equalled muscle and strength gains ONLY and cardio was the lone way to lose fat. This misconception is thankfully shifting but is still prevalent and forms part of the reason many people take up jogging as a new year’s resolution after the festivities to use an example.

In actual fact both forms of training yield very different results beyond those that are perceived and these benefits often cross over into each realm of physical fitness and wellbeing.

Beyond burning calories cardio training is important for maintaining and improving the health of the heart and lungs. Within this category are countless forms such as walking, running, cycling, swimming and rowing among others, each bringing diverse levels of conditioning and additional benefits such as improving balance, coordination or posture.  Taking traditional cardio up a level and performing bouts of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a way of taking calorie burning to a higher level. Typically this form of cardio training involves performing very intense bursts of exercise such as sprinting then resting for a brief period before repeating for multiple rounds. This form of training burns the most amounts of calories in the shortest amount of time.

While true that lifting weights generally burns less calories than an equal length workout comprised of cardio training, there are numerous other benefits that should make an individual who’s goal it is to lose fat consider lifting a dumbbell or two. Resistance based training has the greatest overall influence on maintaining and building lean muscle tissue. This tissue, unlike other tissue in the body like adipose (fat) is metabolically active meaning it requires energy to maintain and repair. Increasing the amount of lean mass that an individual has is an effective way of increasing their metabolism influencing the amount of calories they burn at rest. This can be a powerful tool when the aim is to lose fat. Furthermore, a higher metabolic stress is placed upon the body in the period of time after a resistance based workout due to the bodies need to use energy in the repair and recovery phase that follows.



In truth, when it comes to fat loss, maintaining a caloric deficit is key. This is best when done through diet first and foremost but exercise in any form can have a sizeable impact. To allow one particular form of exercise to dominate your program will omit the potential benefits of the other. Cardiovascular health is best achieved through cardio based workouts and these burn the most amounts of calories when pitted against resistance training, however weight lifting is the best way of improving body composition and lean muscle mass is a vital component of not only overall health but in particular metabolic health. Beyond very specific training requirements most individuals will benefit greatly from incorporating both forms of exercise into their training plan. To maximise fat loss, a consistent mix of progressive exercise, a controlled diet, ideally kept to a caloric deficit and a good sleep routine are the key ingredients and will dictate how successful you are in this endeavour.