Why Cardio and Resistance Exercise Isn’t The Best Way To Lose Fat
Written by Editor on March 30th, 2007 in exercise.
by Christian Finn If you’ve been reading this newsletter for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of any workout routine that combines cardiovascular (e.g. cycling, walking or sprinting) and resistance exercise (e.g. weight-training). In fact, I’ve talked about this subject so often that I’m worried you’re getting annoyed at me right now […]
by Christian Finn
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of any workout routine that combines cardiovascular (e.g. cycling, walking or sprinting) and resistance exercise (e.g. weight-training).
In fact, I’ve talked about this subject so often that I’m worried you’re getting annoyed at me right now for bringing it up again. That’s why the headline about cardio and weights not being the best way to lose fat might have come as a surprise.
Part of the reason I wrote it was to get your attention. But I also wanted to emphasize the fact that exercise is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to burning fat and building muscle.
Before I explain exactly what I mean, here are two examples to illustrate my point.
STUDY #1: In this study, conducted at Penn State University, a group of women took part in a 12-week program of diet and exercise [2]. The women were assigned to one of four groups:
• The first group served as a control group, and did nothing.
• Group two followed a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
• Group three combined the same diet with regular aerobic exercise.
• The fourth group also followed the same diet, but added aerobic and resistance exercise (weight training).
As you might imagine, all three groups lost weight.
• The diet-only group lost 13.6 pounds.
• The diet plus aerobic exercise group lost 15 pounds.
• The women combining diet with resistance and aerobic exercise lost 15.4 pounds.
However, the loss of fat was greatest in the women who combined a low-calorie diet with aerobic exercise.
In fact, the women who trained with weights actually lost 3.7 pounds of muscle.
STUDY #2: The trial, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, tracked a group of 31 women during a six-month exercise program [1].
At the beginning and end of the study, body fat levels were measured using a sophisticated technique called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA for short).
The program consisted of 90 minutes of exercise (weight-training, running and military drills) five days each week.
Despite the fact that the women exercised for more than seven hours each week for six months, they lost only 5.7 pounds of fat. That’s just 0.2 pounds per week.
What do both of these studies have in common?
None of the women in either trial were following a decent diet.
In study one, total calorie intake was too low (7 calories per pound of body weight). What’s more, 70% of those calories came from carbohydrate, leaving just 15% for fat and 15% for protein. It’s no surprise they lost so much muscle.
In study two, the women were not told to change their diet, and could eat what they wanted.
The bottom line
If you want to lose stubborn fat, then exercise alone — be it weight-training, cycling, Pilates, or the so-called “core-stability” workouts that seem so popular at the moment — won’t be enough. You’ll need to eat right too. If you want to make this the year when you finally get the body you want, now’s the time to take a closer look at your diet.
For more information, see How to burn fat without losing muscle in the Members-Only Area. Alternatively, download a copy of Tom Venuto’s excellent book Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle. There’s some great information in there about what and when to eat, as well as easy-to-follow fat-burning exercise programs that work.
By Zach Bashore (www.fitnessaffiliatlinks.com/truly-huge )Cardiovascular activity is difficult to enjoy and it is even tougher when you do the same exercises every day. This article is going to give you an insight of the most popular methods of cardio available and how it can assist you to burn fat.The first method of cardio that I am […]
By Zach Bashore
(www.fitnessaffiliatlinks.com/truly-huge )Cardiovascular activity is difficult to enjoy and it is even tougher when you do the same exercises every day. This article is going to give you an insight of the most popular methods of cardio available and how it can assist you to burn fat.The first method of cardio that I am going to explain is walking.
Walking is the most common of cardio exercise. Walking is a very low-impact exercise, and is one of the few cardio exercises that can be incorporated into your own lifestyle. Another way walking can be used is power walking. Power walking at the gym is easy because you can just hop on a treadmill and take off.
You should choose a walking routine that emphasizes incline movements and you should alternate paces.
Jogging is the most common exercise known to the public. Most jogging program’s paces are determined on one’s physical conditioning. Beginner joggers should practice speed walking before they progress to a jogging routine. Jogging is not for everyone because it can be hard on your knees and is simply not an option when it is zero degrees outside. Jogging is a very good cardiovascular exercise because it burns twice as many calories per hour than that of walking.
Sprinting is running as fast as you can until you cannot run any further. This method of cardio should not be used by beginners.
Sprinting is the quickest way to do cardio that can be performed to burn calories because it only takes five to ten minutes to get an effective workout. However, sprinting can be dangerous to your body if proper warm-up isn`t in place. Make sure that you stretch thoroughly prior to sprinting because the quick movements cause an injury.
Dance is another popular method of cardio and is actually one of the few cardio exercises that are fun. Everywhere you look, it is almost certain that you can find a dance class to join. There are so many different dance styles available that it would be impossible to list all of them.
Indoor cycling, also known as spinning, is a new health club craze.
This intense workout targets the lower body, giving the quads, glutes, and hamstrings a good workout. Using stationary bikes that aim at increasing endurance, classes using the spinning exercise is a perfect way of getting a good workout and motivational boost at the same time. Almost every health club has a cycling class that you can join and the application process is easy.
Each forty-five minute session that you perform will burn 500-700 calories, who wouldn’t want to indoor cycle?
The best part about swimming is that it is not stressful on your body. Water aerobics offer the same support as swimming, but instead of propelling your body from one end of the pool to the other, you use the water as resistance to burn calories and tone muscle. Both methods are refreshing alternatives to boring cardio and will give you a good workout without getting sweaty.
Another reason swimming is a good exercise is that the water decreases the stress on your joints, and it helps people with joint problems incorporate exercise into their lifestyle.
For people who live in cold areas, ice skating is the preferred method over rollerblading. However both methods serve the same purpose and that is to get you active. These exercises are fun to do and are great for the lower body. If you want a more challenging exercise you can simply rollerblade uphill, but be careful when you are going back down because the excess speed may cause you to crash. Which brings me to the downside of rollerblading. It is a very dangerous exercise and you must wear protective equipment at all times. You also might try to show off when your ability levels are not so great and you could injure yourself if you are not careful.
Cardiovascular exercise wouldn’t be fun without the different methods that are available. Try them all out and determine which ones that you like best. If you’re a beginner, I suggest that you start out by going on a walk or a harmless swim. But once you get more advanced, then start incorporating more of the techniques that I explained above. Cardio doesn’t always have to be hard, it can actually be fun if you approach it properly.
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Other Zack Bashore Articles: Post-Workout Nutrition, Fat Facts
Tags: Cardio, Cardiovascular, Exercise