Weight Training Burns More Fat Than Cardio

This post is all about what the title says, weight training burns more fat than cardio. Now I could just stop there and hope you believe me, but let me tell you why and what exactly it means. Cardio is by no means bad or a waste of time, but when it comes to getting lean and losing fat, weight training is your best option for better and faster results.

Let's take a look at cardio. Usually this is done on a treadmill, track, elliptical, bike, or running outside. Big benefits from cardio are it helps your heart, builds your endurance, and can help with weight loss. Although it has some benefits, there are some reasons why it is not the best option for cutting fat. First, it is boring for the most part. Treadmills have to be the most boring piece of equipment and same goes with the elliptical. Beginners and people taking it easy usually use this equipment because it is safe to use and doesn't take a lot of thinking to do it. Although it does work your heart out, it doesn't ever stress the heart to deal with sudden changes, which is something your muscles needs to grow stronger. When you are doing the cardio workout, your body is working, but when you stop, your body stops working quickly after you are done. This means that you don't get the benefit of your body burning extra calories. The last thing that makes cardio undesirable is that you have to do it for hours to get the results of just 30-45 of weight training.

So let's talk about weight training and why it is better for losing fat. When you weight train you are stressing your body more by adding weight to range of motion movements. Doing this causes your metabolism to boost and burn lots of calories. Because you are stressing your body and making your heart work harder, your body continues to burn calories even after your workout is done. The term associated with this is called Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This alone is why weight training burns fat better than cardio. Weight training also builds your muscle that replaces the fat in your body. Now you are losing fat and gaining muscle, which is something cardio cannot do.

Now I am not saying to stop doing cardio. It still burns calories, some people find it fun, and it can improve your stamina if you are into sports. Personally I don't do cardio on gym days because I would rather weight train my full body. Once a week I will have a cardio day to build stamina and improve my running and swimming. If your only goal is to lose fat though, I would highly consider switching to weight training primarily for best results.