Strength Training vs Cardio For Weight Loss: Which Is Better?

Stay Young Bureau

Apr 27, 2023

Strength Training vs Cardio

Cardiovascular exercises and strength training exercises are two different forms of exercise that are equally important.

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Cardiovascular Exercise

It is also known as cardio or aerobic exercise. It increases the heart rate and makes the lungs work harder than normal.

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What Does It Do?

Cardiovascular exercise challenges both cardiovascular and respiratory systems to increase the heart’s ability to pump blood. Further, it increases the ability of the lungs and heart to move oxygen throughout the body.

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Types of Exercise

Workouts like running, swimming, dancing, climbing stairs, doing jumping jacks, rowing, kickboxing, etc are examples of cardio.

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Strength Training

This is the type of exercise that uses resistance to build muscle, strength, and endurance, thus, it is often called resistance training.

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Types of Strength Training

These include lifting weights or doing repetitions on weight machines, push-ups, squats, sit-ups, yoga, Pilates, walking or running on hills, etc.

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Cardio or Strength Training for Weight Loss?

If your target is to lose weight by burning calories and building muscle mass, you should include both cardio and strength training into your exercise routine.

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Cardio for Weight Loss

Its role is to help you shed pounds by burning calories. The more you exercise, the more calories you’ll burn.

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Weight Loss Routine

To lose weight, you should aim for doing cardio at least five days per week for a total of at least 250 minutes each week.

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Tough Goal!

If you are worried about working out on all days of the week, start slowly and increase the timing and speed gradually. Remember, any exercise is better than no exercise.

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Find No Time?

Follow this, walk 10 minutes every 2 hours, and by the end of the day you will have completed a total of 80 minutes of walking. Great, isn’t it?

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How Does Strength Training Help?

It helps you lose weight and keep it off by building muscle tissue. If the muscle mass is higher, the metabolic rate will be higher.

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Duration of Strength Training

For better benefits, consider strength training for an hour 3-4 times per week. Resistance training need not be done every day, unlike cardio, and one must take a rest day in between.

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Prepare a Plan

Plan exercise routines combining strength training and cardio, for example, walking on Monday, weight lifting on Tuesday, playing tennis on Wednesday for one hour, 30 minutes of push-ups on Thursday, and jogging for one hour on Friday.

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Weekend Workout

Saturday, you can dedicate one full hour to exercise of your choice, and Sunday, give some rest to your body or walk for just 30 minutes.

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