Cardio VS Weight Training

Girls, we have all had that picture perfect summer body image in our heads at some point right?  Well why not achieve your goals?! The question is do you want to lose weight or tone your body? Jumping on the treadmill to get your cardio on will definitely burn more calories than weight training will in a shorter amount of time, but don't disregard the weight rack altogether.  Weight training has added benefits for your body and fitness goals that you wont be able to achieve with doing cardio alone. Personally I enjoy doing cardio and weight training and I try to include both of them into my everyday schedule but sometimes ill only have time for one, but either way you will be burning calories and building muscle to get you closer to your goals. 

Cardio

Our bodies need to burn more calories than we consume (energy output vs energy input) in order to lose weight.  Cardio is one of the more popular forms of exercise that contributes to this "energy output."  The most popular forms of cardio being walking, jogging and sprinting.  Depending of your fitness goals some are better suited for you than others.  Lets say you want to focus on fat and weight loss, your best match would be LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) this is because walking burns the most fat per calorie compared to jogging and sprinting.  This is because fat requires oxygen in order  to be metabolized or in other words broken down for energy.  The lower the intensity of the workout, the more oxygen is available to be used by the body to break down the fat.  When you are jogging or sprinting, less oxygen can make its way to the rest of your body so it will use other energy sources, such as carbohydrates, for energy.  But regardless of the intensity, cardio is great for increasing fitness levels and building stamina.

Weight Training

Okay i know what you're thinking, "resistance training will make me look bulky and manly."  This is so not true and its one of the biggest fitness myths i wish would go away! Not only with resistance training burn calories while you do it (maybe not as many as cardio) but with resistance will continue to burn calories after you have completed your workout!! How wonderful does that sound, after you complete your tiring workout you still are burning off calories while doing whatever you're doing whether it being sitting reading a magazine, painting your toe nails, or even while your eating a greek salad with avo and drinking a cuppa (probably what I would be doing). This is known as EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption).  Another amazing thing about weight training is that you lose mainly fat, compared to cardio where you can lose a variety of different body masses.  When you lose muscle mass the number on the scale may be lower, it probably wont give you the body you are after if thats a lean toned figure.  This is because 'tone' comes from well shaped muscles, and resistance training protects, shapes and maintains muscle. 

So what is better for weight loss? BOTH!! They each have their own advantages and if you have a lot of weight to lose, cardio would be a great stepping stone for increasing your fitness levels and burning calories quickly. If your looking to sculpt and tone your body resistance training will be your best friend. 

xx Rachel