Weight training vs cardio training

Did you know you don’t really need to be doing any aerobic exercise to lose body fat?

Yes, you’re hearing that correctly, say goodbye to endless hours of walking on a treadmill or endless running if you think this is the only way to stay in shape. Trends at the moment are big gym’s that run big classes which are basically glorified cardio centres. I’ve seen people initially lose fat yes but remember that repetitive high intensity movements can also cause other negative scenarios such as.

• Sore joints
• Knee injuries
• Shin splits
• Lower back pain

Now, I’m not saying not to do cardio, what I’m saying is this is not the only way to get in and stay in shape.
High intensity training more than 3x per week is not sustainable, you will slowly start to breakdown by picking up a few niggles then when a serious injury occurs you are out of action and back on the couch, everything will come to an abrupt end.
Staying injury free is your goal, especially when coming back from a long layoff, this is the most important thing you could do, try at all costs not to get injured.

Weight training on the other hand builds muscle, think of it like this, if I was able to click my fingers and add 2kg of muscle on you right now, your body will need to use more energy to maintain this muscle. So now your metabolic rate will need to work harder and therefore you will be burning calories at rest. Everything you do will have a better metabolic response, isn’t great?

Where on the other hand, doing too much cardio will lead to the loss of muscle mass.
It is well known that long bouts of running leads the body into a catabolic state when not feeding your body correctly, which could lead to losing your overall mass and that means you not only lose fat but your muscle also.

This is why it’s key to know and understand that if you are running long distances regularly you should be replenishing your calories by eating every 3 hours and getting the right macro nutrient balance then you should be in an anabolic state after a few good days, which means muscle will be preserved.

Combining weight training with some form of high intensity cardio is the best way to get all your strength and conditioning done to stay strong and in shape and that is sustainable.