Weight Training or Cardio: Which One Is Better For Weight Loss?

As someone who has worked out consistently since I was young, I have had my fair share of experiences with both weight training and cardio, and my appreciation for the roles they play have only increased with time. Along that journey I have also had many of my own misconceptions, misinformation, and bias that ended up rerouting me on a longer journey to fitness than it needed to be. With so many articles out there today, it can be difficult to know where to begin. This is in part because information is constantly being updated due to advances in methodology, new research designs that emerge, technological advancements in data collection and analysis, scientific revolution and paradigm shifts, and adapting to dietary pattern changes. All of this being said, the goal is to understand how weight training and cardio may benefit the body, and where to begin with both.

For clarity, cardio is physical activities that increase your heart rate and breathing. Examples of cardio are swimming, cycling, running, walking, hiking, stair climbing, rowing, jump rope, dancing, skiing, snowboarding, and boxing, are all examples of cardio. When you workout with cardio exercise, your breathing rate increases as your heart pumps faster, increasing blood flow in your body. This delivers oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, strengthens your heart muscle, and releases endorphins (the primary being beta-endorphin, implicated in that "runner's high" feeling), which contributes to a boost in mood and overall wellbeing.

Studies have shown that for healthy individuals, regular moderate cardio workouts can be beneficial for overall wellbeing and losing weight. This is because cardio helps you to burn calories. To be clear, calories are basically just units of energy. When you eat food or drink liquids with calories in it, you are essentially giving your body units of energy. Your body needs calories to function. Your body uses these calories for breathing, thinking, daily activities, exercise, and more. Whatever you eat or drink that has calories in it, your body works hard to break it down into energy for you to be able to use. If you eat too little, you may feel lethargic and not be able to think properly. If you eat too much, the excess is stored as fat and could lead to weight gain.

In order to picture this, imagine a car that needs to be fueled up with gas. Let's say that you are going on a short trip, perhaps only a few miles up the road to the store, then you don't need to fuel the tank with much gas because it won't be expending much. Conversely, if you are going on a longer trip, such as a road trip across country, then you would need to fill the tank up with gas because it expends more "energy". Your car burns more fuel to cover that distance, so it needs to be "fed more energy", so to speak. This analogy may help you to understand that if a person has a desk job, they may be expending less calories than someone who is an Olympic athlete. These two examples are not expending the same amount of calories (energy) therefore, they do not require the same amounts of calories and nutrients. This is also one reason why weight loss is not a "one-size-fits-all". What works for you may not work for someone else, and vice versa.

This being said, cardio may help you with weight loss but weight training (aka resistance training) helps you to shape your body. Weight training is physical exercise designed to improve physical strength and sculpt the body. Weight training also helps you to lose weight however, it works from another angle for weight loss. Weight training helps your body to build muscle mass which, in turn, boosts your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories, even while your body is resting. This is an incredible tool for weight loss because by increasing your metabolism, your body creates a calorie deficit, and a calorie deficit is essential for weight loss. To clarify, if one wants to lose weight they must be in a calorie deficit, and there are a couple of ways to do this.

1. Consume less calories in a day*, or

2. Increase physical activity* levels

3. Do both 1 & 2

(*recommended under the guidance of a nutritionist, nutrition consultant, personal fitness trainer, or your personal physician)

Furthermore, it is important to work with a trained professional as there is more to being healthy than just a calorie deficit. Someone experienced can guide you to an understanding of macronutrients and the role that food and nutrients play in your body. The goal here is not to be skinny or just to lose weight, but for you to feel vibrant, healthy, and love your life! If you would like to work with someone from NeXXus Prime, please click here to be redirected to our contact page. Below is a summary of how both cardio and weight lifting can help with weight loss:

Cardio improves heart health, releases feel-good endorphins, improves circulation, helps with weight loss and weight management, reduces risk of heart disease and stroke, and may help with depression and anxiety. Running, boxing, hiking, cycling, swimming, dancing, stair climbing, rowing, jump rope, and skiing are just some of the ways you can begin your cardio adventure*.

Weight training builds and sculpts your muscles, boosts your metabolism, increases your strength, enhanced bone density, protects your joints and bones, can help with balance, and also releases feel-good endorphins*!

When you combine cardio and weight training together*, you can gain confidence, the body you want, and increase your overall mood & wellness! Let us know in the comments what your favorite exercise is to do, and contact us if you would like to set up a virtual session with our NeXXus Fitness Trainer & Holistic Nutrition Consultant! Just click on the button below to be guided to our CONTACT page, write your name and number along with a brief description of what you would like to work on. We look forward to being able to create something great together! In the meanwhile, I'm wishing you great clarity and happiness.

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