What’s better, cardio or weight training, is probably the oldest debate in the history of fitness training. And the truth is, we still don’t have an answer, one way or the other. What we do know is the undeniable benefits of both.
- High-aerobic cardio exercises burn calories fast
- Combining cardio exercises with strength training or weight lifting increases that calorie burn even more
- Strength training spikes your metabolism and increases your ability to burn calories even at a state of rest
- Combine all of that with a balanced, fibre and protein-rich diet, you can hope to see visible change, definition and improvement in strength and stamina in as little as 2-3 weeks
A recently-concluded (2014) Harvard School of Public Health study showed that “men who completed 20 minutes of weight training every day saw a smaller increase in belly fat than men who spent the same amount of time on a cardio workout.”
Also, it showed that “the men who added both strength training and cardio to their daily routines fared even better.” Which means that a combination of both slows down accumulation of fat cells even more. Certified fitness trainers the world over have begun to accept and endorse this dual benefit, of burning calories as well as readying our bodies for a healthier life in the long-run.
Gone are the days of believing that an hour of working it out in an aerobics class or running on a treadmill while sweating bullets, is the answer to that super slim body. For women especially, the time has come to bust the cardio myth. Because women, we can no longer pooh-pooh the effects of weight training for fear of turning “bulky and muscular.” Here’s why:
- Osteoporosis is on the rise the world over like never before
- India ranks high on the list of countries with high incidence of osteoporosis
- In terms of awareness, medically and in terms of diet and fitness, India ranks abysmally low
Ladies, we need to lift those weights now more than ever. Even if you’re getting your daily workout in the form of a run, an hour at the gym, yoga or whatever form you may choose – complement it with some form of weight training, build bone strength and safeguard yourself.
Most often, our desire to get fit is equated with fat-loss, and rarely with long-term benefits such as good health and a balanced lifestyle. We view exercise as means to achieve weight-loss only -- a myopic and problematic way to approach any fitness initiative.
It is only when we view our efforts towards fitness as an integral part of leading an all-round healthy life, will we focus on getting the right results, such as strength and health over thinness, fitness over slimness, and long-term benefits over short-lived goals.
Plain and simply, the answer to whether weight training or aerobic exercise is the best way to go, increasingly, the answer points to finding a combination of both*. So this year, I began a little weight training and 12 months later, I’m happy to report that I've learned to appreciate strength over being thin and good health over being slim. Here's why:
- Lifting weights has helped shed flab and tone my body faster than cardio ever did.
- I've rediscovered the super-fast metabolism which I thought I had lost it in my twenties. As I discovered, higher muscle mass means a higher calorie burn even at rest, your body continues to melt calories long after you’ve finished working out.
- I've watched my resistance to infection spike.
- I feel strength in many of my everyday activities like lifting groceries, opening impossible-to-open jars, carrying heavy loads etc.
Weight training has a direct impact on muscle mass and bone density, which is critical to bone health and in protecting me from osteoporosis, and I have seen my strength visibly go up every time my body does something I previously couldn’t do.
But apart from these obvious and well-known benefits, the most valuable lesson has been a realignment of the focus of my fitness. On building endurance and strength, rather than getting slim. So to come back to the question we began with, there is no definite answer to what’s better. We can no longer afford to ignore the benefits of one over the other. The answer lies in finding a balance between both. To find your sweet spot, what works for you, and build a combination of cardio some days a week, supplemented by some weight lifting on other days.
*Weight training involves lifting of weights using various muscle groups across the body. It is best advised that you do so under the observation of a certified trainer, to avoid the risk of doing it wrong which could lead to injury.
Cardio & Weight Training Image from Shutterstock