The majority of people who decide to take up fitness usually find themselves stuck in choosing between lifting weights and performing cardio-based training. While cardio-based training sounds like the favorite option for weight loss, we must realize the importance of lifting weights.
This article aims at informing you on the importance of each of these types of workout in shedding off that extra weight you’ve been looking forward to no longer having.
Calories Burned Per Session
Scientists researched how many calories individuals burn in each session of performing various activities. According to this research, your body weight can help you estimate how many calories you will burn per activity, including cardio and weight training. If you weigh more, you will burn more.
For a 165 pounds (74.84 kg) individual, the expectation is that you will burn 250-260 calories while performing 30 minutes of jogging, whereas if you run at a speed of 6 miles per hour for the same 30 minutes, you will burn 365-370 calories.
However, in a weight lifting session, the same individual is expected to burn around 140-240 calories. Generally, if you aim at burning a higher amount of calories in a session, you should perform cardio-based training.
Calories Burned Per Day
Weight training workouts are not expected to burn as many calories as cardio-based workouts; however, lifting weights has many benefits. One such benefit is building muscle; muscle is responsible for burning more calories at rest than other body tissues. Building muscle is popular for increasing resting metabolism.
It is important to note that weight training will make metabolisms increase gradually and not shoot up all at once. Another important benefit of weight training is that it increases the number of calories burned after training instead of cardio-based training. Some have reported that lifting weights can elevate resting metabolism for up to 38 hours after weight training.
The higher the intensity of the workout, the more calories to be burned afterward.
High-Intensity Interval Training(HIIT)
An alternative type of training that provides calorie-burning services is the High-Intensity Interval Training(HIIT). This type of training usually involves short bursts of very intense exercise, interchanged with low-intensity rest periods. The workouts last for around 15-30 minutes and include various exercises such as jump roping, sprinting, biking, or other body-weight workouts.
Researchers have proven the benefits of HIIT training for weight loss; findings have shown that HIIT training burned 25-30% more calories than other forms of exercises. However, this does not invalidate the benefits of other types of workouts for weight loss; instead, it shows the importance of HIIT as an alternative.
Researchers have shown that HIIT and traditional cardio reduce body fat and waist circumference to a similar extent. As for calories, HIIT and traditional cardio burn a similar amount of calories within 30 minutes; a potential benefit of HIIT is the amount of time spent working out–less than traditional cardio.
Diversifying Training
Researchers have shown that weight training may not be ideal for weight loss but play an important role in changing your body composition because it increases muscle while reducing body fat.
A study conducted on 119 obese adults showed that while cardio-based training is the best alternative for weight and fat loss, combining it with weight training will yield the best body composition changes.
Dieting and Training
The benefits of combining a good amount of exercise with healthy dieting are somewhat public knowledge. Health professionals recommend a change of both the diet and training habits in promoting weight loss.
A good weight loss program should contain a reduced amount of calorie intake, paired with sufficient exercise for the best results. Many people have spread the narrative that a good diet is sufficient for weight loss, a fact that is far-fetched as dieting without exercise will lead to frustrations and not results. However, this does not mean that it will not lead to weight loss; rather, the frustrations due to slow progress may eventually lead to self-inflicted starvation, which negatively affects the body.
How you package your food is vital when it comes to dieting. Ensure you make well-balanced meals, and in case you intend on moving out of the house, get yourself some quality food packaging.
Conclusion
While cardio-based training burns more calories per session and weight training increase metabolism that eventually leads to the burning of calories, you should find the two’s ideal balance. Diversifying a workout program yields the best results for both weight loss and body composition change. You may lose a substantial amount of weight but still not like how you look at the end of it, so you should balance both the types of exercises you perform and the diet you follow to yield lasting results.
As you workout, involve the children around you to make it more fun and beneficial for all of you, mainly because it will help instil discipline both in you and the children as you aim to set an example for the young ones. Find some recommended toddler workouts for your children and as you do so, ensure they have their dieting needs taken care of either in the house or outside the house. Buying bulk baby food pouches could help with your outdoor food packaging needs while saving on the cost you would incur in buying one piece everytime time you need to. All the best!
