intensitylisa
Cathlete
I have decided to include more weight training throughout the week to 4 days and cut back on the cardio to 2 days. Is it true that weight training burns more calories than cardio? Any feedback would be helpful!
Which burns more calories weight training or cardio?
- Thread starter intensitylisa
- Start date
I have decided to include more weight training throughout the week to 4 days and cut back on the cardio to 2 days. Is it true that weight training burns more calories than cardio? Any feedback would be helpful!I read in May's M&F that 1/2 hour of cardio burns 350 calories and 1/2 hour of weight training burns 200 calories. However, weight training has some big advantages. It boosts you metabolism which in turn burns more calories in the long term not so much during the time you are actually spending working out. A lot of people have had success with weight loss when they focus on weights more and cardio less. I hope I was able to answer you question.
RE: Which burns more calories weight training or cardio...
hi Cardio burns more calories.
I would like to add that others do not have success by adding more weight training. I tend to think weight training is oversold for the revving your metabolism thing. It is very, very difficult to find good research showing how effective it is. Much of it is theoretical. (By godd research I mean peer reviewed journals).
I am not saying that it doesn't work for some people. I do think strength training is beneficial for many reasons, I just wouldn't get too excited about revving your metabolism.
hi Cardio burns more calories.
I would like to add that others do not have success by adding more weight training. I tend to think weight training is oversold for the revving your metabolism thing. It is very, very difficult to find good research showing how effective it is. Much of it is theoretical. (By godd research I mean peer reviewed journals).
I am not saying that it doesn't work for some people. I do think strength training is beneficial for many reasons, I just wouldn't get too excited about revving your metabolism.
Jenne
Cathlete
Sounds like a good plan. As others have said, some have success with this approach, others don't. The only way to find out if it works for you is to try it. I had terrific results with 2 months of Pure Strength with shorter cardio. I lost at least an inch around the rib cage and about three inches around my lower abs. This month was more cardio with Body Max Upper Body and the results are not nearly as dramatic (I've possibly gained inches). This could indicate that what works FOR ME is heavier weights with shorter, interval cardio.
Jenne - You sound a LOT like me. Heavier, intense weight training combined with HIGH INTENSIY but shorter cardio has worked the best for me. Lateley I have been focused on intensity far more than duration and frequency. I am doing BFL, doing only 3-4 cardio sessions per week (usually 3) and increased focus on wt training and seeing great results. I use to be a cardio junkie, worked out hours a day and finally hit a plateau where I wasn't seeing ANY results even with good, clean eating. It took me my life thus far to realize wt training is as important as cardio and that what works best for me is INTENSITY!
The other benefits of weight training is that by increasing your muscle mass/% you increase your metabolism mostly b/c muscle consumes more energy than fat. Also, too much cardio can hinder your progress if you don't allow enough time for muscles to recover. Recovery has also been the key for me I think. BFL forces me to let my muscles recover!
I agree that everyone is different and what may work for me may not work for someone else. You are right in that how do you know unless you try?
Hope this helps?
The other benefits of weight training is that by increasing your muscle mass/% you increase your metabolism mostly b/c muscle consumes more energy than fat. Also, too much cardio can hinder your progress if you don't allow enough time for muscles to recover. Recovery has also been the key for me I think. BFL forces me to let my muscles recover!
I agree that everyone is different and what may work for me may not work for someone else. You are right in that how do you know unless you try?
Hope this helps?
in2aerobics
Active Member
I didn't take the time to read through these replies, so Forgive me if I repeat anyone's opinion. ANyway, here is the deal...Cardio burns more calories technically if you break a sweat. However, lets look at some examples of calorie burning by example and see. Okay, for the sake of comparison, here are the calories burned in a half hour by different forms of exercise.
jumping rope for half an hour burns as much as 400 calories
Cross country skiing which uses more muscles, only burns 275 calories per half hour, so there you have it...you can safely assume that cardio exercise burns more calories than weight training. However, over the long haul, as your muscles grow and strengthen, they burn more calories at rest. It's really a matter of doing what you know you will do consistantly. Now weight lifting will tighten your muscles and give you fast results as far as losing inches goes. Here is a bit of factual information that I recieved from my physician who rescently lost several pounds herself. She said that if you can do a steady amount of activity for an hour straight at least once a week, be it house cleaning or running, it will significantly raise your metabolism because after an hour, your body goes into overdrive and burns a lot more calories at rest than doing a half hour of activity on a daily basis. SOOOOO, the conclusion I have found for you is that you should NOT cut back on cardio if it's calories you are trying to burn. The faster the heart rate, the more the calories burned, keep it steady. If you increase your weight training, and decrease your cardio, you may burn more calories at rest, but you will also build more muscle faster than you burn fat which will make you bigger at first and then have to keep at it for a longer period of time than you would if you were doing a more intense cardio, or a longer cardio workout. My suggestion, just add ten minutes to your cardio or do your cardio with light weights in your hands, like maybe a pound or two in each. Yes, I'm an exercise buff, I know what works, and what works fastest. Hope it helps. OH and keep in mind, everybody is different, so do what you feel works for you, experimenting with different forms of exercise and different amounts of time put into it is really good for you.
jumping rope for half an hour burns as much as 400 calories
Cross country skiing which uses more muscles, only burns 275 calories per half hour, so there you have it...you can safely assume that cardio exercise burns more calories than weight training. However, over the long haul, as your muscles grow and strengthen, they burn more calories at rest. It's really a matter of doing what you know you will do consistantly. Now weight lifting will tighten your muscles and give you fast results as far as losing inches goes. Here is a bit of factual information that I recieved from my physician who rescently lost several pounds herself. She said that if you can do a steady amount of activity for an hour straight at least once a week, be it house cleaning or running, it will significantly raise your metabolism because after an hour, your body goes into overdrive and burns a lot more calories at rest than doing a half hour of activity on a daily basis. SOOOOO, the conclusion I have found for you is that you should NOT cut back on cardio if it's calories you are trying to burn. The faster the heart rate, the more the calories burned, keep it steady. If you increase your weight training, and decrease your cardio, you may burn more calories at rest, but you will also build more muscle faster than you burn fat which will make you bigger at first and then have to keep at it for a longer period of time than you would if you were doing a more intense cardio, or a longer cardio workout. My suggestion, just add ten minutes to your cardio or do your cardio with light weights in your hands, like maybe a pound or two in each. Yes, I'm an exercise buff, I know what works, and what works fastest. Hope it helps. OH and keep in mind, everybody is different, so do what you feel works for you, experimenting with different forms of exercise and different amounts of time put into it is really good for you.
Just wanted to point out one thing that often gets overlooked in calorie burning discussions. Common knowledge around here: when you do heavy weight training, to the point of near total muscle fatigue, you do micro damage to the muscles, and over the next two days or so, your body repairs this damage, tearing down the damaged muscle and replacing it with new, stronger tissue. What gets overlooked is that this repair process burns a LOT of calories (don't remember any exact numbers). I notice the day or two after a really heavy workout that I get really hungry, and my pulse rate is a little elevated, which I take as evidence that I'm coing major muscle repair. This effect will be greater if you've been working bigger muscles, and if you're not already really strong. Just another calorie factoid to consider.
Bluna - Yup, you are right! I like you also get more hungry! I worked LB really hard today and I am postive I will be starvin' tomorrow! I'll feed my muscles some extra protein and carbs (healthy though) to give it what it needs My pulse feels elevated tonight! I wonder if that is what it is from? Cool!
My pulse feels elevated tonight! I wonder if that is what it is from? Cool!in2aerobics
Active Member
HI. Just want to let you know, scientifically speaking, that exercise does not make you hungry. Because sustained activity increases your body's production of noradrenaline, a hormone that is a natural appetite suppressant. Intense exercise can increase your body's nonadrenaline to as much as five times normal levels, and the appetite-suppressing effects can last for as long as six or eight hours after exercise. Being ravenously hungry after exercising is all in your mind. What this means is that eating after a workout is a choice (a bad one), not an imperative. If you are quite hungry, maybe you need to workout longer. This is a scientific fact.;-) OH, but watch your caffien intake as caffien can actually induce cravings that are often interpreted by your brain as hunger. Hope that helps. You could however, as a source of muscle repair, eat some form of protien after strength training. Protien helps to heal the muscle and repair the damaged tissue.
You could however, as a source of muscle repair, eat some form of protien after strength training. Protien helps to heal the muscle and repair the damaged tissue.