It’s been a long standing debate in gyms all around the world – which is better, weights or cardio. There is a lot of discussion surrounding this, so I thought it would be best to settle the argument once and for all!
First things first
Now when people are asking ‘weights or cardio’ typically they’re talking about losing weight, which is what 90% of people who go to a gym mainly wants to do. So let’s look at it from that stand point.
First off, as I’m sure you’ve all heard countless times, the way we lose weight (Or bodyfat) is purely and simply by being in a calorie deficit which is eating less calories than your body is using. It doesn’t really matter what exercise you do, as long as your total calorie intake is less than the amount you’re using you WILL losing bodyfat.
So from that, it doesn’t actually matter if you do weights or cardio, as long as you’re in a calorie deficit it doesn’t really matter!
Second things second
Now let’s delve a bit deeper into this.
Typically, weight training is more intense than cardio and uses a lot more effort and energy so on average you can end up buying more calories in a good weights workout as opposed to a cardio workout.
Also, weight training can help boost your metabolism better and more importantly builds muscle which not only burns more calories compared to fat just to maintain itself, it also makes you look better too!
So if I HAD to choose between weights or cardio for fat loss when we assume that your calorie intake is controlled? I’d have to say weights, for the reasons above.
Third things third
But its the to say that cardio should be cast aside altogether? Absolutely not!
Cardio is definitely a great fat loss tool, it just doesn’t tend to use as many calories as weights on average. The health benefits of cardio are crucial to optimising our health too (Particularly when it comes to our cardiovascular system) AND better cardio means you can go for harder and longer in whatever workout you’re doing. Rubbish cardio means a low work capacity, which isn’t good for anyone.
Final thing final
So in summary, prioritise weights over cardio for optimal fat loss and overall body composition (How you look basically), but still include a good amount of cardio in your training schedule.
Either do your cardio after your weights workout (Or weights exercises first if you’re mixing the two together in a circuit) or space them apart by at least 6 hours to ensure you can get the most out of both. Obviously in the real world this isn’t always possible, but it’s good to follow these guidelines.