Cardio vs. Weights for Weight Loss

It's a common belief that the more cardio you do, the more calories you'll burn and thus the more weight you'll lose. Now to a degree, this is true. However, as soon as you step off the treadmill, your body stops burning calories. With LISS cardio (low intensity, steady state), you only burn calories when you're actively completing the exercise. Examples of LISS cardio are walking/running on the treadmill at the same pace, using the stair master at the same pace, and stationary bikes. This type of cardio is great to have as a part of your routine, but I wouldn't consider it the most effective type of cardio for burning calories.

HIIT, high intensity interval training, is one of the most effective types of cardio and doesn't require you to walk on the treadmill for a half an hour. HIIT is a combination of body weight/light weight exercises done one after the other with little break in between to maintain a high heart rate. When doing HIIT workouts, you can spend less time (20 minutes or less) doing these exercises and burn more calories than a 30 minute+ LISS cardio session. Why? Because of the high intensity, your body burns more calories for a longer period of time. Even after you've finished yout HIIT session, your body is still burning calories. As I mentioned above, as soon as you step off the treadmill you stop burning calories.

Now where do weights come in? Lifting weights has a similar calorie burning effect as HIIT, meaning long after your workout is done your body is still burning calories. So not only do weights allow you to burn calories after your workout, weights allow your muscles to grow and get stronger. The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you'll burn naturally. This is because increased muscle mass increases the speed of your metabolism.

The take-away: A healthy mix of both cardio and weights is the most effective way to burn calories and ultimately, lose weight and burn fat. Focus less on the LISS cardio, and put your energy more towards weight training and HIIT cardio sessions. LISS is still a good way to get exercise, so don't feel like you need to stop doing it entirely. I do my LISS after weight training so I can give the majority of my energy to lifting and building my muscle mass. Try to incorporate 2-3 HIIT sessions a week to maximize your fat burning potential.