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The one lesson I wish I had learned years ago is that aerobics are not the only way to lose weight. Or that resistance training may be equally important when it comes to burning off fat.
Hmmmm. No wonder I was struggling with weight loss even though I spent hours on the stationary bike and treadmill. Yet for some reason my fat loss was more or less minimal to say the least. More of less limited to what you could say was "not so much".
So if you are laboring under the assumption aerobics are best for fat burning too maybe a second look is called for. To find out just where resistance training fits into the big picture here.
Yet haven't aerobic exercises always been touted for fat loss? For a couple of reasons. Aerobics are easy and not all that tasking compared to other options. And they're easy to understand. Hit your personal fat burning zone. Remain there for a duration of 35 minutes or so. And that's it.
And don't forget you can often distract yourself with TV, music or other types of entertainment when doing aerobics.
Alternatively, we'd rather not think of the stress and strain resistance training involves. I mean it involves lifting weights repeatedly for a specific number of times. Ugh! All the math involved gives me a headache. No wonder we prefer to stay in our aerobics comfort zone.
But maybe we should do a reality check however. You know to take a closer look at the list of benefits, as we've defined them, from cardio exercise compared to strength training.
When it comes to burning off fat here's how I see what cardio offers.
With any cardiovascular routine you will likely burn a few more calories than resistance training does.
Fewer calories are burned AFTER your cardio workouts stop however.
Plus you can't ignore the serious stress you're putting on your joints and the strain on your muscles unless of course you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
While the number of calories burned depends on the number of reps and amount of weight used, truth is you can burn about the same amount of calories you would with a decent aerobic workout.
But don't miss this. You will still burn calories - even as you sleep. That's because your metabolic rate stays elevated as your muscles repair and rebuild. We're talking maybe as much as 30% elevation for a long as 36 hours later.
You also have less overall chance of injuring yourself because when you workout your core and ab muscles you improve your overall coordination and balance.
Voila! So with resistance training you build fat burning muscles and also lose fat. What's not to like? Given this now what you should do?
Well for one you don't want to go overboard and ditch your cardio routine after reading this. No, the sensible thing is to combine low intensity aerobics with moderate weight training. Because aerobic activities offer their own health benefits.
They build up your lungs and heart helping them to work more efficiently.
Aerobics help your blood circulate better.
They work to get you to a better overall level of fitness, endurance, and stamina.
They can help speed repair of muscle tissue damage resulting from your strength training workout.
Okay so what takeaway should you be getting here? Simple. You're better of following a comprehensive program of resistance, cardio plus improve eating habits which will combine to lead to a leaner, fitter you.
Hmmmm. No wonder I was struggling with weight loss even though I spent hours on the stationary bike and treadmill. Yet for some reason my fat loss was more or less minimal to say the least. More of less limited to what you could say was "not so much".
So if you are laboring under the assumption aerobics are best for fat burning too maybe a second look is called for. To find out just where resistance training fits into the big picture here.
Yet haven't aerobic exercises always been touted for fat loss? For a couple of reasons. Aerobics are easy and not all that tasking compared to other options. And they're easy to understand. Hit your personal fat burning zone. Remain there for a duration of 35 minutes or so. And that's it.
And don't forget you can often distract yourself with TV, music or other types of entertainment when doing aerobics.
Alternatively, we'd rather not think of the stress and strain resistance training involves. I mean it involves lifting weights repeatedly for a specific number of times. Ugh! All the math involved gives me a headache. No wonder we prefer to stay in our aerobics comfort zone.
But maybe we should do a reality check however. You know to take a closer look at the list of benefits, as we've defined them, from cardio exercise compared to strength training.
When it comes to burning off fat here's how I see what cardio offers.
With any cardiovascular routine you will likely burn a few more calories than resistance training does.
Fewer calories are burned AFTER your cardio workouts stop however.
Plus you can't ignore the serious stress you're putting on your joints and the strain on your muscles unless of course you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
While the number of calories burned depends on the number of reps and amount of weight used, truth is you can burn about the same amount of calories you would with a decent aerobic workout.
But don't miss this. You will still burn calories - even as you sleep. That's because your metabolic rate stays elevated as your muscles repair and rebuild. We're talking maybe as much as 30% elevation for a long as 36 hours later.
You also have less overall chance of injuring yourself because when you workout your core and ab muscles you improve your overall coordination and balance.
Voila! So with resistance training you build fat burning muscles and also lose fat. What's not to like? Given this now what you should do?
Well for one you don't want to go overboard and ditch your cardio routine after reading this. No, the sensible thing is to combine low intensity aerobics with moderate weight training. Because aerobic activities offer their own health benefits.
They build up your lungs and heart helping them to work more efficiently.
Aerobics help your blood circulate better.
They work to get you to a better overall level of fitness, endurance, and stamina.
They can help speed repair of muscle tissue damage resulting from your strength training workout.
Okay so what takeaway should you be getting here? Simple. You're better of following a comprehensive program of resistance, cardio plus improve eating habits which will combine to lead to a leaner, fitter you.
About the Author:
Do not forget to check out other articles about workouts like jumping rope found at MeltOffTheInches.com. Because if you don't know the rope jumping benefits then you don't know what you're missing. That site is where those who want solutions to problems with losing inches go for help.
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