For decades, exercisers performed cardiorespiratory (aerobic) exercise to burn calories and stimulate fat loss. A bout of cardio generally does burn slightly more calories than a bout of strength training. But this is an incomplete picture. For the rest of the day after we perform cardio, we actually burn less calories all day long (this is due to a reduction in “Energy Expenditure due to Physical Activity – EEPA – we move, fidget, and walk less after we do cardio and thus, we burn less calories all day long).
Strength training, on the other hand, burns MORE calories after the bout of exercise.
Here is the current state of the science:
- “As opposed to other exercise modalities such as aerobic exercise, resistance exercise confers greater efficiency for weight management due to its significant impact on metabolism.
- By increasing fat free mass, the individual burns more calories in and outside of the gym due to increases in resting metabolic rate.
- A 20-minute strength training workout burns approximately 200 calories.
- Research demonstrates a 246 calorie per day increase in basal metabolic rate (calories you burn when you aren’t working out) following 6-weeks of strength training.
- 72 hours after a strength training workout, resting calorie expenditure is still elevated by 5% (about 100 calories per day compared to baseline).
- “Overall, resistance training is highly effective for weight and metabolism management.”
Take home message:
Exercise (in general) is NOT a great way to lose weight or fat. If you are utilizing exercise to lose fat, choose strength training over cardio. Cardio is fantastic for stimulating cardiovascular disease risk mitigation benefits (hence, we named it cardio 🙂), but not for weight loss. If you really want to lose weight, focus on diet/calorie intake.
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