Weight Training vs Cardio

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Weight management really comes down to controlling hormones. There are so many people out there with screwed up hormone profiles that it is no surprise why they cannot lose weight. Add to the fact that their nutritional habits are atrocious. and when they exercise all they want to do is core, machines, and cardio. Overweight people finish marathons all the time. I have seen many people with great aerobic development but a lackluster physique. This tells me that the cardiovascular system does NOT play an important role in fat loss. For people with high blood pressure, cholsterol, heart disease etc, I think it has fantastic benefits. I also think there are structural adaptations that occur during cardiovascular work that is unparalleled in other forms of training. Most notable, the decrease in ventricular wall thickness. Cardio has been getting a bad rap lately, but I think it has to do with “experts” trying to increase their visability and credibility more than anything.

So what do you do if your trying to lose weight?

I think the best way to lose fat is by weight training. I am not talking about circuit training on machines because I cringe just thinking about it. I been there done that, and there are much better ways. When people really say they want to lose fat they really mean they want to put on muscle. There is really no way around it, if you want to lose fat, you must increase your metabolism. To do that you must lift heavy weights! Lifting weights has effects on hormones that aerobic training cannot even compete against.

Weight Training

Pros – increases lean body mass, increases strength/power, increases fat burning hormones like adrenaline, and testosterone, decreases cortisol, strengthens contractions of heart.

Cons – more difficult to perform movements, increases blood pressure.

Cardiovascular Training

Pros – heart health, increases circulation and blood flow to aid recovery, increases stamina/endurance.

Cons – increases oxidative stress & inflammation, weakens immune system, increases cortisol a stress hormone, decreases testosterone your muscle building hormone, decreases power.

To end this post here is a great video on hard work and some motivation…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i3g-RvC-iA&feature=player_embedded]

Resources:

Cadore EL, Lhullier FL, Brentano MA, da Silva EM, Ambrosini MB, Spinelli R,
Silva RF, Kruel LF. Hormonal responses to resistance exercise in long-term
trained and untrained middle-aged men. J Strength Cond Res. 2008
Sep;22(5):1617-24.

Nadine Skoluda, Lucia Dettenborn, Tobias Stalder, Clemens Kirschbaum, Elevated hair cortisol concentrations in endurance athletes, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 Sep 22.