For burning fat, strength training is better than cardio

By Tanya Yousif

According to Melissa Boyd in an interview with Insider.com, a certified Personal Trainer and Head Coach, resistance training such as lifting weights, doing push-ups, pull-ups, or lunges, can lead to better results for burning fat and gaining muscles.   

“The benefits of strength training just make everything in your life easier,” Boyd said to Insider.com.  

Lanna Block works at Movati Gym in Windsor and is taking the Health and Fitness Promotion course at St. Clair College. She said strength training is more effective than cardio.  

“When you’re doing strength training, you’re doing more intensity, and it’s doing a lot more muscle building, and it’s easier to build calories because you’re doing more intensity than we’re doing cardio,” said Block.  

In her opinion, when you’re doing cardio, it’s a little bit harder to improve the intensity throughout the workout because you would have to change the velocities while you’re doing it.  

She would recommend strength training because you’re doing a little bit more of an intensive workout so you’re able to burn muscles faster. It also helps you be more goal specific.   

“When you’re doing cardio, it’s harder to say exactly where you’re really pushing your body to its limits,” said Block. “When you’re doing strength training, it’s easier to push your body to its limits. Different bodies need different methods of working out. So generally, you would take a BMI test, and then you’d go off from there, and then you’d also see how many calories you would have to be taking in. There are a lot of things that go into play with that.”  

She added that a lot of people say they don’t have a lot of time to work out.   

“It’s where you are, where your goals are, and where you want to be,” said Block. “So it’s more like a mindset. It’s where you want to be for yourself.” 

Liana Berlin said she sometimes works out at home and at Movati Gym. In her opinion, strength training beats out cardio because when we do cardio, we tend to lose some muscle.   

“Building muscle is important because it will decrease your fat percentage in your body,” said Berlin. “You need to burn your fat and build muscle for a permanent result. So, it’s more likely you don’t get fat fast because your body has more muscle than fat.”  

Berlin said she works out four to five days a week every day for 45 minutes to one hour. She thinks it depends on whether the training is right for the person or not.   

Nadiya Michael is a stay-at-home mom who works out at Movati Gym.  

She said cardio burns fat quickly at the same time you do the exercises. These exercises are recommended because they prevent chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes.   

“Strength training exercises burn more calories even after exercise, and calories gain muscle,” said Michael. “The larger the muscles, the faster the fat burns and gives great shape to the muscles. Ultimately, your weight is healthy and free of harmful fats, which is not achieved by cardio exercises. “ 

According to mayoclinic.org, it is recommended to do at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. 

If someone doesn’t have time to go to the gym, Michael advises people to exercise at home or even in a small room because you will feel great, improve blood circulation, nourish the mind and heart, calm the nerves and enhance self-confidence.   

Lack of exercise can lead to health problems, including heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure, according to cdc.gov.