One common question many people on a weight loss journey ask is, “which should I go for between cardio or weightlifting?”. They are two different activities that are often considered when an individual wants to burn more calories. Know more about which one your should follow Cardio or Weight lifting for more benefits to lose weight.

Cardiovascular exercise allows the body to burn more calories per meeting while weight lifting enables the body to consume more calories in the long run.

Cardio for Weight loss

Cardio also improves breathing rate and consumes calories quickly. Examples include cycling, swimming, moving, and running.

Scientists have researched the number of calories you burn during several activities. Based on these studies, you can use your weight to estimate the calories you burn during this exercise.

For most of these activities, you’ll burn calories based on your weight. For instance, if you weigh 150 pounds, you will burn close to 240 calories every 30 minutes of exercise at a moderate rate.

Weight lifting for weight loss

On the other hand, if you lift weights for 30 minutes, you’ll likely burn about 120 to 210 calories.

This implies that you’ll burn more calories every time you exercise than when you lift weights, after exerting the same effort.

Usually, a weight training workout doesn’t burn more calories than a cardio workout. However, it has important benefits.

For those who want to build their muscles, weight training is effective than cardio. Besides, muscle burns more calories than other tissues, with fat.

According to The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), vigorous exercise is any movement that requires the use of muscles consistently for some time. They characterize anaerobic exercise as extraordinary physical action for a short period, which uses energy from muscles contrary to the use of oxygen. Running and lifting weights are considered anaerobic exercises.

Weight lifting helps you to build up muscles, which makes digestion faster thereby burning fat eventually.

Unlike weight lifting, cardio has a less delayed result. Specialists often use “abundance post-practice oxygen utilization” (EPOC) to measure this impact.

Weight lifting normally cause higher EPOC levels than cardio, resulting in muscle breakdown. This means the body continues to use up calories even after completing a weight lifting exercise.

Anaerobic Activities that Consume the Most Calories

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that the following activities consume calories faster:

1.  Cross-nation Skiing

2. Jogging or running

3. Jumping rope

4. Football or soccer

5. Rollerblading or inline skating

6. Swimming

Regardless of the type of activity you picked, follow through with these safety tips to ensure they increase the effectiveness of your exercise.

1. Take frequent rests when engaging in a strenuous exercise

2. Don’t practice when feeling sick or weak

3. Take one step at a time; don’t rush the process

4. Wear the appropriate shoes and clothes for the type of exercise you are performing

5. In the case of any discomfort or fracture, stop TBD exercise immediately and seek medical attention

6. Lift light weights for a start, then progress later

Weight Training Can Help You Burn More Calories Every Day

Although a weight-training workout doesn’t burn as many calories as a cardio workout, it has its benefits.

When it comes to building muscles, weight training is more effective than cardio and muscle burn more calories at rest than some other tissues, including fat.

That’s why it is commonly said that building muscle is the key to increasing your resting metabolism; how many calories you burn at rest.

Weight Training and Metabolism

A study measured participants’ resting metabolisms during 24 weeks of weight training.

In men, weight training resulted in a 9% increase in resting metabolism. The effects on women were smaller, with an increase of almost 4%.

In men, resting metabolism increased by about 140 calories per day whereas, In women, it was only about 50 calories per day.

Keep in mind that weight training and building muscle won’t make your metabolism move up all of a sudden, but it may increase it by a small amount.

Studies have shown that you burn more calories in the hours following a weight training session than when you perform a cardio workout.

There are reports of resting metabolism staying elevated for up to 38 hours after weight training, while no such increase has been reported with cardio.

This implies that the calorie-burning benefits of weights aren’t limited to when you are exercising. You may keep burning calories after several hours and even days of performing the exercise.

For most types of exercise, a more intense workout will increase the number of calories you burn afterward.

Role of Diet and Exercise for Optimal Health

Whether you prefer cardio to weightlifting or vice versa to burn calories, exercise and a healthy diet are essential for optimal health.

Health organizations recommend changing both your diet and exercise routine to promote weight loss.

Exercise is not enough, as you still need to pay attention to your diet if you want to achieve success in your weight loss journey.

Studies have shown that the ideal program for long-term weight loss includes a reduction in calorie intake and a good exercise program.

Even though many people know the importance of a healthy diet for weight loss, some believe diet is the only thing that matters.

However, it’s important to realize that exercise is a great option too.

Study on Weight loss effects of without and without exercise

One scientific study including more than 400 participants examined the weight loss effects of diet and exercise, then compared them to the effects of dietary changes alone.

Results show that the combination of dietary changes including exercise led to 20% greater weight loss than dietary changes alone after a period of 10 weeks to one year.

Both cardio and /or weight lifting can help you become more physically fit and healthy.

However, a cardio workout burns more calories than a weight-training workout.

Conclusion

Your metabolism may increase for longer after weights than cardio, and weight lifting is better for building muscle.

Remember that the ideal exercise program for improving body composition and health includes cardio and weights.

Avoid both cardio or weight lifting if you have a serious bodily injury or health issue. Seek medical advice before trying to burn calories, if you have a chronic disease.