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Every day, thousands of people are looking for ways to lose weight quickly and easily. It is no secret that training plays a very important role in losing weight and maintaining it. On this basis, the debate about which type of training is most effective for losing weight does not subside: cardio or strength training?

The Importance of Training
First of all, we need to understand why we need training. It used to be that it burns fat. But many studies and years have passed since then. Now any professional knows that training is just a waste of calories and a way to supplement your low physical activity. Simply put, with the help of training we spend calories and thus create a calorie deficit - the only fundamental condition for losing weight.

Cardio training
Many people talk about the importance of cardio training for weight loss, because it supposedly burns fat. This is not entirely true. Of course, the higher the intensity of training, the less fat the body uses, but with low intensity you get low calorie consumption and no metabolic response. That is, the body practically does not react to such a load and does not start a number of adaptation processes that themselves spend calories, as strength training does, but more on that later.

Classic low-pulse cardio burns mostly fat, but the subsequent contribution to calorie expenditure during the day is minimal. While strength training burns mostly carbohydrates.

Is there a difference? - For the average amateur dieter-beginner, no. You shouldn't bother with such trifles. Burning fat during training so that you change your appearance is science fiction. 8 km will give about 66 grams of burned fat, under ideal conditions and a low pace with pulse control. Of this, half will be water. 30 grams per 8 km. And this will give a visible benefit only with multiple repetitions and only against the background of a calorie deficit.

Strength training
Strength training activates many muscle fibers, provided the training program is correct, and this a priori, spends a lot of calories, much more than a regular jog. However, training this way is more difficult, because there is a risk of injury, adaptation to increasing loads, load balance and, most importantly, overload of the nervous system.

In addition, running 6 km in an hour at an easy pace will not be difficult for many people trying to lose weight, but training at 100% for 50-60 minutes with a minimum amount of rest between sets is a virtually impossible task for those wanting to lose weight, especially those with a large body mass or with zero experience in strength training.

However, strength training trains muscles, therefore, improves the figure. Jogging only spends calories, and strength training helps to increase muscle mass, which improves appearance and increases calorie expenditure, because muscles require energy even at rest.

Which is better?
The best option is to combine cardio and strength training. Don't divide the world into black and white. Cardio sessions are good for their ease and direct calorie expenditure. Strength training improves appearance, burns a lot of calories, helps normalize hormones, etc. It is the combination of the two types of training that will give the best result.

Direct calorie expenditure meant that cardio training does not have the effect of "afterburning calories", which in English sounds like Excess Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). So, after performing intense strength training, our body restores the oxygen debt and other resources, including muscle fuel, which leads to additional calorie expenditure. That is, we spend energy not only during training, but also during rest. Interval cardio has a similar effect, which can be considered a full-fledged strength training.

Light jogging and any other types of regular cardio do not have the EPOC effect, but at the same time they can be practiced often without the risk of overtraining. Cardio loads have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, do not burden the central nervous system and do not allow the body to adapt to strength loads, if we are talking about the presence of the latter.

Final Words

Cardio or strength? Answer: both types of training. A comprehensive approach to the training process will allow you to lose weight quickly and effectively, that is, while maintaining the result. You should not go to extremes and use only one type of exercise, as this is counterproductive.

For beginners, we recommend starting with two strength training sessions and one cardio session per week. More experienced athletes can try a scheme of 3 strength and 2-3 cardio sessions. If possible, do them on different days so that the body has time to fully recover. If this is not possible, then do a cardio session after a strength session, but remember: its duration in this case should not exceed 22-25 minutes. Do not create excessive stress with physical activity, otherwise you will worsen recovery and weight loss accordingly.