For most people, it’s one of their main resolutions: Lose weight and exercise more. But when it comes to weight loss, what’s the better solution–aerobic exercise or resistance training?
According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in December, they investigated just that–something that left many weightlifters sour-faced.
In the study, which examined how aerobic exercise and resistance training affected weight loss for overweight and obese people, lead author Leslie H. Willis. M.S., an exercise physiologist at Duke Medicine, found that resistance training alone wasn’t good for weight loss–it actually resulted in weight gain. But for those who chose aerobic exercise instead, weight loss was a guarantee.
For most people, the conclusion seems obvious: If you want to lose more weight, get on the treadmill. And even study co-author Cris A. Slentz, Ph.D. agrees.
“Balancing time commitments against health benefits, our study suggests that aerobic exercise is the best option for reducing fat mass and body mass,” says Slentz. “It’s not that resistance training isn’t good for you; it’s just not very good at burning fat.”
However, it’s not such an obvious conclusion as Duke researchers want you to believe, as other studies also show that aerobic exercise can do bad things for your metabolism.
Why Aerobic Exercise Isn’t Good for Weight Loss
While Duke researchers claim that aerobic exercise may be the best way to keep weight loss high, the reality of it isn’t that simple–and a previous Penn State study backs up this theory.
In the study, in which the effects of aerobic exercise and strength training were tested yet again, researchers found that dieters lost an average of 21 pounds regardless of which exercise they performed. For those who chose aerobic exercise, however, where they lost these pounds turned out to be a negative thing, as they lost six pounds of it from their muscle.
On the contrary, those who did resistance training lost almost all of it from their fat stores, resulting in a lower body fat percentage.
Better yet, losing less muscle means a higher metabolism, as muscle mass increases the rate of fat burning.
“Strength training is the number-one way to build more muscle,” says Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., C.P.T., a celebrity personal trainer from Los Angeles. “And for every three pounds of muscle you gain, you can expect to burn an extra 120 calories a day without moving a single one of those muscles.”
So while doing aerobic exercise alone may result in a lower number on the scale, in the long term it means you’ll have a slower metabolism and more body fat–two factors that can make it hard to get lean. The best solution: To get fitter in 2014, resistance training should be a part of your weight loss strategy.
As for the best ways to get in a daily bout of resistance training, there are innumerable ways to do it–such as lifting weights, using resistance bands, or even joining a resistance training gym, such as Crossfit.
Readers: Do you do resistance training? Why or why not?
Sources:
Aerobic Exercise Better For Weight Loss (Study) – ScienceDaily.com
What’s Best for Weight Loss: Strength Training or Cardio? – FoxNews.com
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