An Honest Look at Weights Vs. Cardio Workouts for Beginners

August 25, 2018 ChrisB fat loss, weight loss, workout

When I decided it was time to take off a few pounds I had to come up with a plan. Eating less and doing more was an obvious necessity however there are so many options to “move more” that it took some thought to create a plan that is not only physically manageable but also one that matched my personality so that I was able to keep with it over an extended period of time.

Weights or Movement for Weight Loss.

Weight training or strength training is based around building muscle whereas cardio, for the most part, is focused on fat loss. They both have their perspective advantages, the trick is to understand them and use whichever will provide you with the results you are looking for.

Loosing Weight with Weights:

Depending on the source you might have heard that weight training will not help you loose fat, that weight training is the fastest way to loose reach your goals, or that it is one of the most efficient options for exercise. There are two aspects of strength training that stand out to me: the ability to retain more muscle while in a caloric deficit and the efficiency in regards to the time requirement when compared to cardio.

What exactly is Weight Training?

As defined by Mirriam Webster weight training is a system of conditioning involving lifting weights especially for strength and endurance.

By this definition I would say any movement(s) that include the use of a weighted object could be considered strength or weight training. When you think of weight training I am sure thoughts of large, intimidating machines first comes to mind. With the definition however can you not say that calisthenics (the use of body weight exercises) such as chin-ups and push-ups can fall under this category? After all, it does not define what the weight has to be, just that it needs to be utilized for strength and endurance.

Beginning with Weight Training

When starting out with anything it is advisable to go light at first. Building up your body to anything it is not accustomed to is just good advice. There is nothing wrong with those one or two pound dumbbells. If you’re only capable of benching the fifty-pound bar it is always better than sitting on the couch with a bag of chips.

I personally am beginning to dabble into the realm of weight training. I decided initially to put my energy into cardio; the reasoning and my rationale will come a little later in this article. When I began, not that long ago, I was doing thirty sit-ups and ten pushups along with a few other exercises. Some may argue that push-ups and sit ups are not weight training. When you are as out of shape as I am, trust me, they are. Weight training, as defined earlier, does not define what weight you are lifting. If the act of pushing yourself off of the floor using only your arms puts strain on your muscles to force them to tear and become stronger then that, to me, is weight training. Keep one thing in mind when getting into shape, you are not up against the models you see on television, you are not even up against that guy you see running in the park every Saturday. You are only up against yourself. If you see improvements then it is a win!

Cardio for Weight Loss

There are a lot of complex concepts that explain cardio, but simply put cardio is any activity that gets your heart rate up and increases your rate of respiration for an extended period of time. Running, jogging, swimming and cycling are all activities that provide a cardiovascular workout.

Definition

: used, designed, or performed to cause a temporary increase in heart rate

A cardiovascularworkout

Advantages of Cardio for weight loss

Cardiovascular exercises have many benefits for anyone trying to get into better shape. This style of workout will build stronger hearts and lungs, has been shown to increase bone density and can offer a lower amount of physical stress on your body when compared to weight training. While there are arguments on both sides it also goes a long way towards weight loss if that is your main goal.

Getting started with Cardio

Starting out with cardio can be very simple. Depending on what shape you are in a brisk walk might be all you need for a cardiovascular workout. Applying the above definition, any activity that will increase your heart rate can be considered cardio. Are you into nature or perhaps enjoy the outdoors? If this sounds like you hitting a hiking trail, going for a jog along the beach, swimming and cycling are all excellent forms of cardiovascular exercise.

When it came time for me to loose some weight my exercise routine of choice has nearly always been cardio, cycling predominantly. When I was overweight by more than fifty pounds my number one concern was injury. I decided to always start with this style of exercise for two reasons: One, I was incapable of prolonged weight training due to my size, and two, the longer I stayed active the more calories I would burn. I used to live on my bicycle. Three or four times a day I would go out for half an hour to forty minutes riding my bike along the road, up a rocky path or speeding through one of many paved parks in my area. When I was younger this worked excellent! I lost somewhere around forty pounds that summer, and I never felt better. Over time the weight crept back into all the same old crevices. I found myself again, a little older and even more out of shape.

Time to hop on the old bike again. What worked before will work again, I thought. Riding for one to two hours a day, five days a week sure showed some results but it came at a cost. Inside of three months of continuous abuse my knee decided to start giving me problems. Eventually I had to succumb to the idea that I couldn’t just ride through the pain this time. This led to a month or two of recovery, in which time I was pretty well inactive.

Cardio was great for me, and might be great for you. This did have one major drawback however, time. When I was in my late teens I was able to devote nearly my entire schedule to activities pertaining to weight loss. Now, as I sit here in my thirties with a family and a full time job (not to mention this website) I cannot offer myself the same schedule I once did.

Transitioning or Combination training

Let’s be honest here, both weight training and cardio have tremendous advantages for anyone looking to loose weight. It comes down to what suits you best. If time is a concern of yours, working with weighted objects provide a very efficient workout and build muscle while loosing weight so long as your diet is in check. Strengthening your heart and lungs is also very valuable. We may not have to run from predators anymore, but being able to run long enough to catch your bus is still a very valuable trait.

Looking back on everything now I most likely would have been better to do a combination of the two. When you build muscle it both increases your resting metabolic rate (the amount of energy you burn at rest) and allows you to carry the fat you do have in a much more attractive manner. By contrast, cardio will allow you to increase the longevity of the activity and therefore burn more fat during the workout.

If you are someone who is trying to make a change to their body the best advice I can give is try doing something, anything. Be it a brisk walk at lunch or a hundred pushups when you first wake up, after you do this you will see how your body reacts to the stress and you can choose to continue, adapt or alter your plan as you go. The best guide for any goal is results. If you are not seeing results you want, change what you are doing.