A complete exercise program addresses not only resistance training but cardiovascular training as well. Proper balance between these two basic forms of exercise is essential to your training success.
The major issue you will need to take into consideration when balancing your cardio with your weight training is your primary training goal; if you're training to lose fat, your balance is going to be very different than if you're trying to gain muscle or if you're training for a specific sport.
Consistent weight loss depends on your creating a calorie deficit diet and exercise plan, regardless of the type of exercise you choose. The best exercise regimen for you is one that meets your health needs and that you can stick with long-term.
Training to Burn Fat:
If you're training to lose fat, you're going to need to do more cardio than someone who is training to gain muscle. A good starting point is 3 times per week, 20 to 30 minutes per session. If you are already doing cardio training longer periods of time for low or moderate intensity cardio is recommended, between 30 to 45 mins per session 4 times a week. Weight training 3 times per week should be sufficient to maintain and even build muscle mass.
With fat loss, your primary goal should be burning calories while sparing as much muscle as possible. Since you're most likely eating fewer calories, your body is not going to be eager to add muscle, therefore it's best to focus on keeping what you've got. Any muscle you may add is just a bonus!
The type of cardio training you do will have a tremendous impact and the frequency at which you can do it and still get the results you want.
Low-Intensity Cardio:
The low intensity cardio workout is mainly about duration and resistance rather than intensity. Low-intensity cardio training, such as walking or slow cycling, can be done practically every single day (even several times a day) for longer periods of time. This type of training is very easy for your body to recover from, regardless of your body type and your goals. It will have very little negative impact on muscle gain and can help you burn calories for fat loss. Low-impact exercises improve your general fitness and assist with weight management without the high risk of joint injury due to excess stress on the joints.
Moderate-Intensity Cardio:
Moderate-intensity cardio training, such as jogging or swimming, will need to be done a little less frequently. This type of training requires more energy both to perfom and for your body to recover from. A person trying to lose fat can generally perform four to six moderate-intensity sessions per week at around 20 to 30 minutes each. A person trying to gain muscle should reduce this amount to two to three sessions per week.
High-Intensity Cardio:
High-intensity training is the toughest of the bunch but can actually net you the greatest and fastest results. High- intensity training is exemplified in activities such as sprinting and interval training. If you've ever had a coach make you run up and down hills, you've done high-intensity cardio. Basically, anything that you do as hard as you can for a short period of time could be considered high-intensity training. In fact, intense weight training with short rest periods is very good for cardio capacity.
High-intensity training is extremely effective for fat loss as it not only causes you to burn a lot of calories during the activity, it also raises your metabolism for a long time after the activity is done. This type of hard training should be done less frequently than the more moderate forms of cardio as it is much harder for your body to recover from. If you are training for fat loss, you should do at least two but no more than four high-intensity cardio sessions per week. If you are training for muscle gain, once or, at the most, twice per week should be the limit.
Examples of Cardio types:~Low-intensity cardio: walking, slow cycling/stationary cycling, elliptical trainers, gliders, and pedal exercisers.
~Moderate-intensity cardio: jogging, swimming, power walking, biking, hiking, step aerobics, and moderate cross-training.
~High-intensity cardio: sports, singles tennis, running, cycling hills, swimming laps, high intensity interval training (HIIT), plyometrics, and intense cross-training.
Weight Training
The value of weight training as a weight-loss tool is two-fold. Building metabolism-boosting muscle mass is one advantage of resistance training. Weight lifting promotes lean muscle mass, which will permanently increase your metabolism. What weight training will enable you to do is build up a larger degree of lean muscle mass, which then basically serves as your calorie burning powerhouse in the body.
You will burn calories during strength-training sessions, although not as many as you burn during cardio. The significance of weight training as a calorie-burning activity is what takes place after you've put the weights down for the day. You continue burning up to an additional 10 calories per hour for up to 36 hours after a weight-training session, as a result of a temporary increase in metabolism. That's high compared to the typical burn of 40 to 80 calories after a moderate-intensity aerobic session. Weight training 3 times per week for about 30 to 45 mins per session should be sufficient to maintain and even build muscle mass.
Truce
Both cardio and weight training are useful in establishing the negative calorie balance necessary for weight loss. Cardio without strength training leads not only to fat loss, but also to the loss of lean muscle tissue. Weight training without cardio builds and maintains muscle mass, boosts stamina and strengthens bones, but doesn't provide the level of cardiovascular benefits you get from aerobic exercise. Perform both and you get the best of both worlds: cardiovascular endurance, reduced risk for certain chronic diseases, stamina, muscle retention, healthier bones and weight loss.
Food Factor
Monitor you diet carefully. If you eat more calories than you burn, you're going to gain fat and muscle. For the best results, cut your daily caloric intake by 250 to 500 per day. Exercise alone, whether cardio, weight training or both, will enable you to lose a moderate amount of weight, if you don't increase your caloric intake. However, to achieve more substantial weight loss, combine your exercise regimen with a moderate reduction in calories
References:
Read more @ LiveStrong.com - What is better for weight loss cardio or weight training:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/390272-what-is-better-for-weight-loss-cardio-or-weight-training/#ixzz1osJJ5Tyg
BodyBuilding.com - Information, Motivation, Supplementation:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru23.htm
The major issue you will need to take into consideration when balancing your cardio with your weight training is your primary training goal; if you're training to lose fat, your balance is going to be very different than if you're trying to gain muscle or if you're training for a specific sport.
Consistent weight loss depends on your creating a calorie deficit diet and exercise plan, regardless of the type of exercise you choose. The best exercise regimen for you is one that meets your health needs and that you can stick with long-term.
Training to Burn Fat:
If you're training to lose fat, you're going to need to do more cardio than someone who is training to gain muscle. A good starting point is 3 times per week, 20 to 30 minutes per session. If you are already doing cardio training longer periods of time for low or moderate intensity cardio is recommended, between 30 to 45 mins per session 4 times a week. Weight training 3 times per week should be sufficient to maintain and even build muscle mass.
With fat loss, your primary goal should be burning calories while sparing as much muscle as possible. Since you're most likely eating fewer calories, your body is not going to be eager to add muscle, therefore it's best to focus on keeping what you've got. Any muscle you may add is just a bonus!
The type of cardio training you do will have a tremendous impact and the frequency at which you can do it and still get the results you want.
Low-Intensity Cardio:
The low intensity cardio workout is mainly about duration and resistance rather than intensity. Low-intensity cardio training, such as walking or slow cycling, can be done practically every single day (even several times a day) for longer periods of time. This type of training is very easy for your body to recover from, regardless of your body type and your goals. It will have very little negative impact on muscle gain and can help you burn calories for fat loss. Low-impact exercises improve your general fitness and assist with weight management without the high risk of joint injury due to excess stress on the joints.
Moderate-Intensity Cardio:
Moderate-intensity cardio training, such as jogging or swimming, will need to be done a little less frequently. This type of training requires more energy both to perfom and for your body to recover from. A person trying to lose fat can generally perform four to six moderate-intensity sessions per week at around 20 to 30 minutes each. A person trying to gain muscle should reduce this amount to two to three sessions per week.
High-Intensity Cardio:
High-intensity training is the toughest of the bunch but can actually net you the greatest and fastest results. High- intensity training is exemplified in activities such as sprinting and interval training. If you've ever had a coach make you run up and down hills, you've done high-intensity cardio. Basically, anything that you do as hard as you can for a short period of time could be considered high-intensity training. In fact, intense weight training with short rest periods is very good for cardio capacity.
High-intensity training is extremely effective for fat loss as it not only causes you to burn a lot of calories during the activity, it also raises your metabolism for a long time after the activity is done. This type of hard training should be done less frequently than the more moderate forms of cardio as it is much harder for your body to recover from. If you are training for fat loss, you should do at least two but no more than four high-intensity cardio sessions per week. If you are training for muscle gain, once or, at the most, twice per week should be the limit.
Examples of Cardio types:~Low-intensity cardio: walking, slow cycling/stationary cycling, elliptical trainers, gliders, and pedal exercisers.
~Moderate-intensity cardio: jogging, swimming, power walking, biking, hiking, step aerobics, and moderate cross-training.
~High-intensity cardio: sports, singles tennis, running, cycling hills, swimming laps, high intensity interval training (HIIT), plyometrics, and intense cross-training.
Weight Training
The value of weight training as a weight-loss tool is two-fold. Building metabolism-boosting muscle mass is one advantage of resistance training. Weight lifting promotes lean muscle mass, which will permanently increase your metabolism. What weight training will enable you to do is build up a larger degree of lean muscle mass, which then basically serves as your calorie burning powerhouse in the body.
You will burn calories during strength-training sessions, although not as many as you burn during cardio. The significance of weight training as a calorie-burning activity is what takes place after you've put the weights down for the day. You continue burning up to an additional 10 calories per hour for up to 36 hours after a weight-training session, as a result of a temporary increase in metabolism. That's high compared to the typical burn of 40 to 80 calories after a moderate-intensity aerobic session. Weight training 3 times per week for about 30 to 45 mins per session should be sufficient to maintain and even build muscle mass.
Truce
Both cardio and weight training are useful in establishing the negative calorie balance necessary for weight loss. Cardio without strength training leads not only to fat loss, but also to the loss of lean muscle tissue. Weight training without cardio builds and maintains muscle mass, boosts stamina and strengthens bones, but doesn't provide the level of cardiovascular benefits you get from aerobic exercise. Perform both and you get the best of both worlds: cardiovascular endurance, reduced risk for certain chronic diseases, stamina, muscle retention, healthier bones and weight loss.
Food Factor
Monitor you diet carefully. If you eat more calories than you burn, you're going to gain fat and muscle. For the best results, cut your daily caloric intake by 250 to 500 per day. Exercise alone, whether cardio, weight training or both, will enable you to lose a moderate amount of weight, if you don't increase your caloric intake. However, to achieve more substantial weight loss, combine your exercise regimen with a moderate reduction in calories
References:
Read more @ LiveStrong.com - What is better for weight loss cardio or weight training:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/390272-what-is-better-for-weight-loss-cardio-or-weight-training/#ixzz1osJJ5Tyg
BodyBuilding.com - Information, Motivation, Supplementation:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru23.htm
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