Will Resistance Training & Cardio Help Me Lose Fat?
Question:
I get about four-five miles in everyday from running. Speed and length varies because sometimes I run then walk, or sometimes I run and take a long break by walking. Either way, I usually end up with an average of 4.5 miles in 60 minutes. I have done this for the last two weeks and 6 days per week (taking one day off). Today, I did twenty minutes of cardio (step-machine and cycle) and for 1.5 hours, I did resistance training. I heard that doing cardio only doesn’t promote fat loss as fast as doing cardio and resistance. If this is true, should I do cardio one day and resistance the other? Or should I do 30 minutes of cardio and thirty minutes of resistance all in one day?
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One Response to Will Resistance Training & Cardio Help Me Lose Fat?
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The fastest way to lose fat is to build muscle. Each pound of lean muscle burns about 40-50 calories per day at a resting metabolic rate. 10 lbs of muscle will burn 400-500 calories. 20 lbs of muscle will burn 800-1000 calories. The results are in inches/fat lost.
To build muscle you want to do high intensity resistance training. High intensity does not mean spending hours in a gym getting an intense workout and it doesn’t mean working out really hard so the sweat’s dripping down your face. It means doing roughly 8-10 reps with a level of resistance that challenges you enough so that it takes a significant amount of effort to complete that last rep. Then rest for about 30 seconds and move to the next muscle group. Workout out every major muscle group like this 3x times a week like Mon, Wed, Fri and then rest two days. You do not have to spend hours in a gym to effectively build muscle and you don’t even need weights.
I highly recommend resistance bands. They are considerably cheaper than weights, not to mention portable. If you get the kind with the clips on the end, you can easily customize the resistance level as your body adapts. That will prevent you from plateauing and will keep your muscles challenged.
Here is some more information on where you can get free muscle building workouts. There are new workouts posted Mon-Fri. There are also toning, cardio, pilates, workouts for teens and sports specific workouts. All of it’s free.
http://LiveExerciseOnline.com/free-workouts/