As a personal trainer, I get asked this all the time, and sometimes I think the real question behind this is…what is the easiest way to lose weight?
Cardio and burning fat seem to go hand in hand right? Low-intensity cardio is usually the first port of call for most people who want to lose weight. People make the decision to lose weight and promptly proceed to dust off their tekkies or fight the cobwebs in the garage to take out the old mountain bike.
But to burn enough calories to really make a difference, takes a long time – at least an hour a day. (Remember – you can NEVER “out exercise” a bad diet, it’s 70% what you eat and 30% exercise)
Cardio and burning fat seem to go hand in hand right? BUT, who these days can afford spending two hours in a gym everyday? Also, only doing cardio will definitely help you lose weight, improve your overall health, heart health, lower blood pressure etc. but you also lose muscle.
So is there an alternative? Studies (and experience) shows lifting weights and HIIT training can actually be better than cardio at burning fat than cardio.
Here’s an awesome video I found that explains the science it much better than I could.
With my clients, I like to combine HIIT, resistance, body-weight exercises and a bit of cardio. I find that with HIIT the results do tend to come sooner than with just weight training. We do a lot more, in a lot less time.
So there is some food for thought – let me know what you think and if you have any questions!
Best of luck with your fitness and health goals,
Nico
Nico Mentz is a personal trainer and fitness coach in Fourways (Sandton)