Ever met a cardio bunny that sweats it out on the treadmill day in day out without any real noticable results?
I knew you had.
Whilst there's plenty of benefits to running and cardio training, another study adds to the evidence of the benefits of resistance for shredding the fat!
LIFT TO GET SHREDDED - GET OFF THE TREADMILL
This research examined 20 healthy men who did 20 minutes of weight training, and found they had less of an increase in age-related fat around their belly, compared to those who spent that time performing aerobic training.
But what happened when they combined both?
Well.......this led to the best fat loss results!
Lead author Rania Mekary says:
"Because aging is associated with sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass, relying on body weight alone is insufficient for the study of healthy aging...Measuring waist circumference is a better indicator of healthy body composition among older adults. Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass."
So there we go! Of course there is room for the treadmill, but not as your only source of physical exercise.
Cardio and both weight training COMBINED should be practiced by all of us to ensure the best possible body composition.
And these researchers didn't muck around - they studied the physical activity of of 10,500 aged 40 and over, between 1996-2008.
Now sure, there's always room for inaccuracies and this study was in people over 40 which is hard to apply to all of us.
But the fact remains - more muscle mass leads to a higher resting metabolic rate (2) so don't ever give up on those weights!
Another researcer, Frank Hu adds:
"This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity, especially among the elderly... To maintain a healthy weight and waistline, it is critical to incorporate weight training with aerobic exercise."
GREAT WEIGHT LOSS, FITNESS AND MUSCLE GROWTH WITH HIIT
Now of course, if you can't fit both in, then consider High Intensity Interval Training - which does sort of incoporate some resistance training (body weight) for workouts that only last 15-20 minutes.
If you haven't given this a go yet - you might be very impressed with the results!
But the take home message is simple - don't be a cardio bunny...lift weights and do cardio to ensure you get on track to your ideal body!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
REFERENCES
(1) Rania A. Mekary, Anders Grøntved, Jean-Pierre Despres, Leandro Pereira De Moura, Morteza Asgarzadeh, Walter C. Willett, Eric B. Rimm, Edward Giovannucci, Frank B. Hu. Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men. Obesity, 2014; DOI: 10.1002/oby.20949
(2) Speakman JR, Selman C. Physical activity and resting metabolic rate. Proc Nutr Soc. 2003 Aug;62(3):621-34.
NEED HELP WITH A CUSTOMISED DIET PLAN OR WORKOUT ROUTINE? FIT'N'FLEXED CAN HELP!
Author
Dayne Hudson