The strength versus cardio debate irks me endlessly — and as a personal trainer, I'm asked about it frequently. Which should you prioritize? My answer is always the same: that it entirely depends on what you enjoy doing and your fitness goals.
But, a common misconception I come across is that cardio is always superior to resistance training for burning fat. It looks like the research is onside with me, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis (scientific terms that basically mean assessing studies and analyzing data) published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Here’s exactly what the study found.
What is the study?
The research looked at aerobic exercise, resistance-based training, the combination of both performed concurrently, and the impact on body fat loss and mass. Individuals within the research were considered “metabolically healthy.”
They also assessed duration, timing (the same day or different days within a week) and something called “workload matching,” which means equating the workload between all three exercise variables — aerobic, resistance and concurrent training.
What are the results?
Perhaps surprising for some, the evidence suggests aerobic and concurrent training offer greater fat loss on average, but strength exercise can be just as effective at reducing body fat percentage.
For studies that lasted 10 weeks or more, aerobic training did better than resistance training for reducing body mass and fat mass; concurrent training (performing both) reduced significantly more fat mass than just resistance training; no big differences were found between the three modalities for body fat percentage.
In studies shorter than 10 weeks, when workloads were matched, similar fat mass, body mass and body fat percentage changes were observed. And this was the same between same-day and different-day concurrent training, when workload or volume was matched.
What does all this mean? The review concluded that there were no differences in the percentage of body fat loss (the proportion of your body weight made up of fat) between exercise modes, but aerobic and concurrent training are still more effective than resistance training alone in reducing absolute fat mass (the weight of fat tissue).
The evidence suggests aerobic and concurrent training offer greater fat loss on average, but strength exercise can be just as effective at reducing body fat percentage.
Significantly, resistance training didn’t impede fat mass loss when added into concurrent training regimes, so adding resistance training to your regime, either on the same day as aerobic exercise or on a different day, shouldn’t dampen your efforts.
Finally, in regimes shorter than 10 weeks, there’s no difference in fat loss between any of the three exercise modalities. That means you could combine both for fat mass reduction, but think about workload and duration.
Bottom line
As a personal trainer, my focus is on body fat percentage and body fat loss for overall body composition. How much fat you have compared to how much muscle you have will determine how lean you look.
In order to build lean muscle mass and reduce overall fat percentage, I always program resistance training as a priority; if my client enjoys cardio, I then add on separate days and encourage them to keep up a regular daily step count.
Remember, lean muscle mass tissue is more metabolically active than fat mass, and the more you have, the better your resting metabolic rate — say hello to more calorie burn even when you're not doing anything. It takes a lot of energy to grow muscle, after all.
The reason so many people focus on cardio for fat loss is that they’re thinking about the daily energy deficit, which means energy in versus energy out.
But cardio isn’t superior for building or maintaining muscle, so it’s important to include resistance training in your exercise regimen to help protect your bones and joints and preserve muscle as you get older, which should also help you burn more energy daily as you build and maintain said muscle.
It’s also worth taking a look at the research itself, as with all studies and reviews, there will be design flaws and exclusions. And with anything in life, balance is key; considering your lifestyle, sleep, stress and diet are all crucial to being happy and healthy.
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