Calorie to Calorie, Cardio vs. Weight Training?

by Carol Cowden

One of the hottest topics in fitness today is what exercise will burn more fat and drop more inches cardio or weight training. I know what you are thinking right now obviously cardio burns more calories and without a doubt you are absolutely, Wrong! Calorie to calorie, pound to pound weight training will burn more calories and drop more inches than cardio.
How many of you have spent countless days and hours on the elliptical, treadmill and bike and do very little to no weight or resistance training? Have you seen progress or have you hit a plateau and does it seem like no matter how hard you work you can't seem to drop anything. I guarantee that you personally know someone who has been taking an aerobics class or spin class for over a year and they look exactly the same as they did when they began. They have probably even said to you, "I don't understand it; all this hopping around for an hour, three times a week and nothing is changing!" All they need to do is start lifting weights and they will have greater success. (Please don't sick your aerobics instructor on me.)
In truth, drop your cardio in half then double the time you are spending on the weight room floor and I guarantee you that you will begin to see a transformation almost immediately. During cardiovascular activity we burn calories as we are walking, running or on the elliptical but as soon as we step off our bodies return to normal metabolic rate fairly quickly. With weight training however when we walk out of the gym we are still burning calories at a high rate because it skyrockets our metabolic spike for an hour or two after a workout and continues to stay eleveated for 24-48 hours after! This is becuase our bodies are trying hard to help our muscles recover. Without building muscle you will have a harder time burning body fat, our body fat is only burned in the muscle. The more lean body mass we have (aka muscle) the more calories our bodies burn, even at rest! For example one pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day compared to one pound of muscle which can burn about 50 calories a day. Think of our muscles as a fireplace. The more we weight train and strengthen our muscles the hotter our fireplace will burn, the hotter it burns the more body fat disappears and the closer we get to reaching our goals!
For anyone that is looking to lose weight, sculpt your body, fit into that new dress, or just feel better about your image you may want to think about switching your exercise program to contain more weight training. Results are quicker and more visible. The results will stick by building more lean body mass and eliminating our percentage of body fat!
If I had to recommend one activity a day I would absolutely choose weight training. It can help you reach all of your health and fitness goals while toning, tightening, strengthening and even giving you a cardiovascular workout. It is the best of both worlds. If you ask me you are killing two birds with one stone!