If you have stumbled upon this blog post, it is safe to assume that you want to lose weight but are confused between cardio and weight lifting. Both forms of exercise offer unique benefits and play different roles in a fitness routine.
In this blog, we will examine the pros and cons of each to understand which is more effective for your weight loss goals.
Let’s begin!
Cardio exercise, also known as aerobic exercise, is a movement or activity that increases your heart rate into your target heart rate zone. This zone is where the most fat and calories get burned.
Some of the common examples of cardio workouts are walking, cycling, and swimming. Even household chores, like vacuuming and mopping, also fall under the category of cardio exercise.
Now, cardio training is of different types. Here are some of the common ones.
Before we move forward, you must understand the meaning of the term “maximum heart rate,” as we are going to use it multiple times in this blog.
MHR is the highest number of beats a heart can pump per minute when it’s under high stress, whether physical or under other conditions. To check MHR, you can use the maximum heart rate calculator. The number varies according to your age, height, and weight.
This training involves intensities of around 40% to 60% of the maximum heart rate.
These are generally slow, continuous, and easy exercises, like walking and cycling, that go over 40 minutes.
Individuals who are just starting with cardio should go for this type of training.
This kind of cardio training involves work done at around 70% of max HR. It’s harder than low-intensity, long duration, and cannot done for long, usually between 20 to 40 minutes.
High intensity, short duration gets done at around 80 to 85% of HR max. It is a very demanding form of training that lasts 10 to 30 minutes.
The primary purpose of cardio is to strengthen the immune system, heart, and lungs. So, here are some exercises that you should perform on a regular basis-
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Cardio exercise helps in reducing stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins which is a happiness hormone. The release of endorphins improves mental health, boosts the mood naturally, and reduces depression.
Cardio exercises help the body sleep better, reducing stress, and providing better oxygen and blood to the cells, which helps strengthen the immune system. Also, it decreases the chance of getting any infections and chronic diseases.
As the supply of oxygen gets increased, it leads to respiratory and cardiovascular systems, which in turn makes the body efficient in performing more physical activities. It improves lung health, strengthens the heart and other muscles, and decreases the chance of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity.
Combining cardio with a balanced diet will help in the weight loss journey. Cardio exercises help in burning calories and improving overall health. By doing regular activities like swimming, climbing stairs, skipping rope, and cycling, you will see a change in the body.
Cardio helps in improving stamina and overall endurance. By doing this regularly, individuals work out for a little longer, which helps with weight loss and increased stamina.
The cardio exercise involves a lot of movement of the joints. Whether it is cycling and stair climbing or swimming and aerobic dance, the movement of joints is happening. People with bad knees find it really helpful as it causes less stress on the body.
The cardio exercise involves a lot of repeating, which may lead to stress fractures, sprains, and strains, and to reduce the risk, it is necessary to perform a warmup and have a proper form.
Performing cardio excessively can lead to burnout both physically and mentally, which in turn results in problems in maintaining a consistent routine.
Although this form of exercise has multiple benefits for the body. But if you are already a heart patient, it is advisable to avoid intense workout sessions and perform under medical supervision.
Cardio turns the body into a caloric deficit state, and for fueling, muscles become the source, which in turn results in the loss of muscles.
Weightlifting is the act of lifting weights in the form of dumbbells, barbells, or weight machines like plate-loaded kits to increase strength and muscle mass. The primary goal is improvement in muscle definition, size, or symmetry.
Sometimes, it is incorporated into aerobic exercises to increase the heart rate during a cardio session. Along with contributing to functional strength, it focuses on body aesthetics. Additionally, it can increase power and enhance general health.
These are the common weightlifting exercises that are helpful in gaining strength and muscle mass.
While losing weight, muscle mass also reduces, and to maintain that, weightlifting exercises are mandatory. Start including weight training in your fitness routine for muscle strengthening.
Regular weightlifting helps in strengthening the shoulder, back, and core. Your body will start gaining muscle, strength, and posture, which will help you sit and stand more upright.
Weightlifting helps improve the range of motion, strength, and mobility of your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, which in turn helps increase strength around the knees, hips, and ankles and reduces the risk of injuries.
It increases bone density and stimulates bone growth, which is essential for preventing fractures and bone-related diseases like osteoporosis. People who are at risk of bone-related disease should start weightlifting or doing training exercises.
Weight training helps keep legs and core muscles healthy and prevents imbalance. With increasing age, it assists individuals from the risk of falling, stabilizing the feet and correcting any physical imbalances.
Every type of exercise requires a little warmup to prevent injuries. Take some time to prep muscles and bones before you start hitting the gym. For weightlifting, warming up is necessary as muscles are not ready to hold the heavyweight, and not preparing them may lead to severe injuries.
Before lifting any type of weight, it is crucial to understand the technique of weightlifting. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, make sure you have a proper form and technique to prevent injuries.
Many gym goers see fitness trainers and try to copy them without having knowledge of the form, which may lead to injuries in shoulders, knees, and elbows as these are the injury-prone areas and handle the most amount of weight.
Overtraining is one of the disadvantages of weightlifting if you are working at high intensity without taking any breaks or slowing down in between, and it will result in persistent soreness, heavy muscles, an increase in tension, anger or confusion, an inability to relax, and poor quality sleep.
Flexibility varies from person to person. Although there is a chance of improving but, certain factors like age, previous injury, and genes may affect it. So, to get rid of tight muscles, which is a sign of heavy weightlifting, you should start post-workout flexibility exercises.
Regardless of the form of exercise you choose, the primary motive is weight loss and gaining muscle strength. So here are some tips that will help you get the most out of a workout routine.
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Depending on the person’s history, age, exercise preferences, and motivation, the form of exercise may vary. Each exercise has its potential advantages and disadvantages.
Both cardio and weightlifting will help you become more fit. Cardio burns more calories and improves cardiovascular health, and weightlifting helps build mass. And, a HIIT session will reduce calories in fewer minutes.
The main thing is the movement of the body in a way that helps you complete your fitness goals. So keep your body fit and maintain a balanced diet to keep your energy up.
To prevent injuries and enhance performance, warming up is necessary. Your body has not been in any sort of movement for a long time, so warming will help in joint movements, blood circulation, and nutrient delivery to muscles. It will also help in increasing body temperature and boosting flexibility.
All types of exercise or regular physical activities, like brushing or getting up for a glass of water, burn calories. If you prefer strength training, it will reduce the fat mass and build muscle mass, whereas if you pick cardio, it will burn fat and improve heart health, along with managing blood pressure.
The answer is yes. It reduces stress and provides better oxygen and blood to the cells, which helps strengthen the immune system.