This seems to be an ongoing battle as to whether weights or cardio is for fat loss. People in each camp throw mud at the other with statements such as "cardio makes you fat", " weights make you bulky" or "cardio wastes muscle away leaving you skinny fat."

Here are some pros and cons of each one

Weights

Pro's-
- Builds muscle to sculpt the body
- Strengthens bones and joints helping prevent different types of
arthritis
- Boosts immune system

Cons
- Can be more demanding on the nervous system leaving you exhausted
- Poor technique can lead to muscular imbalances and injury if not addressed
- Higher risk of injury with lack of coaching

Running
Pros
- Great for the cardiovascular system
- Helps clear the mind and improve memory

Cons
- High impact, long distance running can cause damage to joints
- Causes greeter oxidative stress on the body
- Body adapts very quickly to cardiovascular training meaning that progress stalls faster

So balancing these pros and cons which one really is better for fat loss?

The answer may surprise you. The act of weight training actually mobilises fat around the body which is very good. However in order to eliminate the fat circulating the body we then need to do a low level of cardio to flush it out.

Different approaches will work best depending on how time rich or time poor we are.

A time restricted person who only trains for 1 hour, 2/3x a week, the sweet spot for them would be 40 minutes of weights and a slow and steady 20 mins of uphill walking or on the X trainer.

For the time rich individual training 4-6x a week. Weight training 4x for 60 minutes. On separate days Cardio whether it be HIIT (high intensity interval training) for 20 minutes or LISS (low intensity steady state) for 40 minutes would be best.

Bodybuilders/ fitness models whose soul purpose is the get as lean and muscular as possible will use several strategies. Some will weight train twice a day. Some will do fasted LISS in the morning and weight train in the evening. Some may even weight train and combine HIIT at the end of sessions. Many will cycle between all of the above methods.

For the readers of this newsletter the first option will be more appropriate.
Combining both weights then cardio is without a doubt the most effective way to burn fat.

Yours in health

Patrick Fallis