This seems to be an on-going debate in the fitness world. There are some that believe cardiovascular training is the best for weight loss. Yet others deem it unnecessary and lean on strength training for weight loss. Both sides agree that a healthy nutritional program is a must, of course,
I personally am on the side of BOTH. I feel that it’s a combination of cardio and strength training coupled with a sound nutritional plan that leads to the greatest weight loss success. I believe one should strive to be in the best overall shape possible.
I’ll attempt to illustrate the benefits of both. By doing so, I hope that one can see; if they are both productive, a healthy combination of both will be twice as productive.
As a personal trainer I prescribe a combination of both to all my weight loss clients. In fact all my sessions involve cardio training, muscular strength and endurance training; as well as, flexibility training(which I feel is also beneficial to weight loss).
Some of the benefits to cardio training for weight loss are:
-It helps you burn more calories in one sitting. Getting your heart rate up means your blood is pumping, you’re breathing hard, you’re sweating and burning calories.
-With many cardio exercises, you can burn 100 to 500 calories depending on how hard you work, how long you exercise and how much you weigh.
-Burning calories with exercise means you don’t have to cut as many calories from your diet.
You can do cardio exercise most days of the week without worrying about injury or overtraining.
Obviously there are benefits to cardio training for weight loss. Another added bonus is most anybody can do cardio anywhere with no equipment. You just have to get moving. I have personal training clients that walk in place while watching their favorite 30 minute sit-com.
Some of the benefits of strength training for weight loss are that it will:
-Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn all day long.
-Strengthen bones, especially important for women
-Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
-Help you avoid injuries
-Increase your confidence and self-esteem
As you can see, there are definite benefits to strength training as well. Not to mention building that lean muscle will help you to reduce the “saggy skin” a lot of people end up with after losing a substantial amount of weight.
I want to add one thing here. A lot of people are hesitant to begin a strength training program. They fear that they will get too big and bulky. That is simply not the way it works. Big and bulky weight-lifters and bodybuilders diet and train with the intention of adding that size and bulk. It’s a completely different strategy and topic.
Hopefully, you can see the logic here. If cardio is good for weight loss and strength training is good for weight loss; then a combination of the two should be GREAT for weight loss right? That’s the way I see it. 
I lost over 100 lbs in less than 6 months with a combination of cardio training, strength training and a healthy diet. GetRight! prescribes the same to all our clients. Each client receives an individualized program that fits them and their lifestyle.
Like I said in “The Secret To Weight Loss”, we are all different. Obviously there are people that have lost weight by doing only cardio. Others only did strength training and successfully lost weight. Some did it with just diet and no exercise. There are successes and failures on both sides of the fence.
In my opinion and based on my experiences and the success of the many that I have helped lose weight; the best option is the combination of both. It just makes sense to me. If you cover all your bases with a healthy nutritional plan, cardio training and strength training you have a much better chance at losing weight.
