Is Weight Loss As Simple As "More Cardio"?

Is weight loss as simple as “more cardio”?

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I hear two statements more often than almost anything else:

#1 - I need to burn more calories during my workouts

and

#2 - I kill myself during workouts so that I can eat whatever I want

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In regards to the first statement, there is a LOT of misinformation out there about “cardio” and “getting your heart rate up” in order to burn more calories and lose more weight. This leads people to do all sorts of crazy exercises and circuits, bouncing around between random exercises to try to set the high score on their FitBit. While this may seem like you are making progress, you end up:

• Not getting very strong because you lift an insignificant amount of weight

• Usually doing a bunch of exercises that at best - look cool for Instagram or at worst - can cause injuries

• Not building muscle

• Burning some calories while you workout but then nothing for the other 23 hours of the day

   

Instead, if you were to focus on real strength training (where you do anywhere from 3 to 8 reps of a movement with good technique and adequate rest between sets), your Apple Watch may not say you burned as many calories during the workout, but you will:

• Get significantly stronger

• Create more resilient joints and eliminate common aches and pains

• Gain lean muscle mass, which in turn helps you burn more calories all day, every day

   

Trying to rely on cardio to lose weight is like day trading in the stock market. You have to put in a lot of work every single day and stay on the hamster wheel in order to see marginal changes on the scale. Most people burn out because of the vast amount of work it takes.

However, strength training is like long-term retirement investing. By building lean muscle mass over time, you not only look more “toned” but also get compound interest since your new muscle tissue is metabolically active all day (aka allows you to burn more calories every day).

I do want to make sure I clarify - cardio is not bad! In fact, it’s extremely important for heart health and key to living a long and healthy life. It’s just not the most effective way to lose weight if that is your goal.

Whatever your goal may be, I’d love to help. Reach out and we can get started today.

Keep creating consistency,

-Austin Bates