If you’re trying to burn fat, why not do it in a way that has you working smarter rather than harder.
Most people automatically assume that cardio is better for fat loss and weights are better for building muscle.
In a way, this might be true if you compare traditional steady-state cardio to traditional weight training, but there are different forms of weight training that incorporate very effective new training techniques that may be far more beneficial for fat loss.
So, if you’re the type of person that wouldn’t mind burning fat faster with less effort than, continue reading because you’ll learn a couple surprising new ways that you could lose fat way faster with both cardio and weight training models.
You will fully understand which one is best for you and your goals.
So, let’s start first by taking a closer look at cardio and weight training at their core.
Traditional Cardio Workouts
Traditional cardio is usually performed on a treadmill and stair-climber or a bike or even on a rowing machine.
When we talk about traditional cardio, we are mostly referring to steady-state long duration cardio where you’re continuously repeating the same low to moderate intensity motions like jogging, biking, or swimming for an extended period of time.
Most traditional types of cardio are forms of aerobic training.
Aerobics training primarily involves using oxygen to sufficiently meet the body’s energy demands during exercise.
Traditional Weight Training Workouts
On the other hand, traditional weight training is where you lift a heavyweight load for a certain amount of reps before taking a break and then repeating that for more sets.
That’s considered more of an anaerobic activity with anaerobic training.
Oxygen alone can’t supply enough energy to meet the demands placed on the body, so glycogen from the muscles is primarily used to fuel the activity.
The Myth of the Fat-Buring Zone
You’ll be burning more calories for each session of cardio than weight training for about the same amount of effort.
But does that mean that cardio is better for fat loss?
Let’s take a closer look.
For a long time, it was believed that to burn the maximum amount of fat you have to stay in what was known as the fat-burning zone, which mostly could only be maintained through aerobics cardiovascular activity.
The idea behind the fat burning zone was that you would burn a higher percentage of fat calories rather than carb calories when you stayed at about 70% of your maximum heart rate.
, and this made sense to most people because once an activity became too intense, the pathway for energy would change over to anaerobic and it would begin primarily burning glycogen or carbs for fuel rather than using fat oxidation.
However, it’s been proven that the fat-burning zone is a myth.
This because both types of training, aerobic and anaerobic can burn plenty of fat.
What About Higher Intensity Workouts?
Also, you can burn more calories from a higher intensity workout.
If you do anything above 70% of your maximum heart rate, you might be burning a higher percentage of carbs, but you’re also burning more overall calories because your heart rate is higher, and the activity is more intense.
So even if you have a smaller percentage of fat coming from a larger overall number of calories, you can still wind up burning more fat.
This is very easy to understand.
Take 50% of a smaller number like 500, which is 250.
Then take 30% of a larger number like 1000, which is 300.
Here you see, just because you’re burning a higher percentage (50%) of fat from lower intensity exercises (500) like steady-state cardio doesn’t mean that you’re burning more fat.
On top of that research has shown, that even though cardio will typically burn more calories per session than weight training, you burn more calories in the hours and sometimes days following a weight training session.
Weight training will also build much more muscle than cardio and muscle is directly linked to your resting metabolism.
If you have more muscle, you’ll have a faster resting metabolism allowing you to burn more calories during rest over time.
Cardio takes advantage when it comes to calories burnt minute by minute. However, weight training has the advantage of calories burnt over time.
That’s why high-intensity training focus on the perfect balance between cardio and weight training.
Proof by Duke University
Duke University conducted an experiment over the course of eight months in which they tracked 119 overweight, normally inactive volunteers while they performed either weight training, cardiovascular activity, or a combination of the two.
The results:
- The cardio group: on average they lost 4 pounds of fat
- The weight training group: on average they gained 2 pounds of lean body mass and lost no fat.
- The cardio & weight training group: they had the best ratio of fat to lean body mass. On average, they also decreased their waist measurements more than the cardio-only group.
PHA (Peripheral Heart Action) Training
So now, what to do? PHA style training is one of the best high-intensity training routine styles.
Not only will this form of PHA make you burn way more calories from your workout but it will also challenge your muscle strength as well as its endurance.
An example could be the following.
You might do a barbell front squat for 10 reps and then immediately do 10 reps of standing military presses.
Then take a break.
When you do the squats, your heart is pumping blood to your legs and then when you immediately switch over to the presses, it has to pull all that blood right back up to your upper body.
This causes your heart rate and your breathing rate to skyrocket, allowing you to burn more calories in less time.
You can also combine an anterior and a posterior movement.
Anterior refers to the front part of your body and posterior refers to the back part, so you may combine a chest press with a row or a front squat with a deadlift.
Another thing you can do is combine each weighted exercise with a cardio exercise that concentrates on the same muscle groups. For example, you can do 10 reps of squats followed by 45 seconds of high knees.
Great PHA Workout Routines
Conclusion
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