What is better to burn fat, weights or cardio?

It is very likely that if you were to ask that you choose to burn fat , cardio or weights, would opt for the first option , i.e. the cardiovascular exercise . However, the answer is not as simple as it seems and today we clarify the reasons.

Cardiovascular exercise to burn fat right away

Cardiovascular exercise is a type of aerobic exercise, i.e., is a kind of exercise in which more calories instantly burn, especially if training at moderate intensity is, since a higher percentage of fat is used and not so much glycogen, as fuel.

Also keep in mind that you are likely to use some application that tells you the number of calories burned during your training. Beware of these data, usually these are approximations, which often have values ​​higher than your body has actually burned, the “false” impression that you have burned more calories than actually burned.

Lifting weights as an exercise for long-term fat burner

Chances are that a routine of weightlifting, the calories you can get to burn are not too high , since it is an anaerobic exercise , and therefore glycogen is the main fuel used for realization, instead of fats.

However, it is necessary to take into account the COPD (Excess oxygen consumed post-training) that starts to work after each workout. During the EPOC state the oxygen consumption increases (compared to the pre-weight period), and therefore, the energy expenditure too, using more calories (mainly fats) during that period. It is necessary to take into account that to consume each liter of oxygen is used about 5 Kcal approximately.

This comment does not make weightlifting a better exercise than cardiovascular exercise. In fact, it is also possible to raise COPD by performing cardiovascular exercises, in particular if we perform HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) we can also raise it much more than with moderate cardio.

Muscle: the origin of everything

Analyzing the above might seem that doing cardio is achieved burn more fat with weights, but there is determining which still have not talked factor, muscle, because depending on the amount of muscle that your body has will burn more fat without having to do anything else the rest of the day. This is based on that the basal metabolism of a person is directly related to the amount of muscle you have that person. In order to understand, a person weighing 80 kg with 10% fat have higher basal metabolism that if she weighed 80 kg but with 20% fat, that is far  more muscle you have higher will be your basal metabolism , Being the weightlifting a more effective tool in front of the cardio to gain muscle

Finally, we must also take into account another factor, the fitness of the individual, which will determine that more or fewer calories are burned when performing an exercise. For example, a person who starts in the cardio, with a status so low, burns more calories than when you go getting in shape. This implies that each time you will have to run more distance or faster to burn the same calories, as your cardiovascular fitness improves your body will adapt and burn less.

In short if you are looking to burn fat at a specific time, moderate cardio may be the best option. On the other hand if you are looking to burn fat more effectively and lasting the weights would be the most correct option. However, it is best that you go to a specialist; he will be the best advising you on your particular case.