Gym-Cardio or Fat burn?

schumacher

Am trying to lose weight. I go to the gym a few times a week. Whats better to do on the machines-cardio or fat burn?

rubadub

Lifting weights really helped me lose fat, but not necessarily "weight". I was 12stone for over a year, losing fat and gaining muscle at the same rate. Bear in mind that muscle only takes up 1/3 the volume as fat. Also the muscle goes on "in the right places". I am actively trying my best to build big muscle, lifting heavy weights, but to look at me you would not guess I lifted at all. i.e. women you would find it even harder to get big, let alone "too big".

Say you lift 3 times a week, 60mins. Now say you burn 400kcal in those sessions. All during the week your body is trying to build new muscle, this means it uses calories!, even when sitting around the next day you are using calories to build muscle. AND you need more calories just to maintain this new muscle. You can sort of compare it to being pregnant, you need more caloires to "build" the new tissue- i.e. the baby. Then just to keep the foetus/muscles warm and alive it takes more calories. Also muscle needs more calories to maintain it than fat. So a muscular 15stone man lying in bed needs more calories than a 15stone fat man.

Now you could have just ran 3 times a week for 60mins, burning maybe 500kcal in the hour. BUT on your days off you do not reap all the advantages that lifting will bring, on the calorie side. Also being stronger will help in your daily life, for women it helps against osteoporosis and other things too.

As you get older you loose muscle if you are not active, your metabolism drops. If you are starting out at say 30, then you are just building up the muscle you once had in your teens.

I am moving this thread to fitness where it will get a better response.

cowzerp

Cardio at high intensity burns more fat than the so called fat burn zone, train as hard as you can and eat right and as rudabub said, do weight training too to maximise results..