The Big Fitness Question: Cardio vs Weights

The big fitness question: Cardio vs Weights

One of the most often asked questions within the fitness world is cardio vs weights – what’s a better workout and which should I be doing to reach my fitness goals?

It’s not a simple question to answer, both offer so many benefits both physically and mentally so it can be tough to make a decision on which area of exercise to focus on during your time in the gym.

Related: What Should My Cardio Fitness Levels Be?

What are the benefits and negatives of cardio workouts?

Cardio workouts have so many benefits, not only are they fantastic for fat burning but they also help to increase heart and lung function.

The main benefits include:

• High calorie burn, this form of workout has a much higher burn during the whilst cardio session is being carried out
• Can be scaled according to fitness levels, for those who don’t want a high intensity session they can workout at a lower level and still burn that fat
• Unlike weight lifting, cardio workouts don’t need rest periods instead the workout can be carried out all in one go
• There are tonnes of different cardio workouts that you can do, unlike weight training cardio can be varied and a range of workouts completed

If you are trying to decide whether cardio or weight lifting will help you to achieve the level of fitness you want, it’s worth understanding the ‘cons’ that cardio has, bearing in mind that any effort to exercise and improve your fitness levels is a step in the right direction! Some of the downsides to cardio include:

• It is difficult to create a well-balanced physique with just cardio, therefore if you want to tone and create muscle just cardio workouts won’t cut it
• As running is one of the most common forms of cardio it is often favoured over other workouts, which is known to cause problems with injuries and strains
• Cardio can be difficult for extremely unfit people to get into at first too, however once they start to exercise regularly this isn’t a problem

What are the benefits and negatives of weight training?

Weight training is one of the best ways to tone and tighten your body, by adding these kinds of sessions into your workout you can build a stronger and leaner body. Weight training is on the rise, with many fitness obsessives favouring the workout over cardio.

Some of the main benefits include:

• Weight lifting is great if you want to quickly increase muscle mass, after a short period of time your amount of muscle mass will increase significantly
• Ideal for people who are severely unfit, weight training can be easy to get into and build on as your fitness levels increase
• Unlike cardio, weights offer a higher and more sustained metabolic rate, after working out your metabolism stays at a high rate for a longer period of time than it does with cardio
• Fat loss and increased muscle mass occur at the same time, again, unlike cardio weight training means that your muscle mass is increasing and fat cells are being burned simultaneously

There are some downsides to weight training however, which you should consider when weighing up the pros and cons of cardio vs weights.

These include:

• Weight training offers a lower calorie burn rate than cardio, if you are looking to burn those calories and fat cells then you might be more suited to cardio
• Misleading market – there are lots of ‘experts’ out there who offer advice on weight training however, some of this information can be misleading and lead to injuries or unsuccessful workouts with little to no results
• Hunger pains will increase when you add weight training into your workout, so there needs to be a plan in place for meals otherwise you could end up eating the wrong things

What’s the best option for me?

Most fitness gurus recommend a combined approach when trying to achieve the body of your dreams.

The positives of both cardio and weights can’t be ignored, so don’t let the debate get in your way too much – add in a cardio and weight training section into your workout and you’ll see the results most of us are looking for.

Combining cardio and weights means that you are altering your workout and introducing a high fat burning session alongside a muscle toning and building exercise – great for those who are looking to create workouts that are well rounded.

We would always recommend consulting a professional’s opinion on how to maximize your workout too, to avoid injuries.

About We R Sports

At We R Sports we offer high quality fitness and gym equipment for those who want to maxmise the results they see from their workouts. If you need some weight training or cardio accessories, we can help.

Simply browse our online store or call our team on 015 3626 8088 and we’ll be happy to answer any of the questions you may have.