If you’ve ever believed this fallacy in conventional wisdom: “Do cardio if you want to lose weight and weight train if you want to grow big muscles,” this post is for you.
If you’ve been paying attention to social media and the internet in general over the last few years, there has been a major narrative switch. We’re seeing more and more people preach weight training as the optimal form of exercise for weight loss, but is that true? How does that work?
In this article, I’m going to take a deep dive into how strength training alone can help you lose weight, the science behind it, and how you can optimize your workouts to maximize your results. So if you’re ready to get off the cardio train and and take a different approach to weight loss and body composition changes, listen up, because this article will be eye-opening.
The Science Behind Weight Loss
The first step to answering this question is to understand how strength training can result in weight loss. Most of us are aware of what it takes to lose weight. We need to burn more calories than we’re consuming. Pretty simple, right? And we know that cardio workouts like running, biking, and swimming have the potential to burn a lot of calories.
So where does that leave weight training?
Weight training or resistance training doesn’t burn as many calories during the workout as cardio, rather the afterburn is where we reap the benefits. During your strength training workout, your body experiences micro-tears in your muscle fibers. When the workout is done, your body immediately gets to work repairing those tears and building your muscles.
The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest. So while you aren’t going to see as high of a number on your watch for calorie burn (this is wildly inaccurate, by the way!) as you would had you done a cardio workout, trust that the calorie burning will still be in effect.
More muscle will create a higher metabolism. The higher and more responsive your metabolism, the more calories you will burn just being alive. The more calories you burn, the more calories you can consume and not gain body fat because your body will put those calories to work as FUEL to maintain your muscle.
4 Key Ways Strength Training Contributes to Weight Loss
Let’s talk about 4 ways that strength training can contribute to weight loss:
1. More lean muscle = Higher calorie burn
Strength training will help you build muscle. Muscle tissue is far more metabolically active than fat tissue which means it burns more calories, even at rest. As you increase the amount of muscle you have, your body will naturally burn more calories throughout the day which will lead to more fat loss over time. In contrast, cardio doesn’t promote muscle growth, therefore you won’t have the opportunity to increase your metabolism.
2. The afterburn effect
You won’t burn a ton of calories doing traditional strength training exercises during your actual workout, but you will experience what we refer to as the “afterburn effect.” This is the phenomenon where your body continues to burn calories after your workouts as it repairs and rebuilds muscle tissue. This process can increase your overall calorie burn for hours or even days after your workout. In contrast, the calories that you burn during your cardio workout pretty much end there. Furthermore, our bodies are very efficient at adapting to the cardio stimuli which means over time your body will begin to burn fewer calories during your cardio workout as it gets used to the exercise.
3. Fat loss vs weight loss
Strength training helps us to drop not just weight (which includes everything from fat, muscle, and other tissue) but specifically body fat. We don’t want to lose muscle mass, we want to lose body fat. Muscle is what gives our body shape and that “lean, toned” look we’re seeking. If you’re strength training throughout your weight loss journey, you’ll be sending a very strong signal to your body that you want to keep your muscle (you need it to perform the exercise that you’re consistently doing) so your body will leave your muscle alone and pull from body fat stores. Doing a cardio-only routine could result in the loss of muscle mass which will slow your metabolism and contribute to the “skinny fat” look. For a leaner, more toned physique you need to prioritize keeping and building your muscle mass.
4. Hunger management
This is a very important factor when it comes to weight loss. Cardio tends to create hunger – we’re burning a lot of calories at once, which tends to increase hunger, which in turn can make adhering to your calorie deficit challenging. Weight training, on the other hand, doesn’t burn so many calories in a short period of time, which allows our bodies to utilize our calories more efficiently. In general, we don’t feel such hunger extremes when prioritizing weight training vs cardio.
So, Can You Lose Weight By Just Strength Training?
Yes, you can lose weight by just focusing on strength training for your workouts, but you must keep these three very important factors in mind:
1. Nutrition is KING
The driver of your weight loss is your nutrition. You must be in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. Your workouts will be the passenger in your car – there to support you but not the one behind the wheel. A balanced diet that’s high in protein will help fuel your workouts, build and maintain muscle, and promote fat loss.
2. Progressive Overload is a Must
If you want to maximize your fat loss, you should be thinking about the principle of progressive overload. Progressive overload is increasing your training volume over time so that you are continually pushing yourself and challenging the muscles within the same exercises. This will require that you follow a program for at least 4-6 weeks at a time (yes, you will need to do the same exercises each week, this is how you get the best results). Progressive overload can be found in many forms such as increasing the amount of weight you lift or the reps or sets you do to performing the exercise with better form or at a slower tempo.
3. You Must Be Consistent
We’ve all heard that consistency is key, but this is especially true when it comes to weight loss and body composition changes. Choose a plan that works for your schedule and be consistent with it. Even 30-minute strength training workouts are super effective.
Weight Training Workouts To Get Started:
Below, you'll find 30-minute weight training workouts that are designed for women – to sculpt our most desired muscle groups.
Should You Still Include Cardio?
Yes, cardio is still an important part of your overall health and fitness, so it shouldn’t be completely eradicated from your lifestyle. That being said, your approach to cardio might be a little different. Traditionally, when we think cardio we think of intense running, cycling, or HIIT classes, but you can get a great cardio workout in without being drenched in sweat and totally exhausted after.
I like to recommend LISS cardio (low-intensity steady-state cardio) to my clients. LISS can be any cardio activity you enjoy that gets your heart rate up a tad, but not to the point where you can’t breathe or speak. My favorite form of LISS cardio is an incline treadmill walk or a hike outdoors.
Don’t put too much pressure on cardio, 1-2 intentional weekly sessions and a daily step goal between 7-10k are a great place to start.
Final Thoughts
Weight training when paired with a calorie deficit will lead to weight loss, but not just that, it will help you to lose body fat while maintaining your muscle mass. This approach to weight loss will keep your body healthy, strong, and shapely.
If you’re someone who previously thought that intense cardio was the only way to lose weight, this article should come as great news. Cardio is wonderful and it certainly has its place, but it’s not a requirement for weight loss. The only requirement is a calorie deficit, but by adding in a consistent, strategic strength training routine, you will build the healthier, strongest version of yourself.
