Should you run or lift weights to burn fat faster?

Answer 1

Weight loss through exercise is mainly about getting and keeping your heart rate up.

And pretty much all kinds of consistent activites, like running, bicycling, swimming, dancing etc etc does a better job of keeping your heart rate up than lifting weights does.

But to use up calories you need something for that use to happen in, and that means muscles.

If you're starting from pure couch potato, a bit of weight training will give you more muscle, and make it possible for you to burn more calories through that.

Keep in mind though that the big thing in weight loss is your diet. If you are overating it's pretty much impossible to exercise hard enough to lose anything that way. A snack that takes 5 minutes to eat, like a cupcake, can take one hour to burn off.

Answer 2

You should do both. People typically are most successful at burning fat when a proper diet is combined with regular cardiovascular and resistance exercise. Lifting weights allows you to increase your muscle mass, which in turn leads to an increased metabolism at rest. Only doing cardio (especially with low amounts of protein) can cause the breakdown of your own muscles, making your resting metabolism lower.

Answer 3

Cardio is better, b/c it provides a more sustained increase of your heart rate, which use up more calories

But weights aren't all bad.

With a bit more muscle mass, you'll be able to use up calories faster, which can help with overall weight loss.

Answer 4

I always lift first. I would be too tired afterwards to lift properly.

Answer 5

You burn more running. They are very different exercises because running is aerobic while lifting is anaerobic. Both should be included in an exercise plan though.

Answer 6

lifting weights isn't really getting much of a cardio workout like running is but your working your muscle groups.

Answer 7

Depends on what your doing weight lifting builds lots of muscle and burns a fair amount of fat but running builds little muscle but make you lose a lot of weight.

Answer 8

Cardio Will burn more calories.