Anyone who has been in the fitness world runs into the question about weight loss quite a bit. People want to know the best way to lose weight or the fastest way to lose weight.
Of course, the easiest answer is to always say “Burn more calories than you take in” and most people will be satisfied. But let’s dig deeper into that, shall we?
It goes without saying that it’s easier to take in calories than it is to burn calories, right? So, if we look at it that way, the natural progression for the next type of question would be “what is the best way to burn calories?” But if we are looking for a way to lose weight quicker, we want to look at ways to burn calories quicker, right?
Now, before I go on, I want to make sure it’s understood that I believe ANY kind of physical activity is better than NO activity, OK?
Let’s look at two basic kinds of workout activities, both of them are good for you. Both will make you fit and both are used by millions of people around the world. But remember our question… what is the FAST way to burn calories?
I’m sure I’ll catch some flack from this one, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I’ll give you mine.
The two activities are a cardio workout and a weights/resistance workout, so let’s compare the two in terms of calorie burning. If you give a solid, honest 1 hour effort for each workout, the weights/resistance workout will burn more calories. Not only that, but you will burn more calories when the workout is over for a longer period of time with this kind of workout as well.
But here lies the problem with the weights type of workout; most people, especially beginners, don’t give a true honest effort because it’s “too hard”. Another thing people do is spend WAY too much time between sets, which causes the actual workout to be longer. This longer workout is less appealing to people so they don’t continue this type of workout.
Then, their only option is the cardio type of workout, which is still a good workout. Again, I’m not knocking a total cardio workout, I’m just comparing which workout burns more calories quicker, get it?
If you want to ride the bike, walk, run, or do anything like that for an hour, I’m backing you 100%, and I’ll encourage you to do so.