Why cardio can be better than weightlifting - how to not to waste time with pointless exercise
Have you been told that weightlifting is the superior way to train?
Does your personal trainer or group fitness studio have you doing weights as a part of the training session?
Have you been promised that extra muscle will help you burn more calories and help you lose weight?
If so, then you have been lied to.
Time and place for everything (but not now).
See it is all a matter of perspective about whether weightlifting or cardio is better for you.
The thing that one has to sit back and ask is,
At what?
What is the benefit of the type of training that I am about to undertake?
See, cardio-based training and weight-based training have a time and a place to be programmed as a part of a training regime.
It just depends on the specific outcomes that you want.
So let's introduce you to a basic principle when it comes to exercise programming.
Specificity of training.
If you want to get better at guitar, you aren’t going to play piano now, are you?
No, it would be a pointless exercise.
But on the other hand, if you want to get better at the piano, then playing the piano would be an optimal course of action.
Clearly yes.
This mentality is the same when it comes to training.
Neither cardio nor weightlifting is inherently good, it just depends on the context in which you place them and your desired outcomes.
See, if a person wants to run a marathon, although taking them through some form of weightlifting routine would benefit them, the most beneficial exercise for their goal would be to continual bouts of running.
In the same way that if someone wants to squat 100kgs, then the best thing for their squat development will be to squat frequently with progressively heavier and heavier loads.
Both of these examples follow the principle of specificity of training and are the same as the guitar and piano examples mentioned earlier.
So when your trainer or group fitness studio gets you to do cardio or weightlifting, you have to sit back again and ask yourself the question,
Why am I doing this?
Goal dependent training
Every goal that you want has a correct set of actions that you need to take towards achieving.
In the same example as mentioned above, you need to be specific with your training for your desired outcome.
So, if your goal is performance-based, then suggesting cardio or weights is good, however, it needs further context.
What performance do you want to improve?
Do you want to run faster?
Run further?
Lift more?
When you figure the goal out then your program should appropriately reflect the goal.
The ways that this can be done are numerous, and programs can look very obscure to a perceiver to work toward specific outcomes.
That is the role of a good coach, to structure the workouts as such to help you achieve those goals.
But,
some of you might sit there and think, I don’t care about any of those performance goals, I just want to lose weight or get bigger.
To which I say, those are another set of goals that are not performance-based,
and these require a different set of actions.
This is why I stress the importance of appropriate goal-setting.
Performance vs Aesthetic goals
Building muscle or losing fat requires specific steps that are not the same as the performance-based goals.
This is because there is some element of dietary intervention.
An element of control based on what we eat.
To build muscle, or to gain weight rather, one needs to consume more energy than they expend.
The opposite is also true, to lose weight, you need to consume less energy than you expend on a daily basis.
This forms the scale of what causes weight gain or weight loss.
In the case of building muscle, pairing that increase in energy intake with an appropriate weightlifting program is what would be the best step to build muscle.
But when it comes to weight loss, it doesn't depend on what you do so long as you are expending more energy than you consume.
The danger with this advice is that when people go out and seek exercise that burns the highest amount of calories,
which is a poor rationale.
To burn the most amount of calories means you need to put in the most relative effort per time exercising.
This can quickly become tedious and cause a high likelihood of dropping off.
As mentioned earlier, actually manipulating the food we intake is a lot easier than just choosing the highest calorie-expanding exercise.
Eating better by reducing processed foods, ensuring we eat an adequate amount of protein, and cutting out calorie-dense drinks.
Then these interventions paired with doing physical activity that you enjoy over time is going to be the thing that causes the scales to tip in the favour of weight loss with time.
Adherence and consistency beats short-term maximal effort.
So when I say cardio can be better than weightlifting, what do I mean?
Cardio vs Weightlifting.
I am a fan of weightlifting, I am a strength coach and powerlifter.
What I mean when I say cardio can be better than weightlifting is that it depends on context.
If you have a performance-based goal that is cardio-specific, then yes, by definition, cardio is better than weightlifting.
However,
If you have a performance-based goal where strength or hypertrophy is more important to you, then no,
cardio will not be better than weightlifting.
The same even goes for aesthetic-based goals.
If your goal is to build muscle or put size on, then no, cardio will likely not be better than weightlifting.
But if your goal is to lose weight and you enjoy doing cardio more than weightlifting, then yes, cardio can be better than weights.
It is all about context.
So what should I do?
This article is to stress the importance of setting a goal and structuring your training around that goal.
Everything has a place. Both cardio and weightlifting.
You should be able to sit down with your trainer and tell them your goal and they should be able to help direct you and guide you towards that goal.
This is the benefit of having a good coach.
You could sit there and struggle on your own for a long time trying to figure out how to achieve the goal.
If you feel bold enough to try alone, then peace and blessings upon your journey.
Many have walked before you and it is full of lessons.
But,
If you want to get the most out of your training as quickly as possible learning from people who have walked the path before you,
then feel free to contact us to get started.
The choice is yours.