January Fitness Tip of the Month

Happy New Year to everyone! It is the start of a new year and I am hoping that you are all motivated to get “moving”.

The question is however: Should I do cardio or weight training to burn some fat?

I believe both. We all know that cardiovascular exercise (everything from running to rowing, skipping, swimming and cycling) is good for our heart and lungs. Many people consider cardio to be the most important component of their exercise program. Protecting yourself against cardiovascular illnesses is after all very important, but you need to remember that weight training is also necessary to look after your skeletal and muscular systems. Both types of exercise are however good at burning fat for weight loss.

When we do weight training we increase our muscle mass. Extra muscle helps to burn more energy while we train (AMR: Active metabolic rate) and during rest (RMR: Resting metabolic rate of muscle). So having more muscle will help burn more energy and fat during your cardio and weight training sessions.

The advantage of cardio is that we can do it everyday and anywhere, while, when we do weight train we need to give our body a days rest between training sessions.

Lets all get out there and start MOVING!!

Isolde Spies
(Exercise Physiologist)