Can you guess what two of the most popular New Year’s resolutions are for 2013?
Lose weight and lose body fat.
No surprise there, Eh? It’s the same year after year.
But do you know which type of workout is most effective for weight loss and body fat loss? Choose from one of these three:
A) resistance training,
B) aerobic training,
C) aerobic + resistance training.
The answer may surprise you. It surely surprised us.
According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, all adults should be physically active. The experts believe most of this physical activity should be moderate to vigorous in intensity. However, they suggest we include muscle-strengthening activities. Certainly, any activity is better than none at all.1
Fewer than five percent of us participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day.2 That’s according to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Moreover, stats published in Healthy People 2010 show only one in three of us gets the recommended amount of physical activity each week. 3
Resistance training as part of an exercise prescription is recommended in recent guidelines for both weight loss AND weight maintenance. 4
Not only do many of us lead sedentary lives, we simply do not have a lot of free time on our hands. There’s not enough time for physical activity, let alone aerobic exercise AND muscle-strengthening activities combined.
Until recently, “few studies have compared the effects of similar amounts of aerobic and resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight adults.” 4
Since more than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, one would think this area of research is important.
Evidently, researchers in North Carolina agreed. A new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology offers hope for those short on time. And it’s especially good news for those who are overweight and sedentary.
Researchers from Duke University Medical Center, DurhamVeterans Affairs Medical Center, and East Carolina University teamed-up for the study. There were 119 test subjects, ages 18-70. Participants were randomized and grouped into one of three categories:
A) Group 1: resistance training,
B) Group 2: aerobic training,
C) Group 3: aerobic + resistance training.
The researchers examined the effects of various exercise in sedentary, overweight or obese adults. More specifically, they compared the effects of similar amounts of aerobic and resistance training on body mass and fat mass.
At the end of eight months, here is what they found:
* Those who did aerobic training (group 2) and aerobic + resistance training (group 3) lost more weight than those doing resistance training alone (group 1). Not only did they shed more pounds, but they also lost body fat and inches around the waistline.
* Those who did resistance training only actually gained weight (group 1) from an. increase in lean body mass.
* Resistance training did not significantly reduce either fat mass or total body mass. Of course, it was shown to be more effective for lean body mass gains.5
* Measures of lean body mass significantly increased in groups 1 and 2. The finding suggest that aerobic exercise is more effective in reducing these measures.
* Doing both aerobics and resistance training took twice as long (group 3). However, it did not result in a greater loss of fat or body mass over aerobic training alone.
What’s it all mean?
Leslie H. Willis is an exercise physiologist at Duke University Medical Center and the study’s lead author. His take on it is:
“If increasing muscle mass and strength is a goal, then resistance training is required. However, the majority of Americans could experience health benefits due to weight and fat loss. The best option in that case, given limited time for exercise, is to focus on aerobic training. When you lose fat, it is likely you are losing visceral fat, which is known to be associated with cardiovascular and other health benefits.”
So, in answer to our question at the beginning of the article, it’s B) aerobic training.
Yep. We were surprised too. Surely, “C” was the logical choice. But the researchers found that when it comes to weight loss and body fat reduction, aerobic is actually better than resistance training, especially if you are short on time. 6
References:
- http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm
- http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm
- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/healthy_people/hp2010.htm
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23019316
- http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2012/09/26/japplphysiol.01370.2011.full.pdf+html
- http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/For-the-Press/releases/13/1.html
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