As a fitness coach, this is one question that gets asked by so many people looking to lose weight and begin their fitness journey. How can I lose more weight, through weight training or through cardio?

In true fashion, I am not trying to choose for you but to outline the benefits of each and suggest to you the best alternative. One thing to keep in mind is that different people prefer different types of exercise and are exercising for different reasons.

Some people want to lose weight and look lean and so they prefer to sprint while some prefer to bulk up and sculpt their bodies and as much, prefer weight training.

Cardio especially intense cardio is the number one choice for weight loss. Cardio forces your body to release more oxygen to break down stores of fat and glucose to release more energy. As such, if you’re looking to lose weight, this is your go to sport.

Weight training on the other hand, also burns fat but at a slower pace which is actually for a good reason ie building muscle whose benefits really almost outweigh just burning fat. What weight training does is to build well sculpted muscle and in so doing, reduce weight, produce more defined muscle and increase metabolism which is really a three in one advantage.

However, the ideal method would be a combination of both forms of exercise. The reason is that, a combined exercise regime will see quicker results than an isolated one. You will lose weight with cardio and tone up with weights, so that for each pound of fat lost by cardio, well defined muscle will replace it, thereby creating a more toned and slimmer version of the body that was worked on.

The easiest way to combine both forms of exercise is to add weights (dumbbells and kettlebells) to your regime and having a weekly calendar that allows you to infuse cardio and weight training on different days, thereby having a more balanced week.