160. Strength or Cardio for Optimal Body Composition?

Strength training and cardiovascular activity don’t have to be in competition with each other. However, strength training is a more effective method to reach your optimal body composition unless you’re doing high-intensity cardio activities. Any movement is better than no movement, so it comes down to finding something you enjoy doing and building a consistent routine around it.   How to Lose Visceral Fat High-Intensity Interval Training Nutrition Strength training Understand your body type Fat storage patterns   Strength Training Builds Lean Muscle Mass Strength training is an essential part of achieving optimal body composition. While cardio works your overall aerobic health for the duration you’re doing cardio activities, strength training builds your muscles after you’ve finished lifting weights. In this episode, I discuss how strength training builds lean muscle mass, leading to optimal body composition. By creating microtears in the muscles and then those muscles repairing, strength training builds stronger, leaner muscles.   Take Your First Step into Strength Training How much strength training you must do varies based on your goals, but you can see the benefits from as little as three weekly twenty-minute lifting sessions. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t do cardio. In fact, high-intensity interval training and high-intensity steady-state training will have similar long-term benefits to your muscles and contribute to your cardiovascular health. Knowing where to start might be daunting if you’ve never lifted weights before. This is where setting your baseline minimum exercise is important. I finish up this episode by talking about some of the other obstacles women may face when starting a strength training routine. How do you love to move your body? Start with the smallest amount that you’re willing to do on a consistent basis. Let me know how you’ll start moving your body in the comments on the episode page.   In This Episode  Whether strength or cardio training is better for optimal body composition [2:30] How much of our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) comes from exercise [8:30] What promotes lean muscle mass [10:45] How strength training builds lean muscle mass [12:00] How much strength training it takes to start building lean muscle mass [16:00] The benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) [18:00] How to set your baseline minimum exercise [23:00] Some of the obstacles women face when starting a strength training routine [29:00]   Quotes “At the end of the day, we just care that you move. Whether it’s strength training or cardio, at the end of the day, just move.” [11:33] “The way I like to talk about strength training versus cardio is that, in the moment, cardio burns some calories. It does. But then, when you’re done with the cardio, you’re done burning calories.” [14:06] “Research and science show that High-Intensity Interval Training is going to be the most effective for a decrease in visceral fat. That’s the fat that we can see.” [21:25] “While strength training is more of the investment, you still can get some good quality work in with just cardio if you’re using the strategies of High-Intensity Interval and High-Intensity Steady-State.” [28:16] “The strength training is going to be the more optimal approach, and the ‘work smarter, not harder’ strategy to optimal body composition. There is a place for strength training, and there is a place for cardiovascular exercise. The idea is finding the minimum amount of all the things that you can sustain long-term to get the results that you really want.” [35:08]   Resources 31 Days of FIT.  Learn more HERE. Muscle Maintenance During Fat Loss. Waitlist HERE. Fit Woman Collective™. Learn more HERE. Follow Dr. Ali Novitsky on TikTok | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Subscribe to The Muscles and Mindset Podcast on Apple Podcasts *** Ali Novitsky MD, this podcast, and podcast write-up are NOT providing medical advice ***   Related Episodes  Episode 157: Fitness Talk with Dr. Alex Stewart  Episode 158: Transform Together with Dr. Mark Novitsky  Episode 152: Beauty in Strength with Becca Failla