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Myth Busted: Strength Training Can Burn Fat Just Like Cardio Or Aerobics

Myth Busted: Strength Training Can Burn Fat Just Like Cardio Or Aerobics
Apart from helping lose body fat, strength training can improve bone mineral density, lean mass and muscle quality. @Shutterstock

We can lose around 1.4 per cent of our entire body fat through strength training alone, similar to cardio or aerobics, says a new study.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : September 24, 2021 12:15 PM IST

A lot of people think that strength training is for gaining muscles and cardio for burning fat. This is not quite true, according to a new University of New South Wales (UNSW) study which says strength training can burn fat too. The study, published this week in Sports Medicine, reveals that we can lose around 1.4 per cent of our entire body fat through strength training alone, similar to cardio or aerobics.

For those who think you need to go out and run to lose weight, senior author of the study Dr Mandy Hagstrom, exercise physiologist and senior lecturer at UNSW Medicine & Health, said, "our findings show that even when strength training is done on its own, it still causes a favourable loss of body fat without having to consciously diet or go running."

As reported by Science Daily, Dr Hagstrom and her team reviewed and analysed existing evidence to study the link between strength training and fat loss. They gathered the findings from 58 research papers that used highly accurate forms of body fat measurement, like body scans, to measure the outcomes from strength training programs. There were altogether 3000 participants, who worked out for roughly 45-60 minutes each session for an average of 2.7 times per week. The strength training programs lasted for about five months. On average, the participants lost 1.4 per cent of their total body fat after their training programs, which was roughly half a kilo in fat mass for most participants.

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The best approach to lose fat

Though the study findings are encouraging for fans of pumping iron, Dr Hagstrom said that the best approach to lose fat is still to stick to eating nutritiously and following an exercise routine that includes both aerobic/cardio and strength training.

But if don't like aerobics and cardio, you don't need to force yourself to do it as there are options to change your body composition. "Do what exercise you want to do and what you're most likely to stick to," stated Dr Hagstrom.

Apart from helping lose body fat, resistance training offers many other benefits that other forms of exercise don't, like improving bone mineral density, lean mass and muscle quality, he added.

Themost accurate way of assessing body fat

The myth that strength training is not as effective as cardio in terms of fat loss is partly driven by inaccurate ways of measuring fat. For example, most people consider the number they see on the scale, which is their total body weight, when measuring fat. But this figure includes fat mass and everything else that makes up the body, like water, bones and muscles.

Dr Hagstrom explained: When we do aerobic training, we usually don't gain any muscle mass, but we can lose body fat, improve our cardiorespiratory fitness, gain other health and functional benefits. In strength training, we gain muscle mass as well as lose body fat. But as muscle weighs more than fat, the number on the scales won't look as low as it would after aerobics training.

In the study, the research team found that fat loss after strength training programs appears to be on par with aerobics and cardio training, despite the different figures on the scales.

According to Dr Hagstrom, many fitness recommendations are based on studies that use inaccurate measurement tools, like bioelectrical impedance or scales. "But the most accurate and reliable way of assessing body fat is through DEXA, MRI or CT scans. They can compartmentalise the body and separate fat mass from lean tissue," he was quoted as saying.

So, if you're strength training, do not focus too much on the number on the scale, because it won't show you all your results. Instead, think about your whole-body composition, like how your clothes fit and how your body looks and feels, Dr Hagstrom suggested.