Why Combining Cardio and Strength Workouts Is Better for Weight Loss Than Doing One Alone

Looking for the single most effective workout for weight loss? A sports medicine doctor says there really isn’t one, and that the better strategy is to mix different kinds of exercise.

Changing up workout styles keeps the body working harder, which helps it continue to improve.

“The body adapts to the demands we put on it,” said Dr. Russell Camhi, who practices primary care sports medicine at Northwell Health’s Orthopedic Institute in East Meadow, New York.

“If we do the same exercise regimen over and over, results are bound to plateau,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean you need to switch exercises every day or every week,” Camhi added. “But a little variety will help the body change and grow.”

Why Nutrition Plays the Bigger Role

Weight loss depends on both exercise and diet, and food choices account for about 80% of the work, Camhi said.

In most cases, people need to eat less and move more to lose weight. Cutting 500 to 750 calories a day typically leads to a loss of about 1.5 pounds per week, according to Mayo Clinic guidance based on federal dietary recommendations.

Eating less drives most weight loss, but regular physical activity helps people keep the weight off, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Exercise increases the number of calories the body burns for fuel. Combined with fewer calories at meals, that energy gap produces weight loss.

Physical activity also helps protect the body while pounds come off. Because bone density and muscle mass naturally decline with age, dieting without exercise can leave people weaker. Adding aerobic exercise and resistance training helps preserve both, Mayo Clinic experts noted.

“Exercise is important and imperative for health and longevity, but all efforts to lose weight will fail without a nutrition program,” Camhi said.

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

For general health, the CDC recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, such as jogging or swimming laps. A mix of moderate and vigorous exercise also counts.

Adults should also do muscle-strengthening work at least two days a week.

Mayo Clinic experts say increasing moderate activity to 300 minutes a week may provide an added benefit for losing weight or keeping it off.

Still, the amount needed to maintain a healthy weight varies widely from person to person, the CDC notes.

A Doctor's Exercise Plan for Weight Loss

If shedding pounds is the main goal, Camhi recommends combining steady-state cardio with weight training.

He suggests cardio sessions of about 30 minutes, two to four times a week. Weight-training workouts should last 30 to 60 minutes and include sets of eight to 12 repetitions with brief rests between sets.

“Steady-state cardio will burn fat when in the target HR [heart rate] zone,” Camhi said.

To estimate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. The target zone is generally 50% to 70% of that number.

Heart rate monitors can help track those numbers, Camhi said, but there are also simpler ways to judge intensity.

“Fat-burning zone is the point where you can hold a conversation, but it is a little challenging as you are primarily breathing through your mouth, not just your nose,” he said.

Start cardio with lower-impact choices such as biking, swimming or an elliptical machine, Camhi advised. Walking on a treadmill with short running intervals is another good place to begin.

As tolerance builds and injury risk falls, people can work up to full runs or a stair-climbing machine.

More demanding exercise burns more energy. A 154-pound person burns about 280 calories in an hour of walking at 3.5 mph, compared with roughly 590 calories jogging at 5 mph, the CDC estimates.

People who weigh more burn more, while those who weigh less burn fewer calories.

“Good entry weight-training exercises are squats, lunges, step-ups, pushups, rows and planks,” Camhi said. “It is imperative to include legs and large muscle groups when weight training for weight loss.”

Make It Enjoyable Enough To Keep Doing

Motivation matters too.

Signing up for a class or working out with a friend can help, as can trying dance, yoga or karate, or joining a baseball, bowling or mall-walking group, the U.S. National Library of Medicine suggests.

Daily movement also adds up. Taking the stairs, parking farther from the store and doing chores like raking leaves or gardening all count. Even short bursts of activity spread across the day provide real health benefits, Mayo Clinic experts noted.

“The most important thing is that you do exercises that you enjoy and are practical so that it is easier to sustain what you are doing,” the NLM says.

And if progress slows, it may be time to change the routine.

“If progress plateaus for more than one to two weeks, it is time to change up your exercise routine,” Camhi said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on physical activity and weight.

SOURCES: Interview with Dr. Russell Camhi; Mayo Clinic; U.S. National Library of Medicine; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention