Cardio or weights for fat loss? The honest answer
People spend hours on the treadmill and wonder why they still look 'soft'. Here's what each type of exercise actually does, and why combining them works best.
· 5 min read· 4 sources
They do different jobs
In a well-known randomised trial (STRRIDE AT/RT), overweight adults did either aerobic exercise, resistance training, or both for eight months:
- Aerobic exercise (cardio) produced more weight loss and fat loss than resistance training alone.
- Resistance training built lean mass but did little for fat loss on its own.
- The combination gave the best overall result: it lost fat like the cardio group while also gaining muscle.
So for fat loss, cardio does more of the direct work, weights shape what’s underneath, and you get the best result by doing both.
Why weights matter on a diet
When you lose weight by eating less, part of what you lose is muscle. Research reviews show that adding resistance training during a diet reduces how much muscle you lose. Keeping muscle helps you stay strong, keeps you functional as you age, and means more of the weight you lose comes from fat.
Where cardio shines
Cardio improves heart and lung fitness, and regular aerobic activity is strongly linked to lower risk of heart disease and early death. Brisk walking is an easy place to start: it has a low injury risk and is easy to do every day. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is time-efficient but demanding, so one or two sessions a week is enough for most people.
The simple combination
The WHO recommends that adults get 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity) each week, plus muscle-strengthening exercise on two or more days. In practice, that could be strength training 2–3 times a week, walking most days, and one or two harder cardio sessions if you enjoy them.
References
- 1.Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults (STRRIDE AT/RT). Journal of Applied Physiology, 2012.doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01370.2011
- 2.Energy restriction and exercise on fat-free mass in middle-aged and older adults: systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, 2010.doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00298.x
- 3.World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020.doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
- 4.Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. The Lancet Public Health, 2022.doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00302-9
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