A new study has established what personal trainers have been telling us for some time: to lose weight, aerobic exercise is the best option - at least in the short term.
The study, considered to be the largest of its kind, compared changes in body composition in men and women after a period of aerobic exercise, resistance training or both. Researchers at Duke University Medical Centre wanted to determine which type of exercise would best help you lose weight and fat.
Study participants included 119 obese, overweight or sedentary men and women who were divided into three groups. The first group was assigned to an eight-month exercise programme consisting of aerobic training on a treadmill, elliptical machine or stationary bike three days a week. The second performed resistance training only, steadily increasing the weight over time. The third group was asked to perform a combination of aerobic and resistance training.
The results showed that those who performed either aerobic or aerobic and resistance training lost a significant amount of weight and fat mass and reduced their weight circumference. However, those who performed only resistance training had no weight loss. In fact, those in that group gained weight because they had a significant increase in lean body mass.
Overall, the group that did both cardio and resistance training lost the most inches in waist circumference and had a greater reduction in body fat percentage compared to the other two groups.
However, a somewhat surprising finding was that while the combined exercise program resulted in the most weight loss, the results were not significantly better than the aerobic-only group. That said, the researchers concluded that when time is limited, aerobic exercise is "the best form of exercise for fat loss and weight loss".
Therefore, if your goal is to lose a significant amount of weight this year, it may be in your best interest to start with an aerobic training programme. Once you have lost the weight, include a resistance training programme to increase lean body mass and tone muscle