Forums >Cross Training>Interesting Article on Strength vs. Cardio
If you burn 3500 calories more than you take in, you lose a lb., nobody can change that. Running burns way more calories per hour than weightlifting, not even close. So for pure weight loss, running will trump weightlifting every time. For a toned muscular lean body, you need to do both, maybe circuit weight training plus aerobic activity.
They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that. "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a Board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough" If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they'd starve to death. "Don't fear moving slowly forward...fear standing still."
Beatin' on the Rock
A sample chapter from the New Rules of Lifting for Women has been published over at Muscle with Attitude: Step Away From the Treadmill
for a male reasonably suited to muscle gain eating a nutritionally balanced calorie surplus it’s not unreasonable to think he could gain a pound of muscle per week.
Wonderful stuff. The idea of running intervals, then a full 5 minute rest, then a nice easy run so as to flood the body with triglycerides to burn is new to me, and intriguing.
Max possible muscle gain for a high testosterone male is is 1 lb/month. This would require 4-5 day/wk training for at least 1 hr per workout plus supplemental protein drinks to ensure max daily protein intake. Typical gains with regular workouts would be ~5 lbs/year. This assumes no steroids or HGH!
In the long run, weight lifting is actually better for your metabolism and weight loss. When you lift weights, your body continues to burn calories at a higher level for 24-48 hours post-exercise than when you do steady-state aerobic exercise, such as running (this effect is called EPOC = excess postexercise energy consumption). Weight lifting also builds muscle, which also will help a body burn more calories. For every pound of muscle built (which is really hard, btw), the body will burn on average, an additional 50 calories per day just sitting around. For a good reference on how weight lifting can impact metabolism and weight loss I'd highly recommend reading The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler (or the new version specifically for women, depending on your gender).