Strength Training vs. Cardio for Weight Loss: Which is Better?
When it comes to weight loss, many people automatically turn to cardio exercises such as running, cycling, or swimming. However, research has shown that strength training is actually more effective for weight loss and long-term weight management. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of strength training over cardio and why you should consider adding it to your weight loss plan.
1. Strength Training Increases Metabolic Rate
Strength training can increase your resting metabolic rate, meaning that your body continues to burn calories even when you’re not working out. This is because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, and as you build muscle through strength training, you increase your body’s ability to burn calories at rest.
2. Strength Training Promotes Fat Loss
While cardio is often seen as the go-to for fat loss, strength training is actually more effective for targeting stubborn fat stores. This is because strength training can help to increase muscle mass and boost metabolism, making it easier for your body to burn fat. In addition, research has shown that combining strength training with a healthy diet can lead to significant reductions in body fat percentage.
3. Strength Training Improves Body Composition
In addition to promoting fat loss, strength training can also help to improve overall body composition by building muscle and reducing body fat. This not only leads to a more toned, sculpted physique, but also to better overall health as lean muscle mass is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and reduced risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
4. Strength Training is More Time Efficient
While cardio can be a time-consuming form of exercise, strength training is much more time-efficient. You can target multiple muscle groups in one session, meaning that you can achieve more in less time. In addition, the increased metabolic rate and fat-burning benefits of strength training continue long after your workout has finished, making it a more efficient option for weight loss.
5. Strength Training Boosts Confidence and Mood
Finally, strength training can have a positive impact on both confidence and mood. As you build strength and see improvements in your body composition, you’ll feel more confident and positive about yourself. In addition, strength training releases endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones that boost mood and reduce stress.
In conclusion, strength training is a more effective option for weight loss and long-term weight management compared to cardio. With its ability to increase metabolism, promote fat loss, improve body composition, save time, and boost confidence and mood, strength training is the ideal form of exercise for anyone looking to achieve their weight loss goals.
So, if you’re looking for a more effective way to lose weight, consider incorporating strength training into your fitness routine. You may be surprised at just how much of a difference it can make!
How Much Cardio Should I Do?
How Much Cardio Should I Do?
Exercise is essential for your well-being and overall health, and cardio is among the most effective and popular exercises. It has numerous benefits for your cardiovascular health and cognitive function. However,if weight loss is your main goal, nutrition is more important. For people who are just beginning their fitness journey, I always recommend they take care of their nutrition first before they start worrying about tons of cardio.
Weight loss
In order to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. This means that you should reduce your daily calorie intake, i.e., the number of calories you eat should be less than the amount of calories you burn. The amount of calories you burn is determined by many things, including exercise. Cardio is a great way to burn more calories, but even in the most intense cardio portions of your fitness training, you will only burn a few hundred calories in 30 minutes. It is extremely easy to EAT a few hundred calories in 1 minute.
Through my experience as a fitness trainer, I have learned that some people need more calories than others and that there are different body types. However, weight loss requires a reduction in your calorie intake in all instances. Although it might be a little challenging, you can use a calorie tracking app to calculate your calorie and macronutrient intake.
Weight maintenance
If you are happy with your weight and you just want to remain physically fit, personal training is still important. You may feel like there’s no need to hit the gym if you have already achieved your body goals, but exercise is important for weight maintenance too. You will want to focus more on strength training (resistance training) and high intensity workouts instead of long bouts of cardio. These exercises will help to build muscles and still improve your cardiovascular health and cognitive function.
My Opinion
Every good personal trainer will tell you cardio is a great weight loss tool, but it’s easier to just do it moderately with activities like walking the dog, swimming, or household chores. This is because steady-state cardio on a treadmill in the gym can get very boring. If you can find a way to work it into your daily life, consistency will be much easier.
It’s important to know your body. Be aware of your daily calorie quota so that you can make the right choices when it comes to overall fitness, nutrition, and types of exercise.
If you are unaware of what is best for you and your body, consulting with a fitness professional may be a great option. You can reach us at OTG by heading over to the “Contact Us” Page. If you are in the South Houston area, you may want to schedule a time to come by our gym. If not, we can still take care of you completely online!
3 Mistakes To Avoid When Getting Started
3 Mistakes To Avoid
Every fitness enthusiast was a beginner once, even though they might look like they have everything
figured out at the gym. When you begin your fitness journey, some of these mistakes can sabotage your
progress and lead to frustration, exhaustion, and confusion. A bad start to your fitness journey can
prevent you from sticking to it. Here are some mistakes you should avoid before you ditch the training
wheels.
1. Getting on a “diet”
Although numerous diets promise unmatched physical fitness, it is important to note that there is no
umbrella diet that suits everyone. People are different, with different caloric needs, and getting a meal
plan that’s supposedly going to miraculously give you your desired results can be a huge mistake.
Restrictive diets that prohibit you from eating some of your favorite foods for long periods are very
unsustainable. Eventually, you might be tempted to indulge in a bar of chocolate, and the guilt that
follows could cause emotional turmoil. Consult your personal trainer before getting on any diet to avoid
disappointment.
2. Over committing to a workout schedule
So you’ve just started your workout routine, and you are excited! It’s normal for people to be excited
about their fitness journey, but the #nodaysoff mentality can be disadvantageous for you. Personal
training is important, you should continue to work out, but as you’ve probably heard from your fitness
trainer before, rest days are part of your workout routine too. It’s important to take a day or two off
because your muscles need to rest and recover in order to grow.
Overtraining can cause injuries, exhaustion, sleeping problems, and a bigger appetite. Fitness training
requires discipline, and sometimes, this means taking a day off when you need it.
3. Trying to do it alone
Regardless of how long you’ve been working out, there are some days you don’t want to get out of bed.
On days like these, you will need an extra dose of motivation. Surrounding yourself with people who
have the same goal as you is important, even in fitness.
A personal trainer, a reliable workout partner, a family member, or a friend can make you hit your daily targets. In addition, you get someone to hold you accountable, have fun with, and support you throughout your fitness journey.
The beginning of your fitness journey can be a little intimidating. As time goes by, however, you learn
what works for you. A great experience at the beginning of your journey usually motivates you to keep
pushing. As such, it’s crucial to avoid these rookie mistakes. Most importantly, have fun! Remember to
remain consistent because good things take time.
If you think OTG Fitness may good a good resource to help you get started, apply for our Intro 8 Week Program here
https://www.onlythegreatest.com/8-week-app-home
You can also text us directly at (281) 688-1191
How Long Should Your Workout Take??
How Long Does It Take To Get An Effective Workout?
It might be a little intimidating when you see people spending hours in the gym, and you can barely walk after 15 minutes. As a trainer, I have been asked how long a good workout lasts too many times. What I have always told everyone who has ever asked me this question is that consistency is more important than the length of the workout. Every fitness enthusiast has heard the slogan “no pain, no gain,” or #nodaysoff, but this can be misleading, especially for beginners.
Contrary to the popular opinion
that a good workout is a long workout, a short workout with enough focus, drive, and intensity is better. The time you spend working out is not the only determinant for successfully achieving your end goals.
I always recommend a 30 to 40 minutes workout, which is inclusive of warm-up and exercises. Although there is no blanket answer for how long your workouts should last due to the fact that not everybody has the same goals. For instance, a marathon runner will train for hours as they prepare for a race, a weight lifter will train for hours to build their endurance and improve on their performance, but if you’re only trying to stay fit, spending two hours on a weight lifting bench might be a little excessive.
It is always best for you to identify your goals.
Are your goals performance-related, fitness-related, health-related, or weight-related? This will help you get into a routine that best suits you without compromising your goals.
It is also essential to consider how much time you have to spend working out at home or the gym. If you have time constraints, you probably shouldn’t take 10-minute breaks between your sets. Your personal trainer will give you the exercises you need to complete, but It’s important to make every set count in order to get the results you desire.
If you are at the gym for five days a week, working out for 30 to 40 minutes a day, for a period of seven years, you will reap more benefits compared to someone who works out for 90 minutes every day, three days a week, for a year and then quits. Focusing on putting in the work with compound exercises regularly and consistently gives you better results. The time spent working out doesn’t directly reflect on the quality of your workout.
It’s also important to note that rest is important.
Spending time to relax and connect with your loved ones is crucial for your wellness. It is also necessary for your body to recover and regain the energy required to function optimally. With working out, just like with most things in life, more is not always better.
Are You Too Busy Or Is Health Not A Priority?
Are You Actually Too Busy?
Allow me to ask you a question: Do you have time for your health? Are you too busy or is health and fitness simply not on your priority list? How many times have you said that you do not have enough time to do something? Granted, we live in a society that is severely poor in terms of time. However, if we re-examine the things that take up our time, we’ll quickly realize that we make time for what is important to us. If we want to lose weight and get fit bad enough, we will make time for it whether it’s at home or at the gym. If we want to eat better and lead a healthier lifestyle, we’ll make time for it as well.
The time we have in a day should be prioritized accordingly, listing the most important tasks of the day. Never look at taking care of your health as a chore or a task you need to cross off. Instead, think of it this way: without proper health, you will be unproductive and experience constant fatigue. If you want to be successful, you have to include taking care of your health in your list of priorities.
Right now, you may still be on the fence about it. You’re probably thinking that claiming we all have the time to take care of our health needs is a bit of a stretch. However, according to Laurie A. Watkins, it’s not. Laurie A. Watkins is the author of the book, Go From Stressed to Strong. In her book, she shares how she went from only getting a few hours of sleep every night to achieving all her fitness goals. With a demanding job and schedule, health was the last thing she ever thought about, until she decided to change things around. Below, are a couple of ways to work around a busy schedule and still take care of your health.
Change your mindset:
Saying that you don’t have time for anything is another way of saying that you don’t consider it a priority. We always make time for what we care about or consider worth our time and effort. Therefore, changing your mindset about health and fitness is the first step to any real change. Start by accepting the fact that if you fail to take care of your health, you fail to take care of your own ability to be productive. Neglecting your health will cause your physical, mental and emotional well- being to suffer.
Do it early in the morning:
Admittedly, once the sun comes up and its time to get to work, it gets really hectic. Hence, try and wake up at least an hour earlier and get some exercise in. Gyms and personal training studios often open early for those that prefer to exercise early. If you live in Houston, Texas, OTG Fitness is one of the top gym studios that offers an accommodating schedule for everyone. You can also use this time to prepare healthy meals to carry to work and for when you come home.
Set boundaries:
Always avoid taking up too many tasks than you can handle. If you know you have too much on your plate, then do not be afraid to say no. Set clear boundaries and be consistent. This will ensure that you do not end up overworked and also have time to visit the gym.
Commit Fully:
If you truly want results, you have to commit. Unfortunately, the only way to do is is to do it.
If you need that something to commit to, you may consider at 8 week program with OTG Fitness. You may or may not be a good fit, but you can find out by clicking HERE to fill out a quick application that will help us figure that out.
1 Trick to Create Freedom
Be Free
Far too many people think that living a healthy lifestyle means letting your workout routine and food choices control your life. It is simply not true and the exact opposite actually is. Freedom is found in health.
There is a famous quote that I’m sure you’ve heard before, “Discipline equals freedom”.
Create It
When we create discipline, especially with health and fitness, it opens our entire life to more freedom. I think it is especially true in this scenario because food is around us all the times, so making good nutrition choices is the ultimate discipline. By sacrificing a little bit up front and creating the discipline, it will allow your healthy lifestyle to thrive.
There are many ways this can be done (and I’ve tried several). My personal favorite and how I’ve decided is the best FOR ME, is fasting. Fasting is simply not taking in any calories for extended amounts of time. There are many opinions on this method and some think it’s so unhealthy to not eat for a few hours but I have noticed that those are often the same people that eat fast food and snack cakes all the time. Sometimes, trying to always be “optimal” is useless if you can’t even do the basics.
Try this. Pick a time that is somewhere between 12 and 16 hours after dinner and tell yourself that you’re going to wait until that time to eat. During that fasting time, feel free to drink as much water as you feel you can and even have a cup of black coffee.
The Real Secret
Actually do it!!
This is your first small win! The discipline you create and feeling of well being for reaching a goal is the first step towards your healthy lifestyle and living free. Don’t worry about the fine details beyond this. Focus on 1 step at a time. Because if you can’t do step 1, why worry about anything else?
If you’re interested in implementing this step 1 but are having issues, apply for our 8 week program (by clicking HERE) to see if we may be able to help out.
Treat it Right
Don’t Take it for Granted
Do you realize that your body could quit on you any day?
It may just be the most important thing you have that allows you to live the life you love. Without it, there are no vacations with the ones you love, walks to the park, or a simple trip to the theater to see a show that has a few flights of stairs before getting to your seat.
This sounds pretty extreme right? That’s because it is.
It’s Gotta Stop
Not taking care of our physical body is a trend that needs to be taken seriously and must stop before it gets any worse.
Our body’s are what allow us to do so many great things physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Moving them has been scientifically proven to make us feel better. And when we feel better, we make better decisions and do more great things for others! Maybe even more important than that, we do more great things for ourselves! (which leads to doing more great things for others also right?!)
The point here is simple and I don’t want to over complicate the subject. Treat your body right. If you do, all the other “problems” you think you have will eventually fade away.
If you’re ready to start making a commitment to yourself and your body and think we may be able to help out, apply for our 8 week program by clicking HERE
Treat it Right
Go Out and Enjoy
Don’t Bring it Home
Know that feeling you get when you want something really sweet? Something that you know is not within your healthy diet and might even make you feel bad later? But you want it anyway?
I know I do. But one thing I don’t do is bring those types of things into the house. When you bring the blue bell home, it makes it extremely easy to give into temptation on Wednesday night after a long day at work.
As strong as we all think we are, when temptation hits, it is an overwhelming feeling of need. Fighting that feeling when your fix is a few steps away and only guarded by the safety seal of your freezer is next to impossible.
Go Out and Enjoy
Your best bet is to keep things like this out of your house and only “go out” for them. Yes it may cost more in dollars to do this, but I guarantee it will cost a lot less in calories. It will also lead to more happiness in the end (which is what having more money is all about anyways right?) The happiness you feel will come from a combination of things. You’ll feel good about your own decision making for one. You will usually find more pleasure in going out as well. And since you find so much more pleasure in your experience with this food you enjoy so much, you’ll also be able to withstand being without for much longer.
Don’t Stress it
As you know, your health based diet should mostly be comprised of whole foods that you and your family make at home. Taking a night off every once in awhile and enjoying some time out will not hurt you in the long term though. Realizing it’s not crushing your diet and understanding that you just need to get right back on track tomorrow is very important for your mental health. Be sure to keep that in mind!
Make an attempt to enhance the experience of “getting off your diet.” Take your family, go to a special spot with your pleasure food, make it memorable.
Just please, don’t bring it home.
If you think you want to start implementing this strategy but just aren’t sure exactly where to start, apply for our 8 week program (by clicking HERE) to see if we may be able to help.
Don't Let it Control You
It Can be Simple
Far too many people think that living a healthy lifestyle means letting your workout routine and food choices control your life. It is simply not true and the exact opposite actually is.
There is a famous quote that I’m sure you’ve heard before, “Discipline equals freedom”.
When we create discipline, especially with health and fitness, it opens our entire life to more freedom. I think it is especially true in this scenario because food is around us all the times so making good nutrition choices in is the ultimate discipline. By sacrificing a little bit up front and creating the discipline, it will allow your healthy lifestyle to thrive.
There are many ways this can be done (and I’ve tried several). My personal favorite and how I’ve decided is the best FOR ME, is fasting. Fasting is simply not taking in any calories for extended amounts of time. There are many opinions on this method and some think it’s so unhealthy to not eat for more than a few hours. I have noticed though, that those are often the same people that eat fast food and snack cakes all the time. Sometimes, trying to always be “optimal” is useless if you can’t even do the basics.
Try This
Pick a time that is somewhere between 12 and 16 hours after dinner and tell yourself that you’re going to wait until that time to eat. During that fasting time, feel free to drink as much water as you feel you can. You can even have a cup of unsweetened tea or coffee . Here’s the secret though, actually do it!! This is your first small win! The discipline you create and feeling of well being for reaching a goal is the first step towards your healthy lifestyle. Don’t worry about the fine details beyond this. Focus on 1 step at a time. Because if you can’t do step 1, why worry about anything else?
If you know how simple it truly can be but still having a hard time getting started, apply for our 8 week program (by clicking HERE) to see if we may be able to help out.