A Full Body Weight Workout Vs. Running for Fat Loss

Running is an effective way to lose weight, as are full-body weight-training workouts. Both types of exercise help burn excess body fat but in different ways. Aerobic exercise burns more calories, but weight training helps build lean mass that increases your body’s calorie-burning engine. Deciding which type of exercise to go with may simply come down to personal taste, but if you’re looking for maximum fat loss, a combination of both workouts is the way to go.

  1. Calories Burned

    • Running outside or on the treadmill burns a significant number of calories. A 175-pound person burns about 336 calories running at 5 mph for 30 minutes, and the same person can burn 535 calories running at an increased intensity of 8 mph. If you were to burn 500 calories, seven days a week, you would burn the equivalent of 1 pound each week. Weight training, on the other hand, burns just 136 calories when lifting for 30 minutes, or 242 calories if you really lift heavy and increase the intensity of the workout. The clear winner in terms of calories burned during the workout is running.

    Lean Muscle

    • Weight training helps build muscle tissue, which is important when trying to burn excess body fat. If you added about 11 pounds of muscle, your body would naturally burn an additional 250 calories per day. These are additional calories your body will burn while at rest; it doesn’t include any additional exercise or physical activity. Running doesn’t offer the same lean muscle-building effect. In terms of long-term fat loss, full-body weight-training workouts will help you build and maintain lean muscle mass, increase your metabolism and prevent weight gain.

    Better for Burning Fat

    • It’s important to understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. It’s possible to lose weight but not lose any fat. Aerobic exercise, such as running, can lead to a slight loss in lean muscle mass, which shows up as weight loss when you step on the scale but isn’t the type of “loss” you’re looking to achieve. Weight training actually increases your lean muscle mass, so you may not show any weight loss on the bathroom scale, but you may have actually burned fat and gained muscle. So, weight training may offer a better long-term fat loss advantage over running.

    Combining Resistance and Aerobic

    • Not surprisingly, combining weight training with aerobic exercise is the best way to burn fat. This type of training program may include running Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and lifting weights on Tuesday and Thursday. You get the instant calorie-burn benefits of running, along with the lean-muscle-building advantage of weight training. This combination helps ensure you maintain and build lean muscle mass while burning fat in the process.