Is Cardio Necessary for Weight Loss?

Many people believe that cardio is the only way to lose weight. However, weight loss can also be achieved through a combination of diet and strength-training.

Considerations

• The truth is, cardio is not essential for weight loss. In his book, "Kiss Cardio Goodbye," author and fitness expert Jim Karas asserts that strength training and diet, rather than cardio, are the best paths to achieving permanent weight loss. According to Karas, there are three ways to lose weight: Eating less, becoming more active and increasing your basal metabolic rate. The fastest way to increase your metabolic rate is to begin a strength training regimen to lose weight.

  In fact, a recent Tufts University study indicates that doing strength training several times a week can increase an individual's metabolism by as much as 15%.

Expert Insight

• According to professor Gary Hunter, director of the exercise and physiology lab of the school of education at the University of Alabama, building and maintaining muscle mass can help speed up a person's metabolism, because muscle burns 10 to 12 times the calories per pound than fat does. Even while a at rest, individuals with more muscle mass will continue burning more calories per pound.

  What this means is that the more muscle mass a person has, the faster his or her metabolism. The most effective way to build muscle mass is through strength training, as both Hunter and Karas assert.

What is Strength-training?

• Strength-training can be achieved in several different ways and doesn't necessarily require a gym or expensive equipment. According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals can use their own body weight through exercises such as crunches, squats and push-ups to achieve significant results. In addition, resistance tubing (exercises that use a long rubber tube to strengthen muscles), free weights and machine weights all help increase and maintain muscle mass.

  Pilate's and yoga also aid in building and maintaining muscle mass.

Diet

• Of course, strength-training alone won't take you from a size 12 to a size 6. It's also important to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Individuals hoping to lose weight want to stay away from saturated fats, simple carbohydrates and sugary foods, and want to get plenty of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, vitamins, minerals and water.

Warning

• Before embarking on any strength-training regimen, it's important to ask your doctor if you are healthy enough to exercise, particularly if you are overweight or have a very sedentary lifestyle. You will also want to be sure to consult a fitness expert to learn how to properly use free weights, weight machines and other strength-training equipment.