Despite a lifelong love of training and fitness I have battled with my weight and fat control since my early teens. Over the years I have tried all the gimmicks, slimming clubs, shakes, 6 week shreds etc. I have wasted countless hours and ridiculous amounts of money in my quest to get the body I thought I wanted. Finally at the age of 46, through life experience and education, I feel like I have heathy relationship with food and a good understanding of how to achieve sustainable fat loss. Along with changing my attitude to food and nutrition, a major turning point for me has been incorporating both strength training and cardio into my training plan. Individually, both of these things will work to help you achieve fat loss, but combining them both will help you achieve and maintain optimal results.
Cardio. During an aerobic training session our bodies burn extra calories for energy. This will increase your overall daily calorie expenditure. (sometimes referred to as your TDEE). Provided your nutrition is on point, this extra calorie burn will help you create a calorie deficit, resulting in fat loss. Personally, I prefer high intensity shorter training sessions (such as HIIT) but a lower intensity, steady state cardio sessions will also work if high intensity is not something you enjoy.
Strength training This will help you to build and preserve lean muscle mass. Simply put, the more muscle we have the more calories our bodies will burn at rest. (This is known as our resting metabolic rate). Additionally, strength training creates an afterburn effect (EPOC), where your body continues to burn calories even after you have finished training. There is a common misconception that strength training will make us “bulky”. Building size takes a huge amount of time and dedication, unless you are intentionally training for that gaol and eating in a calorie surplus, strength training will not make you bulky.
If you’re limited on time, like most of us are, it is perfectly fine to do both cardio and strength training in the same session. However, as cardio can deplete our glycogen stores I would strongly recommending doing your strength training first, focusing on compound moves and finishing with a 15 or 20 minute cardio session.
Allow enough recovery time between sessions to ensure proper muscle repair and avoid overtraining. This is especially important when balancing both cardio and strength training. Your muscles need rest to grow and repair after strength workouts.
To build and preserve muscle mass while losing fat, you’ll need an adequate protein intake. This is especially important when you’re in a calorie deficit. A general guideline is around 1.6–2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, someone weighting 70kg should aim for a protein intake of between 112g and 154g.
If you sometimes struggle with motivation, I suggest trying a class that combines both strength training and cardio. Pump, Strength and Conditioning, and Spin and Sculpt are all good options. I would also recommend speaking to a member of our team who will be happy to put a program in place for you and offer help and support.
If you are looking for one to one help and support I am currently taking PT clients in The Gym Carlow. Feel free to reach out via Instagram @ edobbyn
