Weight Training vs. Cardio

A little over a year and a half ago I went on a weight training regimen. I did very little cardio. I found that I lost 23 lbs over the course of 4 months and began to become very tone doing this. I have read up on this and have heard from other people too that the cardio is what burns the calories and makes you lose weight. Why did it effect me so different? I lost just as much weight the average person would doing 30-45 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week. It was a healthy 5 pounds a month I was losing....

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I was just curious as to what anyone elses opinion was because I plan on getting back on some type of routine after I have this baby.

weight training burns a lot of calories

who says that it's not condusive to weight loss? maybe they mean in the 'body builders' who are gaining muscle mass and losing fat mass

cardio training is important for all of us, make your exercise a combo of cardio and weight training
good luck

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kate

Maybe I was lifting harder than I thought I was... I know the two go hand in hand but I guess I thought that in combination that you burned a ton of calories... Maybe I found my "Thing" I like it a LOT more than cardio training!

Since muscle mass takes more energy/calories to maintain than fat, getting toned up means that you are burning more calories even when you are not working out. Cardio is a great workout, but it does not build muscle in the same way and therefore does not increase metabolism like weight training. If you are not planning on running races or doing events that require endurance, lift away!

I like to do a bit of both. One day I may go for a run, and another day I will use the universal down stairs in our basement. Most days though I get my exercise in through my DDR (which is a godsend in this cold weather). :)