The perennial discussion among those who work out always includes the best way to lose weight and fight obesity. Invariably, it comes down to runners/cardio enthusiasts versus lifters, each camp convinced their activity is the best for losing and maintaining weight and heart health. Anyone who disagrees with either camp risks banishment or ridicule. Each discipline’s devotees swear by their method of exercise and will recite sources to prove their position. However, allow me to join the debate with information from a recent study that may change some minds. Just remember, for the purpose of this article we’re primarily talking about fat in and around the heart, not overall fat on one’s body.
Researchers in Denmark at Copenhagen University Hospital recently released their findings regarding the best method for burning fat—and the winner is: weightlifting. To be more specific, resistance training burned dangerous fat around the heart. Let me explain.
The study looked at resistance training and found that it burned fat stored in the heart at a higher rate than cardio. What? Stay with me. There are two types of fat: pericardial adipose tissue mass, fat that surrounds the heart, and epicardial adipose tissue mass, fat found in the heart’s muscle tissue. Both aerobic exercise and resistance training reduced epicardial fat, however, only weightlifting had a significant effect on pericardial fat.
The Denmark researchers had 50 participants that were randomly assigned a 12-week endurance or resistance training regimen. Each group exercised three times a week for 45 minutes. Their results were compared to people who did no exercise at all. The resistance exercisers’ heart fat dropped by 31 per cent compared to the group that did no exercise. Bottom line—since cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of death in the world, and coronary artery disease makes up the greatest proportion of those deaths, it makes sense to spend time doing exercises that keep one’s heart as lean and healthy as possible.
So, why does the calorie-burning process work so well with resistance exercise? Researchers surmised the result is likely due to weightlifting burning more calories compared to running on a treadmill or hitting the Stairmaster. Regitse Hojgaard Christensen, MD, the study’s lead author said, “We know from other studies that resistance training is a stronger stimulus for increased muscle mass and increased basal metabolism compared to endurance training.” She explained that the weightlifting group performed three to five sets of 10 exercises during each session with medium weights. “This specific exercise intervention alone was effective in reducing both fat depots of the heart.”
Keeping pericardial fat low is vital to good heart health. In fact, studies have found that too much of it could lead to an irregular and rapid heart rate, which could cause poor blood flow.
While there are plenty of studies looking at the impact of reducing abdominal obesity, the new study is interesting because it looks specifically at the relation between exercise and fat around the heart)” said Dr. Chadi Alraeis, a staff interventional cardiologist and director of Interventional Cardiology at Detroit Medical Center’s Heart Hospital.
Alraeis suspects, based on the new study, that the best way to combat heart fat is to do both endurance and weight training. “Along with the time you spend on the treadmill, you might want to add some work with dumbbells, or some lunges, sit-ups or pushups,” Alraeis said. “It might even be enough to bring some weights to the office so you can use them there. One added benefit of weight training is the overall fat-loss due to the calorie burn after the workout is completed.”
Studies have demonstrated that after a weight-training workout, metabolism can be boosted for up to 38 hours post-workout. Translation? Rather than burning, for example, 60 calories an hour while watching TV, you're burning 70. That doesn’t sound like a lot until you multiply it by 38 hours. Now that’s a big difference.
When you calculate your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day and did absolutely nothing except breathe, one of the factors that goes into this is your total body weight. The most accurate equations will also consider lean body mass, which represents your muscles, bones, and organs. The more muscle you have on your body, the higher this rate will be and the better the calorie-burning results you will obtain 24/7.
To be sure, no one suggests choosing just one type of exercise over the other, resistance or cardio. In fact, the researchers suggest using both aerobic and resistance to reduce cardiac fat and overall body fat.
For an in-depth look at the study, find it published in JAMA Cardiology.
Stay Safe, Brothers and Sisters!
