Is it faster to lose fat through aerobic exercise or strength exercise?

Only looking at the short-term weight loss rate of 1-3 months, aerobic is indeed faster； But if you count "the proportion of pure fat lost and the long-term fat loss efficiency without rebound", the benefits of strength training are several levels higher.

Last summer, I helped two students lose weight at the same time. The little girl was in a hurry to lose weight in order to take her graduation photos. She ran 5 kilometers in the playground every day and jumped rope for 40 minutes. She lost 22 pounds in two months. When she wore the bachelor's uniform, her waist shrunk by a full circle. The film looked particularly good. However, she ate hot pot for three consecutive days at the graduation party, and her weight immediately rebounded by 18 pounds. Later she complained to me that her scale increased after eating even one more bite, and her basal metabolism had dropped a lot. Another boy wanted to fit into the suit he wore when he got married. He didn't pursue speed but wanted stability. He did strength training four times a week for 40 minutes each time and only took two days to go to the park for a half-hour brisk walk on weekends. He only lost 12 pounds in two months. However, the suit went from being too tight to button to being wider at one edge, and his waistline was 7 centimeters smaller. Now that more than half a year has passed, he occasionally goes out to have a drink with a client, and his weight has stabilized and has not increased at all.

In fact, the fitness circle has been arguing about this matter for almost ten years. Both sides have provided solid research data, and no one can convince the other. People who do standing aerobics calculate real-time energy consumption: for the same hour of exercise, jogging can burn about 550 kcal, and skipping can burn up to 600 kcal. Regular strength training will also consume 350-400 kcal at the same time. The difference of 200 kcal is almost equal to the calories of a small bowl of rice. In a short period of time, the caloric gap will become larger, and it is inevitable to lose weight quickly. Many of my friends who compete in bodybuilding competitions need to quickly gain weight in the early stages of preparation, and they will also do a lot of aerobics first. It is common to lose three to four pounds in a week, and the results are immediate.

But people who do strength training think about the longer-term compound interest account. Let’s not talk about the excessive oxygen consumption (EPOC) effect after strength training - that is, in the 12 to 24 hours after training, the body will burn 100-200 more calories than usual to repair muscle fibers. Although it is not as exaggerated as "it can last for an hour" as advertised on the Internet, it is still a lot of consumption when added up. The more core benefit is the growth of muscle mass: for every 1 kilogram of muscle gain, you can burn about 100 more calories every day while lying down, which is equivalent to walking 2,000 more steps every day. This is the basis of a true "easy to lose weight" physique.

Of course, the aerobic pitfalls are obvious. I tried running 5 kilometers every day for two months in the past two years and lost 14 pounds. However, my body fat rate only dropped by 3 percentage points. To put it bluntly, a lot of the weight I lost was water and muscle. Then I stopped for half a month due to knee pain. I ate two hot pot meals without restraint and gained 11 pounds directly. Moreover, because I have lost a lot of muscle, my face has become slumped a lot. My whole body looks shriveled, and I don’t have the firmness I feel after losing weight at all. My friends around me even asked me if I hadn’t rested well recently.

Of course, strength training is not perfect. The biggest problem is that it is "slow". In the first month of training, novices may not lose even one or two pounds of weight. They may even gain one or two pounds because of water storage in the muscles. Many people give up if they cannot survive this period, feeling that their training has been in vain. But if you pinch your waist and measure your legs, you will find that your pants are already half a size loose. This is just because muscle is three times heavier than fat, so the weight number does not reflect it.

There is really no need to compete with each other, it all depends on your needs. If you are taking wedding photos or attending an important party next month and are anxious to fit into a dress that is one size smaller, then dancing to Pamela for 40 minutes every day for this month, controlling your diet, and losing five or six pounds is absolutely no problem and is enough for emergencies. But if you want to lose weight without regaining it, maintain a good figure without going hungry every day, and even have a waistline and tight lines after losing weight, then you really need to take time to do some strength training, even if you only do it three times a week for 30 minutes each time, you will know how good it is after a few months of practice.

When I teach students to lose fat now, I usually ask them to do 40 minutes of strength training first, followed by 20 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or climbing. This can not only increase the caloric consumption for the day, but also prevent muscle loss. Basically, they lose 4-6 pounds of pure fat in a month, and their waist circumference can be reduced by 3-4 centimeters. The speed of weight loss is not the fastest, but it is very stable and rarely rebounds.

In fact, there is no standard answer for fat loss. The one you can persist in and meets your current needs is the best. After all, we don’t lose weight just to look at the scale. Wearing good-looking clothes, being comfortable, and not having to go hungry every day are the serious things, right?