If I gave you 45 minutes and told you could either go for a run, get on the treadmill, take a cycling class, or pick up some weights and strength train. Which one would you choose? If your goal is to lose weight. Many women have been told if you want to lose do more cardio. Walk longer. Burn more calories. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat more. But is that really the best approach? More cardio. And still nothing’s changing. More cardio. But is another piece of the equation that we can’t ignore–muscle. When you think about exercise, are you trying to burn calories? Are you thinking, I’m trying to build a stronger body? Because those are two very different mindsets. Okay, Vanessa. So which is better for weight loss cardio or strength training?
All right. Welcome back. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Vanessa Carlton fitness podcast. I’m not physical therapist and founder of Vanessa Carlton Fitness, where we help busy women become stronger, healthier and more confident 1% more each day without spending hours in the gym. Question for you guys. Can I ask you a question? If I gave you 45 minutes and told you you could either go for a run, get on the treadmill, take a cycling class, or pick up some weights and strength train.
Which one would you choose? If your goal is to lose weight.
For years, for years people were told that you have to do more cardio. Right. More sweat.
Many women have been told if you want to lose weight, do more cardio. Walk longer. Burn more calories. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat more. But is that really the best approach? Especially when you’re getting older. If you’re hitting that 40 mark, 50 year old mark, is that the best approach? Especially after 40. Or should you be lifting some weights?
Today we’re going to settle the cardio versus strength training debate and answer the question. However, it might not be as simple as you think. But before I give you my answer, I am curious which one do you prefer cardio or strength training? And be honest. Maybe you love lifting weights but hate the treadmill. Maybe you could walk for hours, but you’d rather do almost anything than pick up a dumbbell or kettlebell, or get on a strength training machine.
Put cardio or strength in the comments. I want to see which one wins. All right, guys, let’s dive in. Let’s start with cardio. Cardiovascular exercise is incredibly valuable. Walking, running, cycling, swimming, dancing and singing that gets you moving and challenges your cardiovascular system can be wonderful for your health. Cardio can improve your aerobic capacity, your endurance, your cardiovascular fitness,
Your endurance, your stamina. And it can help you increase your overall activity. So I am not going to tell you to stop doing cardio, especially if you enjoy it, especially if you love it. But here’s where I think some women get stuck. They believe more cardio automatically means more weight loss. So when the scale stops moving, what do they do?
More cardio. And still nothing’s changing. More cardio. And eventually they’re spending hours trying to burn as many calories as possible. But there is another piece of the equation that we can’t ignore muscle, especially as we get older. If we aren’t actively challenging our muscles, we tend to lose muscle mass over time. And that’s important because muscle isn’t just something that makes you look toned.
Muscle helps you move, carry, lift, climb, balance. It protects your independence to be able to participate in those functional day to day activities and continue doing the things you love as you age. That’s why strange running becomes so important and no strain. Training doesn’t mean you have to become a bodybuilder. It means giving your muscles a reason to stay strong.
Let’s say that again. Strength training is giving your muscles a reason to stay strong. Dumbbells. Resistance bands. Kettlebells. Machines. Bodyweight exercises. There are many ways to build strength. I love coming alongside women, figuring out what do they need now, where they are now, in their season of life, and growing with them so that they’re giving their muscles a reason to stay strong?
I’ve worked with women who came to me doing almost nothing but cardio. They were walking, running, taking classes, spending plenty of time moving their bodies, which is wonderful. But they were frustrated because they weren’t seeing the changes that they wanted. And often their response was, I guess I need to do more cardio. And I learned it was mostly because that’s what they already knew and what they were already comfortable with.
Whereas strength training or using machines and free weights, dumbbells or bands seemed overwhelming, intimidating, and it can seem like a lot to take on by yourself, especially when you already have much to think about. Most of the women I work with, if not all, are busy managing, running and growing their families businesses, careers. Instead of adding more cardio.
With some of my clients, we added strength training, and for everyone, it’s going to be a little different because everyone’s in a different season of life. And it was it every day. So not every day, not for hours, just consistently. And over time, they noticed something. They weren’t just changing how they looked. They were feeling more confident, getting stronger.
Everyday activities became easier. And that feeling of confidence changes the game. When you walk into a meeting, into a room and their entire definition of progress started changing. Okay, so let me ask you something. When you think about exercise, are you trying to burn calories or are you thinking, I’m trying to build a stronger body? Because those are two very different mindsets.
You know, burning all these calories versus building a stronger body. If every workout is only successful when your, you know, your Apple Watch or whatever device you use tells you that you burned X amount of calories, and that’s enough. You may be missing some of the biggest benefits. Exercise can give you. What if instead you started asking. Am I stronger than I was last month?
Am I doing something more challenging with my muscles? Can I lift something I couldn’t lift before? Can I climb stairs more easily? Am I doing harder, more challenging hikes? Can I carry my groceries without struggling? Can I get up from the floor with more confidence? Those victories is crucial and they matter. So now let’s answer the question you’ve probably been waiting for.
Okay, Vanessa. So which is better for weight loss cardio or strength training? Cardio or straight training? Here’s my answer. I don’t want you choosing one and completely ignoring the other. They do different things and they complement each other beautifully. Cardio helps improve your cardiovascular fitness and can increase the energy expenditure. Strength training helps maintain and build muscle and improve strength and function.
And there is something else that matters tremendously for weight loss nutrition,
Because you cannot out exercise poor eating habits. You cannot out exercise your eating habits. You could do an incredible strength workout. You could walk five miles high. That song. I would walk 500 miles. You could spend 45 minutes on the treadmill. But if your overall lifestyle doesn’t support your goals.
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Exercise alone may not produce weight loss results that you’re expecting. That’s why I don’t want you obsessing over what’s the best exercise for weight loss. I want you thinking, what’s the healthiest lifestyle I can actually maintain? I love getting to know my clients and understanding what season of life they are in, and what are their habits now, and where we can make some changes.
It’s just little things over time that make huge results impacting results. I’ve seen women make this shift. They stop trying to punish themselves with exercise. They stop thinking I ate too much yesterday. So I need to burn it off today instead. Exercise became something they did because they wanted to take care of themselves. They walked because they enjoyed walking.
They strength train because they wanted to become stronger. And muscle also burns fat,
Gives you more energy as well. They ate well because they wanted to nourish their bodies and suddenly fitness wasn’t punishment anymore. It became part of their life. I love when people start learning how strength training and the different phases of strength training and the benefits of the phases of strength training and how you know, as you go from one, you can go to the next.
And it’s just unique to each individual. And I love when the light bulbs go off in their mind and they realize that this is doable. It’s more simple than they realize, and they’re enjoying it and feeling more confident. So can I encourage you? Exercise shouldn’t be punishment for something you ain’t are. It shouldn’t. When people tell me that, I cringe like no, exercise is not a punishment you don’t need.
You don’t need to earn your dinner. You don’t need to burn off dessert. Movement is something your body was created to do. We were made to move. It’s a gift. When you start looking at exercise as something you get to do instead of something you have to do, the entire relationship with fitness can change. So if you’re a woman over 40, here’s what I’d encourage you to think about.
Move your body regularly. If you’re not walking at all and you can’t go for a walk. Or maybe it’s a dance bike riding, swimming, do cardio you actually enjoy and make strength training a regular part of your routine. Because we’re not just training for the number on the scale. We’re training for the next ten, 20, 30 or 40 years of your life.
We’ve got life to live. Let’s live it well. Let’s be well. So here’s my final question for you. What do you want your body to still be able to do ten years from now? Ten years from now. Do you want to still travel? I know I do hike, I want to do that too. I love hiking and seeing something beautiful and seeing a waterfall or rivers and lakes.
Play with your children. Play with your grandchildren. Carry your own groceries. Get up from the floor. Walk around a new city all day. Walk on the beach for more than ten minutes. Think about it, because that answer might completely change how you exercise today. If you’re comfortable sharing, tell me in the comments. What are you training for? What are you training for?
Not just what weight do you want to be? What do you want your body to be capable of doing? I’d love to hear your answer. Here’s your challenge this week. If you do mostly cardio and one strength workout, if you mostly strain, train at a walk in a bike, ride, a swim, or another form of cardio you enjoy.
Don’t think cardio or strength. So thinking cardio and strength because your body benefits from both. I truly believe we need to change the way we think about fitness as we get older. Exercise. Simply. This exercise isn’t simply about trying to become smaller. It’s about becoming more capable, more confident, more resilient, and stronger. For whatever the reason God has called you to do so, you want to feel stronger, healthier, resilient, and capable to do the things you are called to do to live your purpose.
Why not? Taking care of the body God has entrusted to you is an investment in your future. And the other thing I’ve learned when I take care of myself, my kids are watching. I’m dropping seeds for them. I want them to have those good habits as well. So as an investment in my future. And it’s also blessing the people around me.
And when I feel good, when you feel good, everyone else is blessed by it. And I want you to have the strength and energy to enjoy that future, your future self. All right, guys, if today’s episode help you share it with another woman who’s spending hours doing cardio because she thinks it’s the only way to lose weight, it may be just the only thing she’s comfortable with or knows what to do.
She may need a little help or encouragement. Maybe she needs to hear that there’s another piece of the puzzle, and if you’d like help building a fitness plan, design around your body, your goals, and your lifestyle. I would love to walk alongside you. Visit Vanessa Carlson to learn more about our one on one live coaching, live virtual training, and supportive community.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today. Any of these episodes are encouraging you and helping you become healthier. I would love to have you join us! Consider subscribing. Go ahead and like this video so you don’t miss future conversations. We release new episodes every weekday and I’d love to continue this journey with you.
Until next time, keep moving, keep smiling, keep getting stronger. And remember, you don’t have to choose between cardio and strength. Build a body that can keep doing the things you love for years to come. God bless you and I’ll see you in the next episode where we’re going to discuss why am I gaining weight when I’m eating less?
Ciao for now.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.