In today’s time crunched society a question that I am often asked is, with limited time available should I be spending my work out on cardiovascular exercise or weight training for weight loss purposes? In a perfect world my answer would be both, however there will be days that it is just not possible.
A key point I try to emphasize is that in the “big picture” weight training has many health related benefits. The more muscle we have the more metabolically efficient we are (you will burn more calories in a resting state).The second reason is even more important, through caloric deprivation (diet- that nasty four letter word) we can lose up to 30% of our muscle mass. A result your are not looking for, as the more muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn, muscle loss we shut down. Strength training is important for many reasons that impact the quality of our life, such as performing our activities of daily living without injury, increases bone density, and improves balance. Self esteem improves when you feel good and look good.
Here is the answer- circuit training; this method the participant performs weight lifting exercises without a rest between exercises in order to keep your heart rate up. My favorite way to solve a time crunch problem is to perform a cardio-resistance program. This method meets both strength and weight lifting requirements. In between weight lifting exercise the participant performs a stationary cardiovascular exercise, such as jumping rope or jogging in place on a rebounder or even a Stairmaster. The goal is to keep your heart rate up and weight train each muscle group to fatigue. This can be accomplished in 30-40 minutes.
Bottom line- A great workout can be accomplished in minimal time if we stay focused on the quality of our workout and not the time spent!
