And that's what weight loss is all about. Calories in vs. calories out.
I speak from not only the obvious facts but also experience, I lost over 100lbs from January 2009 to July 2010 and got healthy in the process.
Summary: resistance training is most effective, then interval training (high intensity and lower intensity), and then steady state high intensity cardio training, and finally least effective steady state low intensity cardio training.
The reality is that an hour of cardio is going to burn many, many more calories than 15 minutes of lifting. Now, if you hate cardio and can't stand to do it for an hour, but you love lifting, then obviously you're better off lifting. But if you can learn to enjoy cardio, or if you want to do the workout that's the most effective for burning calories, you should be biking/running.
1. How many calories used to rebuild and strengthen the muscles?
2. How many more calories do your bigger and stronger muscles burn even when not in use?
This goes for both cardio and weight lifting.
Source: http://www.acefitness.org/fitnessqanda/fitnessqanda_display....
It's generally much easier to find time for 15 minutes of X than 60 minutes of Y.
In HN terms, you are arguing about which type of balanced tree is better but are ignoring the fact the data is only 100 items long and you're much better off just pushing out your MVP than agonizing over the inefficiency of one over the other.
The source of the argument does not take away from the validity of the argument itself. You should be able to evaluate an argument on it's points alone.
It really comes down to personal preference. Do the workout you're going to be able to keep doing.
The likely reasons you kept gaining weight while running, pick one or multiple:
- Not running as often as you lift, so the total calories burned per week (or month) was lower.
- Running too slowly so that your heart rate didn't get up to the point where you were really working.
- Ramping up your carb intake, whether consciously or subconsciously this is really common when people start running -- your body starts craving carbs. Which then results in a calorie increase, which is the real problem (not carbs themselves.)
- Policing your eating better while lifting.
Ultimately if you want to lose weight you have to not only exercise but also keep your daily calorie budget at a deficit. People who have trouble losing weight usually fail at the latter one.
The body is a complex machine, and "calories in, calories out" is an over-simplified way of looking at energy usage and storage. I hope you didn't write off the T-Nation article just because it's a bodybuilding/musclehead website. There are actually some very good tidbits on why things that don't burn tons of calories themselves end up having a significant effect on weight loss. Of particular interest may be the effects that HIIT regimens have on EPOC.
For context, I have done both steady-state cardio and HIIT before and saw good results from both, even though I have always been of slight stature. Currently, I do Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" barbell program, and, despite eating absurd amounts of food to fuel the increases in strength I'm making (generally eating at a 700-1000 calorie surplus), I have gained very little fat. It's like the T-Nation article says: the most effective weapon against fat loss is correct nutrition.
I didn't say exercises, I said activities. Sprinting will actually build muscle, jogging 20 miles will not. It is a difference in how your body adapts to the stimulus.
So, with that in mind, no, cardio typically is not a good choice for people with what 80% of people are hoping to achieve. Put plainly, the time/reward tradeoff is just too low. Sprint, bike sprint, row, swimming, they are all better than the elliptical, typical running and the like.
http://www.drkehres.com/2009/06/sprinters-versus-marathon-ru...
If you are a world class marathoner and are running 6 minute miles for a marathon, you will probably have some muscle and look pretty lean. That being said, 99% of the world is not this and are basically working out for hours with very, very little benefit to the time. However, even a recreational sprinter is going to see huge benefits from sprinting in both muscle building and fat reduction.