Getting the body composition you want is not actually about (literally) running yourself into the ground. If you want to lose fat, this article goes over why cardio might be thwarting your goals. Instead of focusing on cardio, you need to focus on strength training.
What Is Cardio—and How Does It Burn Fat?
Cardiovascular exercise is any activity that elevates your heart rate for an extended period of time. Typical cardio includes running, cycling, swimming, and HIIT classes. Cardio burns calories during the activity itself, which can help create the caloric deficit you need for fat loss.
However, just because cardio burns calories doesn’t mean it’s the most effective or sustainable fat loss tool. This is because cardio burns body tissue in general. If you’re eating at a calorie deficit, cardio will burn fat and muscle along with it. Which is why strength training is so important.
Your body’s adaptation response also plays a role in the effectiveness of your cardio for fat loss results. You might see results initially from running 30 minutes a day, but the body adapts quickly and your metabolism will slow down to compensate for these adaptations over time. Unless you keep increasing intensity or duration, you’ll hit a plateau and stop burning fat from the same exercises that initially gave you results.
What Is Strength Training—and How Does It Support Fat Loss?
Strength training is a form of exercise that uses resistance with weights, bands, or bodyweight to build muscle, increase strength, and improve overall physical function.
The importance of strength training for fat loss cannot be emphasized enough. This is because strength training speeds the metabolism up through maintaining and building muscle. Muscle is expensive tissue, meaning that it requires a lot of calories to keep. When you build muscle, you need more calories, even at resting, to maintain it.
Strength training builds muscle, which boosts your calorie needs and improves body composition. Meaning, you can improve your metabolic rate and burn more fat without having to cut your caloric intake. This process takes time. However, you will see a reduction in fat as your muscle mass continues to increase. Especially if you are using a progressive overload principle in your routine. Personal training sessions with a coach can help you implement programming with progressive overload.
Strength Training vs Cardio For Fat Loss
Cardio is excellent for burning calories and improving heart health, but over time your body adapts to it, slowing your metabolism, and it doesn’t distinguish between burning muscle and fat. That’s why it shouldn’t be your only strategy for fat loss. Instead, focus on strength training and add in some cardio you enjoy (even something as simple as hiking) or aim for around 8,000 steps a day. This approach will help you improve your body composition. Plus, the benefits of walking are substantial for your health. If you are short on time, make strength training your primary focus.
The Science Behind Muscle, Metabolism, and Fat Loss
Metabolic health is complicated. Your metabolism is essentially the total of all the processes in your body that convert food into energy. The biggest component of that is your resting metabolic rate, or how many calories your body burns at rest. Muscle mass plays a major role in resting metabolic rate because it’s metabolically expensive tissue. That means the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just existing.
NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) is the energy your body burns through everyday activities that aren’t formal exercise, like walking, cleaning, fidgeting, typing, or even standing. Increasing NEAT also contributes to increasing your metabolism. Stress levels, overtraining, getting enough sleep, and hormones can also impact metabolism, sometimes negatively.
If you’re only doing cardio, you’re not building muscle, and in some cases (especially if you’re cutting calories), you might actually be losing it, which lowers your resting metabolic rate over time.
Can You Combine Strength and Cardio for Better Results?
Absolutely. Research shows that combining strength training with cardio can lead to greater fat loss and overall health improvements than doing either alone. Cardio supports heart health, endurance, and calorie burn, while strength training builds lean muscle—boosting your metabolism and improving body composition over time.
That said, always prioritize strength training in your routine. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning it helps you burn more calories even at rest. Once your strength sessions are in place, you can layer in cardio you enjoy—whether that’s running, cycling, swimming, hiking, or even brisk walking—to round out your fitness and keep your workouts balanced.
Mistakes to Avoid When Training for Fat Loss
When it comes to fat loss, more isn’t always better—smarter is better. Trying to do everything at once often leads to burnout, injury, or stalled progress. Here are some of the most common mistakes:
1. Doing Too Much Cardio
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Jumping into cardio 6+ days a week and adding strength training can quickly lead to overtraining.
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Overtraining can cause fatigue, injury, muscle loss, and stalled fat loss.
Better approach: Strength train 3–4 days per week, walk daily, and aim for 8,000–10,000 steps.
2. Not Strength Training Enough
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Relying only on cardio can lead to muscle loss, which lowers your metabolism over time.
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Muscle is metabolically active, meaning it helps you burn more calories—even at rest.
Better approach: Make strength training the foundation of your plan, with cardio as a supplement, not the focus.
3. Cutting Calories Too Much
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Severe calorie restriction causes muscle loss, energy dips, and a slowed metabolism.
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It can also lead to binge/restrict cycles.
Better approach:
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Eat just 100–300 calories less per day.
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Stay consistent for up to 3 months before reassessing.
4. Adding Cardio Before You Need It
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If you start with high-intensity cardio right away, you’ll have nowhere to progress when fat loss stalls.
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It also makes it harder to recover from strength training.
Better approach: Keep cardio light at first (walking, hiking, light cycling) and add structured sessions only when you hit a plateau.
5. Ignoring Stress & Recovery
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If you’re already stressed from work, family, or life, intense daily cardio can spike cortisol.
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Chronically high cortisol can stall fat loss, increase cravings, disrupt sleep, and even cause fat gain.
Better approach: Prioritize sleep, recovery days, and stress management alongside training and nutrition.
Understanding Body Recomposition
Many people say they want to “lose weight,” but what they truly mean is they want to lose fat. And often, what they really want is better body composition—less body fat paired with more lean muscle. This is why the scale can be misleading: muscle is denser than fat, so your weight might stay the same (or even go up) while your physique improves. Instead of obsessing over the number on the scale, focus on how your clothes fit, how strong you feel, and the progress you’re making in the gym.
Strength vs. Cardio: The Verdict for Fat Loss
The best approach? Prioritize strength training 3–4 days a week, and stay active with walking, hiking, or other movement you enjoy. You don’t need to grind through endless cardio unless you genuinely love it—because the most effective plan is one you can stick to long term.
Remember, nutrition and movement are your biggest tools for fat loss. Eat enough protein, track your macros, and lift consistently. Strength training keeps your metabolism firing and reshapes your body from the inside out.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat, and finally feel confident in your training? Book a coaching consult with Barpath Fitness and let’s create a plan that works for your body, your lifestyle, and your goals.
Want to learn more about strength training vs cardio for fat loss?
Listen to episode 239 of the Stronger Than Your Boyfriend Podcast: Strength Training vs Cardio for Fat Loss
