One of the biggest issues of the modern society is the promotion of physical inactivity due to the advancements of technologies and social media, which intend to restrict our movements to as little as possible with the world on your fingertips. The physical inactiveness, along with bad diet and deteriorating daily routines are the main causes of the current obesity epidemic and the increasing prevalence of a number of lifestyle related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, cirrhosis, cancers and heart diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an adult to perform a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise or a combination equivalent of both each week for health benefits. Recent research showed that one needs to perform up to 2-3 times the WHO minimum in order to achieve maximum benefits from exercise. Just doing the number may not be enough though. For many who want to trim, the type of exercise you do can make a difference in how quickly and effectively you can lose fat. One should always tailor their exercise regime based on their goals in order to achieve optimal results.
Resistance training VS Aerobic training
Research has shown that resistance training can improve lean body mass and glucose tolerance. The role of resistance training in fat loss is more debated, some suggested that resistance training could increase resting metabolic rate, hence induce fat loss. However, many of the studies to date found that resistance training doesn't significantly reduce fat mass irrespectively of the resting metabolic rate compared to the placebo. The effect of resistance training on fat mass is therefore inconclusive and resistance training is not effective for fat loss.
On the other hand aerobic training (65% - 80% peak VO2, 150 minutes or 20km equivalent per week) decreases both body weight and fat mass significantly compared to resistance training and is more effective for fat loss.
A combination of resistance training and aerobic training has been found to further promote fat loss in diabetic patients but not in inactive, obese individuals compared to doing aerobic training alone. However, combing resistance training and aerobic training has been found to significantly decrease waist circumference compared to resistance training alone.
High intensity aerobic interval training VS continuous moderate intensity aerobic training
High intensity aerobic interval training (~90% VO2) can increase fat oxidation in a very short period and can significantly reduce blood lipid levels compared to continuous moderate intensity aerobic training (VO2 65% - 75%). It also burns more calories than continuously moderate aerobic training and has a higher post exercise energy expenditure. High intensity aerobic interval training has been shown to require only 50% - 60% of the time to achieve the same gain in fitness compared to moderate intensity aerobic training. However, it is more prone to injury due to the increased intensity and harder for people to adhere to the training program.
Interestingly, one recently study by Keating et al. 2014 published in the Journal of Obesity suggested that although high intensity aerobic interval training is effective at fat loss and improves fitness, continuous moderate intensity aerobic training is better at improving fat distribution independently of weight loss in previously inactive, overweight adults.
Taken all the information together, the best way to lose fat and gain good body shape is to combine high intensity aerobic interval training with moderate intensity aerobic training and resistance training. Balance is key. Talk to your fitness professional to properly plan your exercise regime in order to prevent overtraining and injuries and to achieve maximum benefits.
