Visceral fat: Is weight lifting or cardio best for getting rid of the harmful belly fat?
JANE FONDA once said "feel the burn" during an exercise video. As a result, the phrase has become synonymous with intense physical exercise. This same type of exercise can also be used to help lose weight, but is cardiorespiratory or weight lifting the best way to burn?
Dr Zoe Williams discusses visceral fat on This Morning
One of these is exercise.
However, there is debate over which type of exercise is most effective way to lose visceral fat.
Cardiorespiratory exercise is a type of exercise that refers to the strength of the body’s respiratory and circulatory system.
Examples of cardiorespiratory exercise, or cardio, for short are exercises such as running, swimming, and football.
READ MORE: Visceral fat: The lipid-lowering herb to help burn the fat
Weight lifting is a form of resistance training, the type of exercise that improves strength and endurance.
It is, more simply, the ability of an individual to lift a heavy object or weight.
Examples of weight lifting exercises include:
• Squats and leg presses
• Lunges
• Bench presses
• Chest presses
• Push ups
• Lat pull-downs
• Pull-ups
• Pullovers
• Rows
• Power lifts
• Deadlifts
• Clean and jerks
• Snatches.
Like cardio, this type of exercise can also improve endurance the two are often used in tandem.
Which one is best for reducing visceral fat is up for debate.
In September 2011, one study published in the journal Obesity, found that cardio was more effective than weightlifting at burning visceral fat.
However, just over three years later, in December 2014, the same researchers discovered that the opposite was the case.
Meanwhile, in 2012, a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, concluded that cardio was more effective.
These results are affected by another factor.
When individuals start doing more exercise their habits can change as well as their level of activity.
Their diets and other elements of their lifestyle can change; these all have their own impact on a person’s fitness and weight loss.
Lifestyle changes are an important part of trying to get fitter.
Even though exercise helps, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol intake amongst other changes, will supplement the abdominal weight loss.
What is certain is that, regardless of which exercise a person chooses, the fact they are exercising more will be beneficial to their physical and mental health.
Exercise releases chemicals in the body that improve the mood of the person engaging in that exercise.