To find out whether burning calories in cardiovascular exercise is the same as burning calories in resistance training, a new study looked at physiological and hormonal responses to the two different workouts, when the number of calories burned and the duration of the two sessions measured exactly. the same laundry. The study showed that resistance training triggers much greater fat-burning responses in the body than simple calorie counting suggests.
A test was set up comparing the physiological and hormonal responses of 12 healthy, recreationally active female participants to the two different types of exercise. The calories burned during the resistance training, a Les Mills 'Bodypump class' using light to medium weights with high repetition, were measured and used to set the intensity of the next cycling session to ensure that calorie expenditure was exactly were the same between the two workouts. Blood was collected from the participants before and after the resistance training and before and after the cycling session to measure their hormonal profiles.
“The results clearly show that calories are not the best indicator of how effective our workouts are,” said the lead researcher. “A workout that burns 300 calories through effective resistance training like Bodypump does a lot more for our body in the long run than a cardio workout that burns the same 300 calories.”
Both workouts increased levels of human growth hormone (HGH), which oxidizes fat and builds lean muscle, but HGH was 56% greater after the resistance workout compared to cycling. In addition, blood lactate was also measured. The accumulation of lactate from exercise elicits the hormone growth response described above. In fact, training at an intensity above the lactate threshold, for at least 10 minutes within a workout, is widely believed to be the greatest stimulus available for HGH secretion. The lactate was no less than 81% higher after the resistance training training compared to the cycling training.
In this age of activity tracking when we have instant exercise data at our fingertips, it's tempting to measure all exercise by calories burned. This study clearly shows that it's not just about the number of calories burned, but the variety of ways you burn them. An exercise regimen that combines the right balance of resistance and cardio training ensures that all the positive long-term benefits are maximized, making calorie counting just one consideration when assessing your workout.
