Should You Drop Pounds Before Picking Up A Weight?

I have heard it time and time again from people (yes men and women) that if you're overweight and wanting to get toned then you should first drop some weight with cardio before even looking at a weight.

Weight training gets the shaft when it comes to weight loss, however, it's the best proven method to lose fat! It's not just for tightening and toning your muscles... it's the all around fitness program.

If you are overweight then it's not a question of when you should replace cardio with weight training... it's a question of when can you start both! Combined they are the fat burning powerhouse.

If you're still skeptical here is what I am talking about:

Of course when you run you burn off calories. Some of that burning will cause fat to decrease, and some will cause muscles to decrease. Yup... cardio actually eats away some of your muscle and this is the last thing you want to have happen.

You see, your muscle is very active. To keep it healthy it requires energy (calories)... that means the more muscle you have the more calories each day you burn: The better metabolism you have.

If you decrease your muscle mass, what is the next thing to suffer? Your metabolism! Which means that it's much easier to add on fat even with exercise in the picture.

It doesn't sound good and trust me, I've been there it's no good at all. You will end up thinner, but still covered with a layer of fat. This is what I call being skinny fat. You still run the risk of health issues like high cholesterol and blood pressure even though your clothes are smaller.

And this is why it's so important to start with weight training. I do not recommend jumping straight into bench press or barbell squats, but starting with the fundamentals like body weight exercises.

Here is the other cool part about strength training to burn off fat... unlike with cardio you burn calories during the workout and then depending on the intensity of the workout, your metabolism stays revved up for up to 48 hours to help your body recover. With cardio it stays up for a very short period of time and then it's over.

That means a ton of calories burned up while you're watching tv at night or while your sitting at your desk. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

SO... back to the original question: Do you have to weight to drop a few pounds before adding strength training to your workout? NOPE. Start it today!

To recap: