If you are told the exact training to do to help you lose weight, will you do it? Ok, let’s proceed on this journey.

The truth is that weight loss is about creating a calorie deficit, this is to say, burning more calories than you take in. So, they say, while running at an 8-minute-mile pace might be a great calorie burner if you’re not going to do it, it’s not going to help you. Instead, start with something you can do, like walking or working out on an elliptical machine or exercise bike.

In all cases, however, you’ll burn more calories with cardio (aerobic) exercise than with strength or resistance training. This is what a kinesiology professor, Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., FACSM, went further to say; “Strength training itself will not lead to an appreciable amount of weight loss because it just doesn’t burn enough calories,”

You might want to ask; what about all that talk that more muscle mass equates to more calories burned, even when you’re at rest? Gaesser said it’s a myth. The only successful studies to show a significant calorie burn following a weight-lifting workout (afterburn) were done with serious lifters, working out for 60 to 90 minutes at a time and lifting as much as they could on every set.

Gaesser says, at best, gaining one pound of muscle will help you burn 5 to 10 extra calories a day. You could do that chewing gum.

That’s not to say that strength training isn’t important for the overall health of the body. But when it comes to burning the most calories, go for cardiovascular exercise. And vary the intensity, says Quist.

“Do aerobic base-building workouts,” he says, where you alternate between moderate and higher intensity, either within the same workout or on alternate days.

Quist also recommends cross-training — that is, doing a range of different activities during your workouts. Not only does this help you keep from getting bored, but it’s also better for your body. Doing different activities recruits different muscle groups. You’re also less likely to develop an injury, says Quist, since doing the same thing day after day creates wear patterns on your joints.

Keep in mind that exercise is just one portion of a successful weight loss program, say experts. Stay tuned for the next blog post on this…let’s enjoy the journey of weight loss, talk to you soon.