Weight-Loss Lies

You want to lose weight, and you’re faced with a choice: Resistance training, aerobic training, or both? If you’ve been reading about the latest weight-loss study from Duke University researchers, which found aerobic exercise zapped four times more weight than resistance training, the choice may seem simple: drop those dumbbells and hit the elliptical!

Wrong move, explains Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness and Men’s Health fitness advisor.

Cosgrove reviewed the Duke study, which divided 144 overweight individuals into three groups: One group performed machine-based resistance training; one group performed aerobic training on elliptical machines, stationary bikes, or treadmills; and the last group performed both training regimens.

The results after eight months: The aerobic exercise group lost five times more abdominal fat than the weight lifters. The aerobic group also dropped more visceral fat, and experienced a greater drop in their liver fat scores than the other two groups. Case closed,  right? Not really.

More from MensHealth.com: The 15-Minute Workout: 3 Moves, 300 Muscles

“It's essentially an apples-to-oranges comparison,” Cosgrove says, pointing out that no experienced trainer would prescribe a regimen of only machine-based resistance exercises for someone hoping to lose weight. The study group performed eight isolation exercises, including knee curls and leg extensions—not the full-body moves prescribed by Men's Health that challenge muscles and boost the heart rate. “This doesn’t show that resistance training doesn't work. It shows that this specific machine program doesn't work.”

Cosgrove also pointed out the aerobic group lost an average of only 4.4 pounds after eight months of training, while the resistance group actually gained 1.5 pounds. “If anything, this study showed the ineffectiveness of both programs at producing any real results,” he says. A well-designed program can burn up to three pounds of fat per week, shows a study from the University of Conneticut.

So what’s the best way to burn fat? A circuit-training routine of high-intensity resistance exercises designed to burn calories and boost metabolism, Cosgrove says, combined with a proper diet, of course.

Cosgrove highlights dozens of studies that show resistance training trumps aerobic training when it comes to weight loss, including one Penn State University experiment that found aerobic training had hardly any weight-loss benefits when combined with a reduced-calorie diet. However, adding resistance training to the mix boosted fat loss by 35 percent, or an additional five pounds of weight loss after just 12 weeks, the study says.

So if you’re serious about losing weight, try our Zero Excuses Workout, which Cosgrove designed for Men’s Health. Just 30 minutes of dumbbell squats, burpees, and pushups 3 days a week will help you incinerate fat and transform your body.

And sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the Men's Health Personal Trainer and receive individualized diet and workout plans, our database of hundreds of exercise videos, and tracking tools.

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