The cardiovascular exercise that many people do is not helpful in losing weight, [personal trainer Jim] Karas says. It is great for your heart, but doesn’t increase your metabolism and so it won’t help you shed pounds.
The evidence is everywhere, he says: Look around your gym and notice the number of overweight people on the treadmills; then compare them with the physiques of people in the weight room. In 1987, there were 4.4 million treadmill users in the United States, and 37.1 million by 1998, Karas notes. Meanwhile, Americans have continued to get fatter.
Karas recommends his clients devote 25 percent of their exercise to cardiovascular work and 75 percent to strength and resistance training. He recommends working with elastic ropes and free weights that can even be carried with them when they travel.
The bottom line, Karas says is that muscle burns calories; the more you have, the more you burn.