Concurrent, Resistance, or Aerobic Training: Which Works Best?
When it comes to trimming body fat, the fitness world has long debated the best approach: pounding the pavement with aerobic training, hitting the weights with resistance training, or blending both in a concurrent training plan. A new systematic review and meta-analysis pulls data from 36 studies to give us some much-needed clarity….and the results might surprise you.
The researchers compared resistance training (RT), aerobic training (AT), and concurrent training (CT) in fit adults, looking to change body composition by changing body mass, fat mass, body fat percentage, and fat-free mass (FFM).
To say it simply, they wanted to know which workout style helps you lose fat without losing too much muscle. And we never want to lose muscle….ever.
Here’s the big picture:
For programs lasting at least 10 weeks, aerobic training came out ahead of resistance training for reducing body weight and absolute fat mass. On average, participants lost about 1.8 kg more body mass and 1.06 kg more fat mass with AT than RT.Aerobic training tended to lead to more muscle loss, with about 0.88 kg less FFM retained compared to resistance training.Concurrent training—mixing aerobic and resistance workouts—outperformed resistance training alone for fat mass loss, but didn’t beat aerobic training by a meaningful margin.Across all groups, changes in body fat percentage weren’t significantly different, suggesting that while the scale may shift, the proportion of fat to muscle might stay similar.
For shorter programs (under 10 weeks), none of the training styles had a clear advantage for fat loss. And when researchers matched total training workload between the groups, the differences in fat loss essentially disappeared, meaning volume and effort might matter more than the type of exercise.
One interesting thing was that it didn’t matter if concurrent training was done on the same day or split across different days of the week. The results were nearly identical.
What does this mean for Athletes?
If your main goal is to drop fat quickly and you’re okay with some muscle loss, aerobic training still reigns supreme, especially over longer programs. But if you want to maintain muscle while losing fat, concurrent training offers a firm middle ground. Resistance training alone isn’t a fat-loss powerhouse, but it’s excellent for preserving muscle mass, so pairing it with aerobic work is a solid plan of attack to get jacked.
In other words, you don’t have to choose between running shoes and a barbell. Combining them, at a challenging workload and for at least 10 weeks, may give you the best shot at a leaner, stronger body.
Recommended Articles