[Chojin]

Originally Posted by elx

strength training is not superior to cardio. in cardio, you will lose weight faster because you are burning more calories in less amount of time than you would in strength training alone.

i don't think you're listening to what i'm saying, so i'll say it another way.

1 hour of exercise: cardio > lifting
1 week of exercise: lifting (3 days, 4 days rest) > cardio (7 days)
1 week of max fat loss: lifting (3 days), cardio (4 days)

you are also less restricted, you are able to exercise for longer unintermittedly.

Again, this is only an issue if you insist on looking at a several-hour window for calorie loss. Your rest days from lifting are also taking a toll on your body while it recovers from the lifts.

as it turns out though, the end results are equally sucky on their own, the most effective form of weight loss is neither, it would be a combination of the two, so we were both wrong.

It depends. If you're eating at an extreme deficit, you won't be able to do cardio for a long enough period for it to be useful without burning out and causing other problems. The activities involved in strength training are brief enough that you can usually do a set quickly and then sit down before you pass out. Every PSMF diet I've seen recommends no more than 30 minutes of cardio for this reason, and people stand to lose the greatest amount of weight in the smallest amount of time under those programs.

if you had to choose between the two, I would still say that you should opt for cardio. you just have more flexibility in your work out than you would in strength conditioning alone, because of this you can do it much more casually and get the exact same results you would have if you were doing squats, situps, pullups, weight lifting, etc.

If you were doing lifts alone, you'd have entire days off from your training and would spend less time doing it per-workout as well. However, cardio is more accessible for most people - but for those of use who SPLURGED on the $120 for a squat rack, it's far less of an inconvenience than a lengthy cardio exercise.