Strength or aerobic training - what should a girl choose?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2013-09-03

This question is often asked by many girls who are considering starting to go to a fitness club. It's understandable because trainers in gyms and aerobics classes say the same thing: "Want a good figure? Strength train or do aerobics!". You can find girls with good figures in both gyms and aerobics studios. So what is more appropriate for each woman?

Only strength training.

This option is suitable for thin girls. That is, if the difference between your height and weight is more than 114. For example, if you are 165 cm tall and weigh 50 kg (the difference is 115). In this case, you need to gain a little weight with strength training at first. The aim is to reduce the difference to around 110 – 112.

It's worth noting that even thin girls carry some excess fat. But this is not a reason to lose more weight (The trend of weight loss – a one-sided view of women). It makes sense to gain a bit of muscle first, so that when you are losing excess fat (cutting), you won't be left with just skin and bones.

By the way, everything mentioned above does not mean that aerobic exercises are strictly contraindicated for thin girls. It's just that they won't contribute to achieving your goal (an ideal figure) because they do not help with weight gain.

Only aerobic training.

If the difference between height and weight is 102 or less, meaning that if you are 162 cm tall and weigh 60 kg or more, it indicates that you clearly have excess weight. In this case, there’s no point in focusing on building muscle right now. At least, not until you lose weight to a difference of about 110 – 112.

But again, if you want to "bulk up," go ahead. Just do it after your cardio workouts. In other words, as a supplement to them, not instead of them. By the way, you can also do strength-based aerobic workouts at the gym. But more on that later.

Both aerobic and strength training.

Now, if the difference between height and weight is between 103 and 114, that means the deviation from the ideal ratio (approximately 112) is not too great. In this case, it makes sense to combine aerobics and strength training. Moreover, if you still need to lose weight, you should focus more on aerobics. For example, do 3 aerobic sessions a week and 1 strength session. If your goal is to gain a little (2 – 3 kg), then you can do 3 strength training sessions and 1 aerobic session. Additionally, aerobic and strength training do not necessarily have to be performed separately. There’s an intermediate training approach called strength aerobics.

Strength aerobics.

This is something between strength training and cardiovascular training (aerobics). That is, when you perform strength exercises but with high intensity. For instance, strength training in the gym using the circuit method. These exercises are purely strength-based but are performed in a very intense (aerobic) manner. There are also group classes like BODY SCULPT, POWER BALL, UPPER BODY (there are tons of varieties, but I can't name them all). What, in essence, is a strength training session following the circuit method, but conducted outside of the gym in a group exercise setting.

Conclusion.

1. If you are thin (even if you have some excess fat), the best approach at first is to just "bulk up" until you reach the desired weight.

2. If you have obvious excess weight, you currently need only aerobic exercises.

3. If your weight differs from the ideal (112 difference) by only a few kg, then it makes sense to combine strength training and aerobics. You can perform strength training and aerobics separately, or you can merge them into strength aerobics.