Fit personal trainer FitLifeLucy shares why you don’t need cardio to lose weight

A fit personal trainer has revealed why you don’t need to do hours of cardio or take up running to lose weight fast, as the secret is actually to start lifting weights.

Health coach Lucy Baker, who runs the successful Instagram blog Fit Life Lucy, shared a post on Thursday dispelling the myth that running is one of the best ways to shift unwanted kilos. 

‘When I first started my fitness journey, I would run. I didn’t like running, but I forced myself because I thought I should. I ran because I thought it would get me lean and toned,’ the Sydneysider said.

‘It was only when I started strength training and reduced excess cardio that led to me getting amazing results. If your goal is to look strong, toned, athletic and healthy, running isn’t your answer. ⠀

‘Strength training is.’

Her basic rules for losing weight is to incorporate strength training into your regime, adapt your diet to include high quality nutrition, move daily, get plenty of rest and manage your stress levels. 

‘Your body will thank you for it,’ she said.

Running, or cardio more broadly, is a tool that increases energy expenditure but it’s not the most effective because it’s high impact and high stress on the body.

Walking does the exact same job but with minimal stress on the muscles and joints.

There is nothing wrong with lacing up the sneakers for a run if it’s something you enjoy, but Lucy argues that it’s not an essential component if you’re doing it out of guilt. 

In February Lucy underwent a ‘fairly aggressive fat loss phase’ for hour weeks before a photoshoot, losing nearly four kilos in the process

‘Dieting is stress on the body, but paired with the right amount of training, recovery and optimising your nutrition to get enough nutrients in, it’s a very effective way to get results quickly,’ she said at the time

In February Lucy underwent a ‘fairly aggressive fat loss phase’ for hour weeks before a photoshoot, losing nearly four kilos in the process. 

‘Dieting is stress on the body, but paired with the right amount of training, recovery and optimising your nutrition to get enough nutrients in, it’s a very effective way to get results quickly,’ she said at the time.

‘My goal was to lose body fat and maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible.’

Her plan, which was set out by fellow fitness trainer Micah Katarina, was to eat less than half of her maintenance calories, 120g of protein, and at least eight hours of sleep a night.

On top of that Lucy walked 20,000 steps a day on average, lifted heavy weights three times a week and steered clear of any running. 

This doesn’t mean this is the right approach for you to take, but my goal is to always lead from the front and teach you what can be done if you set your mind to it,’ she said.