There is this myth circling in the weight loss community that it is impossible to burn fat without cardio. This absolutely not true. The problem comes when people assume the building muscle means that you have to become bulky, and that if you want to burn fat, you have to do more cardio.
The real truth is that lean muscle mass burns fat, not just the activity we perform. Your muscle is what makes your body burn fat, so of course if you have more lean muscle, you will be burning more fat. Doing traditional cardio, the kind we are all used to, actually does very little to help your body burn fat.
If cardio doesn’t work, how can I build more muscle to burn more fat? If you intend to build muscle quickly, then you should do compound exercises rather than isolation exercises. Compound exercises are exercises like bench press, rows and squats. These exercises make your body build muscle all over, rather than just one or two places, and they have a huge effect on your body’s fat burning ability.
The secret of building more muscle and losing more fat is to do these exercises without a rest in between sets. Resting between sets will let your body and heart rate slow down, but if you take no breaks, you will get cardiovascular exercise while you build muscle at the same time. You can build muscle, burn fat, and improve your heart and lungs.
It is true that you can burn fat without cardio, you just need to build more muscle with compound exercises. Doing so the right way will get you more cardiovascular effects and get your body burning more fat than ever before. Your heart rate will stay elevated, your lung capacity will improve, and your body will be burning fat because of the extra muscle you’ve built.