Today on the Ask Coach Parry podcast we talk about getting the balance right between cardio and weights in order to lose weight. Do you need to drop one and focus on the other to get the best results?

Today’s question was submitted by Nathan and this is what he asked:

I am a fairly thin guy in my 30s and love long distance running and I eat a LCHF diet. However I would love to get rid of my pesky love handles and gain a little muscle mass but have been told that I need to lift heavy and not run.

My question is can I do both and still get good results or would I be better off focusing on losing body fat and gaining muscle and stop running for a season?

Brad Brown: Today on the Ask Coach Parry podcast we talk about getting the balance right between cardio and weights in order to lose weight. Do you need to drop one and focus on the other to get the best results?

Today’s question was submitted by Nathan and this is what he asked:

I am a fairly thin guy in my 30s and love long distance running and I eat a LCHF diet. However I would love to get rid of my pesky love handles and gain a little muscle mass but have been told that I need to lift heavy and not run.

My question is can I do both and still get good results or would I be better off focusing on losing body fat and gaining muscle and stop running for a season?

Must you stop running to get a beach body?

Lindsey Parry: You can definitely do both. As with anything in life it’s a question of achieving the right balance. If he wants to look good and get  the beach body, he’s going to have to compromise a little bit on the running.

It’s still a good idea to keep running because it’s cardiovascular exercise. That cardiovascular exercise is a good way to make sure that he remains lean, but more importantly he remains healthy. You’d need to spend a little more time doing strength training and building the muscle if that is you primary goal.

If you’re just looking to get a little bit stronger, look a bit more masculine but your focus is still on the running. Well then you just going to do a lot of running, and try and fit in as much strength training as you can without compromising your running.

In other words, you may find that you are too tired all the time when you run or that when you are running up hills you literally find that you just can’t. Those are the two decisions you need to make.