She Stopped Prioritizing Cardio and Gave Her Body What It Needed

Leanna Chanco recently shared a client story that a lot of women will recognise. Her client stopped prioritising cardio and started giving her body what it actually needed: strength training, nutrition that supported her goals, and a plan that fit her busy schedule as a mom with a career and a family. Have you ever believed that more cardio was the answer?

Leanna has been there too. In her words: “I used to be the girl doing cardio for days, thinking MORE was always better.” The hardest part, she says, was mentally letting go of doing more.

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Cardio isn’t the enemy, but it isn’t the whole plan

Let’s be fair to cardio. In an eight-month trial of 119 overweight or obese adults, Willis and colleagues (2012) found that aerobic training reduced body weight and fat mass more than resistance training alone. But only the groups that lifted weights increased their lean mass. The authors concluded that resistance training is needed to build lean mass.

Training type	Fat and body mass	Lean mass
Aerobic only	Reduced the most (with combined)	Did not increase
Resistance only	Reduced less	Increased
Combined	Reduced (similar to aerobic)	Increased

Source: Willis et al., 2012. So which one shapes your body? The muscle you build is what gives you a firmer, stronger look. That’s why strength training belongs at the base of the plan, not as an afterthought to hours on the treadmill.

What strength training adds

A review by Westcott (2012) summarised research suggesting that about 10 weeks of resistance training may increase lean weight, raise resting metabolic rate and reduce fat weight in adults.

A smarter split for busy weeks

1. Strength first: two to four sessions a week, built on progressive lifts.
2. Daily movement: walks with the kids, the stairs, a short stroll after meals.
3. Cardio as a bonus: a couple of sessions you enjoy, not hours you dread.
4. Nutrition that supports the plan: enough protein and enough food to recover.

Feels like less work? That’s the point. You don’t need hours of cardio or to live in the gym. If you’re new to lifting, Leanna’s one-bench upper-body workout is a simple place to start, and Norvic’s guide to building muscle instead of chasing calorie burn explains the bigger picture. If you’ve been cutting food along with adding cardio, read why you may be underfed, not undertrained.

Fitness shouldn’t feel like another full-time job. Don’t do more; do what works. Leanna invites people to message her “SHRED” on Instagram, or you can apply for coaching here.