Is All Exercise Created Equal?

As long as you’re active, the type of exercise you do to slim down doesn’t matter as much as you might think, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

To test the effectiveness of different types of physical activity, researchers put 96 obese adults on a 22-week calorie-restricted diet and randomly assigned them to one of three exercise routines. One group did only endurance exercise, such as running; the second group was limited to bicep curls, bench presses and other strength-training exercises; and the third did a combination, which could include the treadmill, cycling, rowing machine and bench press.

All three groups exercised for the same amount of time at the same level of intensity and all experienced positive results, including significant reductions in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference and total fat mass along with a significant increase in lean body mass, according to the research.