So you know how near the end of each SoulCycle class, the incredibly toned instructor( who is somehow not out of breath) lifts up a pair of weights and is like? At least that’s what it sounds like in the moment of excruciating pain and agony. And you halfheartedly pick up the weights and thank baby Jesus for the five-minute break for your shaking legs, and try to follow along without weeping. But this time lifting weights may be more important thank you think.

Listen up, betches. Lifting weights is no longer just for dude-bros at the campus gym, and you should probs be doing strength train if you’re trying to shed that excess holiday food/ booze weight. In fact, strength training and weightlifting may be more important than cardio for your weight loss regimen. Gasp!

Keep reading; I haven’t completely lost my shit yet. If you compare minute-by-minute, cardio indisputably burns more calories than strength develop. If you can run a steady 10 -minute per mile pace for an hour( so, six miles ), you’re going to burn approximately 600 calories. If you expend the same amount of hour lifting weights at a reasonably intense pace, you’re looking at 250 calories burned. So why is strength train debatably more important than cardio for fitting into your skinny jeans?

Basically, the calories burned from cardio stop after your time on the treadmill or the elliptical. Once you cool down, you’ve burned a shit ton of calories, but your body kinda stops working there. Meanwhile, weight-lifting have continued burn calories even after the gym( up to 14 hours later ), when you’re sitting on the couch watching as your muscles work to mend themselves. Unfortunately, cardio even has a propensity to burn existing muscle instead of that pesky love-handle fat.

In all actuality, the experts( aka Kayla Itsines) say you should be doing a combination of cardio and strength develop. Cardio is great for immediate weight loss, but weightlifting helps construct muscle. And for every three pounds of muscle you add on to your nasty female frame, you’re expected to burn an extra 120 calories without doing anything extra. It’s like some Harry Potter wizardry shit.

So should you skip SoulCycle? Maybe, because that shit is fucking expensive. But if you preserve a regular schedule combining weightlifting and cardio, you’ll be in hot shape come springtime break.