Habits and Hustle
Episode 436: Tara LaFerrara: Why Strength Training Beats Cardio for Women's Long-Term Health
Fri, 28 Mar 2025
Are cardio workouts or strength training better for women? Fitness coach Tara settles this ongoing debate in this Fitness Friday episode on the Habits and Hustle Podcast. We discuss why cardio, despite its mental clarity benefits, can lead to increased hunger and calorie consumption, while strength training increases resting metabolic rate through muscle development. We also dive into Tara's personal journey from HIIT workouts to strength training, the mindset shift required to make this transition, and her minimalist approach to supplements, focusing primarily on protein and creatine for optimal results. Tara LaFerrara is a certified strength and mobility coach who transformed personal struggles with body image and unhealthy habits into a mission to help women approach fitness from a holistic perspective. With 13 years of industry experience, she advocates for sustainable, enjoyable movement rather than strict regimens, empowering clients through her app Broadzit and virtual training programs. Tara specializes in a well-rounded approach to fitness that combines strength training expertise with mindset coaching, emphasizing community support and individual needs. What we discuss: Why strength training is superior to cardio for women's longevity The mental clarity paradox of cardio vs. its impact on hunger How increased muscle mass elevates resting metabolic rate The aesthetic differences between "cardio bodies" vs. "strength training bodies" Making the transition from cardio to strength training The importance of patience and growth mindset during lifestyle changes Supplement recommendations: creatine benefits and proper dosage Protein intake strategies for muscle development Thank you to our sponsor: AquaTru: Get 20% off any purifier at aquatru.com with code HUSTLE Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off TruNiagen: Head over to truniagen.com and use code HUSTLE20 to get $20 off any purchase over $100. Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout. BiOptimizers: Want to try Magnesium Breakthrough? Go to https://bioptimizers.com/jennifercohen and use promo code JC10 at checkout to save 10% off your purchase. Timeline Nutrition: Get 10% off your first order at timeline.com/cohen Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers. Bio.me: Link to daily prebiotic fiber here, code Jennifer20 for 20% off. Momentous: Shop this link and use code Jen for 20% off To learn more about Tara LaFerrara: Website: https://www.taralaferrara.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taralaferrara Podcast: Broads: The Bold & Badass Fitness Podcast for Women Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements
Chapter 1: What is the debate between cardio and strength training for women?
You don't even have to tell me, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Cardio versus strength training for women.
Strength training is always queen in my book. I'm not saying don't do cardio. I just recorded a podcast recently on this. Do cardio if it feels good, if you like it, if you enjoy it, awesome. Strength training is so much more valuable for women as we age. And I would highly recommend doing that over cardio. However, is cardio great for your heart health and multitude of other reasons? Absolutely.
Chapter 2: Why is strength training considered superior for women's health?
But you can get that without sitting on the Stairmaster for 30 minutes or going out for a run when you don't like it.
But the other thing about, well, the thing with me with cardio is I feel better after I do cardio because you sweat more. Also for my cognitive, for your mental health, for your brain to like, for my brain to like really kind of activate, I need to do cardio.
The downside of doing cardio is that I get so hungry and I end up eating triple the calories that I would otherwise not have had because of the amount of calories burned, right? So there's like this like weird balance that you have to do, right? Like you have to constantly balance out. Like if I do really intense cardio, right?
not just me when people do really intense cardio they tend to eat a lot more so how do you how do you kind of rectify this problem right like don't do cardio so they won't eat as much because that's what happens too if i don't do my cardio i definitely won't eat as much i won't be as hungry yeah i think this is twofold the first thing is with cardio are you doing it because you truly enjoy it or are you doing it because you're more chasing the sweat chasing the sweat
Chapter 3: How does cardio affect hunger and calorie consumption?
And like I said, it's also better for my brain. Because when I do strength training without doing cardio, I don't sweat very much, like maybe a little bit. And my brain doesn't get activated. I'm not as sharp afterwards. I'll be better if I didn't do anything. But to me, the combo of doing cardio plus strength training in the same workout is like the king.
When I have to choose one or the other, even though I know intellectually strength training is better for me in terms of my body composition, if I only have time for one, I'll always go with cardio because I know... that I'll make better choices during the day because of it. A lot of times, I'll eat healthier food because my brain is activated better. My mood is so much better.
Chapter 4: What are the cognitive benefits of cardio?
My energy levels are so much better. Yes, I'll eat 20 times more, but it'll be healthy food. But it's more for all the mental health issues with it.
Have you ever tried, you don't have to do this, but switching out that high intensity cardio with like a long walk outside?
Yes, I do that all the time too. So I, yes, but like I don't do the high intensity cardio like I used to because I also think it like ruins your adrenals. And my cortisol level goes sky high. So again, it's like everybody's different. And then I end up eating way more. So for me, moderate cardio, like moderate pace, I should say, works the best.
Yeah. So again, I'm not telling you not to do cardio. I just want you to look at it in a way that like, what is better for your longevity? And it's always going to be strength training. If we think about eating or just calories alone, the more muscle you have, the more you are burning calories at rest. So I am always going to be burning
a shit ton more calories at rest because I have so much muscle. And if you're looking at it from that perspective, I'm like, oh, I can actually eat more because my BMR is higher because I have more muscle mass. So if you want to just even like shift that perspective.
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Chapter 5: How can women transition from cardio to strength training?
It's so hard though, right? Like we, I think a lot of us know, a lot of women know this already, right? Like people have been talking about the muscle is like the, it's how you stay healthy for as long as possible. Strike training is the king. We all know it. intellectually.
How do you and how do we switch our brains to actually basically execute on that and kind of like steer away from the cardio?
When was the last time you had to make a big change? Today. What did you do?
I switched from one type of recording system to another for my podcast. I mean, and I hated it and it's like very uncomfortable. It's annoying.
It's uncomfortable. It makes you angry. You hate it. It sucks. But guess what? In a month or two or three or four, you're going to feel so much better that you switched to something else. I hope so. And that's the thing I think that's so hard when you're switching that mindset or change. Mindset is something that's ingrained in us. There is a story that was told to us. Someone said something.
Society tells us this thing for decades of our life. And you can't expect to just make that switch overnight. So if you are someone that's like, gosh, yeah, I know it. I know it. I have to change it. But how am I going to change that? Yeah. That is the basic difference of growth versus fixed mindset. I know it. I think I can change it, but I can't change it.
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Chapter 6: What mindset is required for embracing strength training?
So if you don't have that growth mindset in mind in three months down the road, you're still going to feel crummy about the situation. But if you know you can stick in the crumminess or like, God, this is hard. It's not working. I'm not seeing the sweat. Nothing's changing for three months and then step out of it and be like, oh, I have more energy. I feel better about my body.
I can work out less because I'm strength training. That is going to be how you actually make that shift. It's not going to happen overnight. Were you a cardio queen before? Oh, yeah. I used to do HIIT training six to seven days a week all the time, all through my 20s, every day.
And then what happened? Did you just shift it because you knew better or that you learned more, you got more educated? What was the reason?
Yeah, great question. Now I work out four times a week, strength training. I maybe do a cardio session here and there, but it's more just to be around people and in a class. But I got into it because I had more education behind it. I saw my strength increase and I saw how much HIIT was hindering every other part of my life, HIIT and cardio training.
So I noticed my sleep was better when I didn't do it as much. I noticed my skin was clearing up. I had more energy. I wasn't going for coffee at 3 p.m. every day. It was like a constant even keel. My memory was better and I didn't have to work nearly as hard. So I had this like seven day a week of cardio and then slowly start to peel back.
But it was really like COVID 2020 time where I was like, why did I do that for so long?
I know. People say that to me all the time. And I've seen it. I've seen results where the cardio body versus the weight training body, so different. Like the cardio body is like kind of like flabby and like skinny soft. And the person who just does weights and kind of stays away from cardio, honestly, is like really different. like toned and fit looking and athletic looking.
Just in terms of just like, if we're just talking vanity, it just is so much better.
Yeah. I mean, the aesthetics is huge, obviously. And that's a lot of reason why people like get into fitness, right? They want to look better. But for me personally, like I never got into strength training to change my body. It was just solely about feeling better and not having to work as hard in the gym.
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