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Specifically for teenagers it may be important to work out in both aerobic and anaerobic workouts. So, this would be another reason to favor the combined over the other regimen.

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Table 1: Training progression in the Aerobic and Resistance group (Alberga. 2015)

• aerobic training (Aerobic), 
• resistance training (Resistance),
• combined aerobic + resistance training (Combined) or 
• non-exercising control group (Control)

• Resistance: The duration of each session progressed to a maximum of about 45 min. Exercises were primarily performed on weight machines, and when required with dumbbells (lateral raise, shrugs, bicep curls, front raise, preacher curl, dumbbell pullover) or by using one's own body weight as resistance (lunges, sit-ups and abdominal crunches).
  

  Table 2: Overview of the individual workouts in the Resistance group (Alberga. 2015).

  Participants alternated among exercises from groups A1, A2, B1 and B2 shown in Table 2. Participants were asked to rest for ~ 2 min between sets and were instructed on proper breathing techniques.
• Aerobic: Participants randomized to the aerobic training group underwent a 22-week program (Table 1, left) wherein the exercise intensity and duration increased progressively to a maximum of 45 min per session. Exercise was performed on a cycle ergometer, elliptical or treadmill and participants were free to vary the machine(s) used. Exercise intensity was standardized using heart rate monitors (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland).
• Combined: This group performed the full exercise programs done by both the aerobic and resistance training groups (Table 1, left + right) during each session for a total of 4 times per week for a maximum of 90 min per session.

Figure 1: Changes in subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (VAT) body fat at different regions; L4L5 represents area between 4th and 5th Lumbar vertebrae; * indicates sign. difference to control; # sign. difference to aerobic (Alberga. 2015).

Figure 2: Changes in Apo-B and Apo-B/A ratio in the three exercise and the control group (Alberta. 2015).

What may eventually tip the scale in favor of the combined training regimen, though, is not the body composition data, but rather the fact that only the combined training routine triggered statistically significant, heart healthy changes in Apolipoprotein B and the Apolipoprotein A/B ratio. After all, the latter has "repeatedly been shown to be a better marker than lipids, lipoproteins and lipid ratios" (Walldius. 2006) - scoring in the top tertile for the ApoB/A ratio, for example has consistently been associated with 89% increased risk of heart disease (Thompson. 2006) .

Figure 3: In their 2005 trial, Tufts scientists were able to show that dietary adherence, not macronutrient comp. or other diet-specific parameters is the main determinant of weight loss (Dansinger. 2005).

You must never forget, however, ... that (a) the beneficial of all four exercise regimen were achieved in the context of an energy deficit of albeit relatively, but consistent -250 kcal/day, that (b) the study had a 4-week lead-in during which all participants that didn't show at least 80% adherence to the dietary + exercise baseline intervention were kicked out, and that (c) subjects who did not attend an average 2.8 out of 3.0 workouts per week were not included in the analysis the data in Figures 1-2 is based.

This obviously leads back to Energy restriction and adherence - the two usual suspects. Without them, any effort to shed the hated body fat must fail. With them, however, only perseverance and consistency may keep from achieving your fat loss goals.

You don't believe that? Well, check out the data in Figure 3. Dansiger and his colleagues from the Tufts University tried to find out which diet, i.e. Ornish, Zone, Weight Watchers, or Atkins die, would cut the most body weight. What they found, though, was that it's always the diet the subjects could adhere to that worked the best. Against that background, it's no wonder that, in the study at hand, only those participants who had more than the minimal 70% adherence to their (aerobic) workout regimen actually lost significant amounts of deep subcutaneous fat tissue.. speaking of adherence, there were no significant differences in adherence between the three training regimen; only the control treatment on the couch obviously had 100% adherence ;-) | Comment on FB!

• Alberga, A. S., et al. "Effects of aerobic and resistance training on abdominal fat, apolipoproteins and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in adolescents with obesity: the HEARTY randomized clinical trial." International journal of obesity (2005) (2015).
• Dansinger, Michael L., et al. "Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction: a randomized trial." Jama 293.1 (2005): 43-53.
• Thompson, A., and J. Danesh. "Associations between apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein AI, the apolipoprotein B/AI ratio and coronary heart disease: a literature‐based meta‐analysis of prospective studies." Journal of internal medicine 259.5 (2006): 481-492.
• Walldius, G., and I. Jungner. "The apoB/apoA‐I ratio: a strong, new risk factor for cardiovascular disease and a target for lipid‐lowering therapy–a review of the evidence." Journal of internal medicine 259.5 (2006): 493-519.

I can almost guarantee that the results of this study are not sex-specific. Ladies, pick up the weights fater you hit the treadmill, stairmaster, elliptical or other torture instrument you like to use!

You can learn more about the optimal exercise order at the waredownloadsoft

Before, After or In-Between?

bef
Exercise Order & Leptin

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Large Muscle Groups First?

Combine Cardio & Strength, Right

Exercise Order Reloaded

"running with 70—75% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) for 10 minutes which gradually increased to 80% HRmax for 21.5 minutes [plus] resistance training consisted of 3 sets of 8 repetitions at 80% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in 5 resistance exercises (leg extensions, lying leg curl, triceps pushdown, bench press and lateral pull down)" (Sheikholeslami-Vatani. 2015). 

Figure 1: Relative changes in hormone levels (left) and absolute and relative changes in body fat fat free mass and body fat % (right) after 8 weeks of doing nothing (C) or doing cardio (CER) or weights (CRE) first (Sheikholeslami-Vatani. 2015).

• Similar gains w/ weights vs. cardio first in trained men | more.

  normalization of leptin levels (health)
• slight increases in testosterone (health)
• increases in cortisol (which are benign | learn why)
• significant reductions in body fat (health + physique)
• increases in fat free mass (health and physique)

Weights or Cardio? What's the Best Visceral Fat Burner + How Often, Long and Intense Do You Have to Train | Learn more!

So, weights first is the way to go? Well, I assume I should write that doing both on separate days and thus doing having 5-6 workout days per week may have even more pronounced effects on the body composition of obese young men. In the end, though, I have no evidence to prove that doing the same amount of cardio on a separate day would actually have yielded greater improvements in body composition. Against that background and in view of the fact that three workouts per week is everything that fits into the busy schedules of the average trainee, we are left with the confirmation that (a) doing (intense) cardio and weights in one session feasible and effective when the goal are health and physique improvements and that (b) if you or your clients combine both, you better start with the weights, not the cardio part | Comment!

• Sheikholeslami-Vatani, D., et al. "The effect of concurrent training order on hormonal responses and body composition in obese men." Science & Sports (2015).
• West, Daniel WD, and Stuart M. Phillips. "Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength and hypertrophy in a large cohort after weight training." European journal of applied physiology 112.7 (2012): 2693-2702.

You don't have to be super fat to have sign. amounts of inter-organ fat.

HIIT is an excellent way to shed both subcutaneous and visceral body fat!

Never Train To Burn Calories!

Tabata = 14.2kcal /min ≠ Fat Loss

30s Intervals + 2:1 Work/Rec.

Making HIIT a Hit Part I/II

Making HIIT a Hit Part II/II

HIIT Ain't For Everyone

• How does the type of exercise affect its effects on visceral obesity?
• How much training (volume) does it take to shed visceral fat?
• Do you have to train intense or light to maximize visceral fat loss?

Ah, and obviously there's the question I mentioned in the headline, already: Is strength or aerobic training the optimal visceral fat burner? In view of the fact ...

"[...] there are very few researches focused specifically on the effects of resistance training (RT) on visceral fat, and even these studies have reported different results" (Xiao. 2015)

this is not exactly an easy question to answer. A two-year work by Schmitz et al. (2007) actually found an increase in visceral fat by 7% with RT (although this was significantly less than the 21% increase observed in their inactive controls). Davidson et al.  (2009), found no effect of resistance training on visceral fat and so on and so forth...

Figure 1: While Sigal et al. found no effect on total body fat, both the aerobic and resistance training regimen in their study produced measurable reductions in abdominal visceral fat (Sigal. 2015).

There's still no reason to give up on resistance training as a visceral fat eliminator, though, Davidson et al. had their subjects train only 20 minutes of RT, three times a week, which is probably too little to have a significant effect and and Sigal et al. (2007 | see Figure 1) found similar effects of aerobic and resistance training on visceral fat. Similar results as in the Sigal study were observed by Slentz et al., who found both aerobic and resistance training (3 days/wk, 8 exercises, 3 sets/exercise, 8–12) produces similar anti-obesity effects as aerobic training.

If you want to lose sign. amounts of body fats with strength training (only) you must diet! The most obvious reason that resistance training alone won't help (esp. overweight) people lose body fat is the relatively low amount of energy that's expended during the (often short) workouts in the average study. So, either you train at higher volumes and more frequently, or - and that's the superior approach - you use your diet (25-35% deficit; 2g/kg body weight protein) to lose body fat and (high intensity) strength training to conserve muscle mass | learn more

In conjunction, the results of the few available studies do yet still supports the notion that (in a non-calorically restricted scenario) a low training volume as it was used in the Davidson study may not expend enough energy to trigger sign. reductions in (visceral) body fat.

Whether you will or won't lose visceral fat w/ any form of exercise may thus depend on volume and intensity - for both, it appears as if a threshold would exist.

Some research believe that while any form of exercise will have beneficial effects in reducing total body fat, a higher volume of physical activity would result in a higher reduction of VAT (cf. Friedenreich. 2011). Personally, I tend to agree with McTiernan et al. (2007) and Irwin et al. (2003), though. Both say that you have to train five to six times per week for 45 to 60 min each to see sign. results in the absence of significant energy restriction.

Figure 2: While more exercise (higher duration) helps more for total body fat loss (left), only those of the highly active subjects that also had significant improvements in fitness lost more visceral fat (right | Irwin. 2003).

That there is a minimum of exercise required to produce sign. fat loss in the absence of dietary interventions does yet not mean that "more helps more". If we put faith in the self-reported exercise levels of the subjects in the McTiernan et al. and Irwin et al. studies, though, their results indicate that a mere increase in the training volume does not automatically lead to a greater decrease in visceral fat - for total body fat, however, this may be different (see Figure 2 | left).

Don't forget to diet! The leaner you are, the more important your diet will be. Many TV-shows and magazines still try to fool people to believe that you could get a cover-model look with nothing but (albeit) intense exercise. For most people, i.e. everyone who does not watch his diet strictly, anyway, this is unfortunately not the case. So, if you want to lose fat (visceral or not) start correcting your dietary mistakes first and work on your workout routine later.

In their review, Xiao and Fu argue that a similar "threshold" as it was observed by McTiernan et al. and Irwin et al. for the total exercise volume may exist for the exercise intensity, as well - albeit without being able to define a clear "cut off for exercise intensity":

"A substantial evidence also exists to prove that risk for metabolic syndrome is decreased with increase in physical activity. On the contrary, Gutin et al, . (2002) demonstrated the lack of a significant effect of physical training intensity on decrease in total body fat and visceral fat deposition. Very few studies such as that of Irving et al. have shown the impact of exercise intensity on abdominal visceral fat in obese adults wherein the abdominal fat was a primary outcome parameter. To summarize, studies demonstrating the effect of physical training intensity on visceral fat deposition as a primary objective have been lacking" (Xiao. 2015).

Gender-specific differences, as they have been observed by Redman et al. (2007), who found men lose sign. more visceral fat in response to a combination of aerobic exercise and calorie restriction than women, make it even more difficult to compare the results.

30 Min of Exercise Can Avoid Costly & Unhealthy Gestational Diabetes + Using a Measuring Tape to Judge Visceral Fat Mass. Update: Vitamin D, Age & Obesity | more

Eventually, it turns out that it is - as so often - impossible to give a one-size-fits-it-all answer to the question whether resistance or aerobic training is the better visceral fat burner. If there are no diet- and life-style interventions involved, though, it would appear as if aerobic training has the better scientific backing. Whether that's not a mere result of the comparatively higher energy expenditure is yet about as difficult to answer, as the question whether visceral fat loss really requires 4-5x 40-50 minute exercise sessions per week if you train at more than moderate intensities.

All things considered, it may be a good idea to remember the results of the Irwin study which indicates that anything that improves cardiovascular fitness will also trigger significant visceral fat loss (and improvements in lipid and glucose metabolism). In short, training your fitness will take care of your (visceral) fatness | Comment on Facebook!

References:

• Davidson, Lance E., et al. "Effects of exercise modality on insulin resistance and functional limitation in older adults: a randomized controlled trial." Archives of Internal Medicine 169.2 (2009): 122-131.
• Friedenreich, C. M., et al. "Adiposity changes after a 1-year aerobic exercise intervention among postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial." International Journal of Obesity 35.3 (2011): 427-435.
• Gutin, Bernard, et al. "Effects of exercise intensity on cardiovascular fitness, total body composition, and visceral adiposity of obese adolescents." The American journal of clinical nutrition 75.5 (2002): 818-826.
• Irwin, Melinda L., et al. "Effect of exercise on total and intra-abdominal body fat in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial." Jama 289.3 (2003): 323-330.
• McTiernan, Anne, et al. "Exercise effect on weight and body fat in men and women." Obesity 15.6 (2007): 1496-1512.
• Redman, Leanne M., et al. "Effect of calorie restriction with or without exercise on body composition and fat distribution." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 92.3 (2007): 865-872.
• Schmitz, Kathryn H., et al. "Strength training and adiposity in premenopausal women: strong, healthy, and empowered study." The American journal of clinical nutrition 86.3 (2007): 566-572.
• Sigal, Ronald J., et al. "Effects of aerobic training, resistance training, or both on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial." Annals of internal medicine 147.6 (2007): 357-369.
• Slentz, Cris A., et al. "Effects of aerobic vs. resistance training on visceral and liver fat stores, liver enzymes, and insulin resistance by HOMA in overweight adults from STRRIDE AT/RT." American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism 301.5 (2011): E1033-E1039.
• Xiao, T., and YF FU. "Resistance training vs. aerobic training and role of other factors on the exercise effects on visceral fat." Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 19.10 (2015): 1779-1784.