The Benefits Of Strength Training For Weight Loss

Obesity is a leading killer, surpassing smoking as the top cause of preventable deaths. People often come to Thrive Fitness in Pittsburg, CA, with weight loss as their primary goal. They’ve tried to lose pounds before with cardio and fad diets found on the internet but failed. That’s because they fail to include all types of training. Cardio does burn calories, but it’s not the best way to lose weight. It burns calories from both fat and muscle tissue. Maximizing weight loss requires more muscle tissue and strength training builds it.

You’ll burn calories while you work out and burn more later when you do strength training.

Your body demands more energy when you exercise. The energy comes from breaking down fat and glycogen stored in the muscles, liver, and fat and making glucose that enters the bloodstream to provide energy. It requires oxygen to do that. Increased oxygen uptake doesn’t end when you quit exercising, it remains higher to return the muscle to the resting state by breaking down stored fat and carbs. That’s known as post-exercise oxygen consumption—EPOC. EPOC causes the body to increase its resting metabolic rate for as much as 48 hours, burning additional calories. It’s called afterburn. High intensity exercises and strength training afterburn last longer.

Build muscle tissue and burn fat with strength training.

The more muscle tissue you have the easier it is to lose weight. If two people of the same weight both consumed the same calories and did the same exercises, one might lose more weight than the other. The answer to why this occurs could be that the person losing more weight has more muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories for maintenance, so the body burns more calories 24/7, causing a higher metabolism.

No matter what exercise program you use, what you eat is just as important.

You can’t out-exercise a bad diet, if you’re eating a dozen donuts and washing them down with liters of root beer, you won’t lose weight. Eating healthy is the most important part of weight loss, even more important than exercise, since a healthy diet provides the nutrients to build muscles. One glazed donut and a 12 oz bottle of root beer are approximately 500 calories. The average person would need to run or exercise for almost an hour just to burn those calories.

• Women have a more difficult time losing weight than men do. Men have more muscle tissue and heavier frames. That causes them to burn more calories 24/7.
• Some types of strength training burn even more calories. When you alternate intensity during strength training using HIIT—high intensity interval training—you’ll burn even more calories.
• Compound exercises that use multiple muscle groups and joints also burn additional calories. Walking knee lunges, deadlift rows, and squat-curl-presses are examples.
• At Thrive Fitness, you’ll get a program designed specifically for your needs, including nutritional help. You’ll lose weight and get fit faster.

For more information, contact us today at Thrive Fitness!