How Effective Is Strength Training For Fat Loss?

Strength Training For Fat Loss

In terms of your workouts while trying to lose more fat you shouldn’t just just be doing cardio exercise. Strength training, also called weight training, is really important for everyone, whether you’re trying to burn fat or just be healthier overall.

Strength training gives you a better quality of life. You avoid injury, lose weight faster and easier by burning more fat, and will just look and feel better overall.

There are a lot of reasons to add strength training to your fitness routine and not many reasons to avoid doing it. So why choose strength training for fat loss over other forms of exercise?

The 3 Types Of Exercise

If you’re looking to trim some fat from your body, it’s important to understand how different types of exercise lead to health and wellness.

1. Cardiovascular Exercise

These are exercises which you can perform for a prolonged period of time. They elevate your heart rate and keep it up. Dance aerobics, jogging and running on a treadmill are all forms of cardiovascular and aerobic exercise.

2. Interval Training

This type of workout requires altering your rate of speed and intensity. You sprint or do push-ups at your highest intensity for 30 seconds, then follow that up with 90 seconds of jogging or resting. You follow that process for 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Strength Training

This requires pushing or lifting weights. This could be as simple as curling a set of dumbbells, or performing body weight exercises. Strength training often involves cyclical forms of exercises, performed in sets of a certain number of repetitions.

Why Strength Training For Fat Loss Works

The way strength training outperforms other traditional exercises in the fat burning department has to do with Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). Very little of this occurs after cardio exercise. You do burn calories and fat while you are enjoying a cardio workout, but this stops shortly after your exercise session is over.

Interval training is much better than cardio exercises at burning calories and fat after your workout is over. Your metabolism functions at a higher rate for hours and hours after your interval training session. Unlike many cardio sessions, which can go for 45 minutes or over an hour, interval training sessions are recommended for 30 minutes or less.

Free Download: 10 Muscle Toning Mistakes Women Make
 
Weight training, especially those movements that work multiple muscle groups, are even better than interval training for long-term fat loss and calorie burning. Health professionals now understand that after a strength training session, you can expect to burn calories for anywhere from 24 to 38 hours after you have finished your workout!

The long-term weight loss benefits come from a metabolism boost, and the fact that you are building muscle. Muscle burns a lot of fat, even when you are just sitting around. As your muscles are repairing over the next day or day and a half after you strength train, they require fuel to repair themselves. This comes from your fat cells, and the process burns calories as well.

How Can You Lose Weight If Muscle Weighs More Than Fat?

Have you heard that muscle weighs more than fat? That’s true, which is why many people who do strength training for fat loss look much leaner and wear smaller sizes in clothing, but the scale says they weigh more. This is because they have built up muscle through weight training, which is actually helping to burn more fat and calories. So they look thinner and more toned, but technically weigh more. This is why you shouldn’t always pay attention to the scale, but work on weight training to look and feel better.

Will Strength Training For Fat Loss Make Me Look Bulky?

Some women avoid strength training because they think that they’ll become bulky and muscular. But women don’t have the ability to bulk up like a man. Men’s bodies develop that way due to the male testosterone hormone. Also male body builders have a very specific training regime and diet. If you just want to achieve a lean toned body, strength training exercises will give you just that; not bulky shoulders or arms.

You Will Sleep Better

Strength training and working out your muscles gives you more energy during the day, but when it is time to rest and go to sleep, you’ll also sleep better. This is why after a day working hard at the gym, you practically fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. With better sleep, you are also burning more fat and will have a better metabolism when you wake up, so this works great for you all around.

You Can Support Your Bones and Muscles

Nearly every part of your body benefits from weight training, including having better strength and support in your body for your muscles, bones, and tissue. Strength training helps to improve your bone density and will prevent bone loss as you age. Your muscles and tissue also get stronger, reducing potential injuries later in life.