The typical reason to start a weight lifting and strength training routine is to build strong muscles. Most people are looking to sculpt parts, or all of their bodies, and a lot of people starting weight lifting regimes are already in fairly good health and shape- weight wise. There may be a newly discovered reason to start a weight lifting routine, and that’s weight loss- not just weight loss alone, but long lasting weight loss
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The standard advice on losing weight is simply to eat less. The body’s fat stores are, in fact, surplus energy that a person has accumulated by eating too many calories.
“So basically it’s not wrong to eat less, but starving down the body’s metabolism won’t bring lasting results,” according to Ingo Froboese, a professor at the Health Centre of the German Sport University in Cologne.
“Although the body loses weight within a few days, most of it is water.” Muscle-building and endurance training are a better way to lose weight. As Mr. Froboese explained, when a person goes on a diet, the body draws on its energy reserves to sustain itself. If calorie intake is increased again, the body remembers the shortage it has just withstood and stores additional reserves for future shortages — “the yo-yo effect occurs,” he said.
“A negative energy balance is the key to losing weight,” Mr. Froboese remarked. In other words, more calories must be burned than are taken in. This can be achieved with muscle-building training.
“Since muscles consume energy, muscle-building training — and consequently a higher proportion of muscle in the body — is one of the building blocks for a lasting increase in energy turnover,” he said.
For a long-term reduction of body weight, low-intensity endurance training of 30 to 60 minutes — depending on the person’s level of conditioning — is the most effective form of activity.
Strength training: Get stronger, leaner, healthier
Strength training is an important part of an overall fitness program. Here’s what strength training can do for you — and how to get started.
By Mayo Clinic staff
You know exercise is good for you. Ideally, you’re looking for ways to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. If your aerobic workouts aren’t balanced by a proper dose of strength training, though, you’re missing out on a key component of overall health and fitness. Despite its reputation as a “guy” or “jock” thing, strength training is important for everyone. With a regular strength training program, you can reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.
Use it or lose it
Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. “If you don’t do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you’ll increase the percentage of fat in your body,” says Edward Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. “But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age.”
Strength training also helps you:
• Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
• Control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body gains a bigger “engine” to burn calories more efficiently — which can result in weight loss. The more toned your muscles, the easier it is to control your weight.
• Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle helps protect your joints from injury. It also contributes to better balance, which can help you maintain independence as you age.
• Boost your stamina. As you get stronger, you won’t fatigue as easily.
• Manage chronic conditions. Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis.
• Sharpen your focus. Some research suggests that regular strength training helps improve attention for older adults.
Consider the options
Strength training can be done at home or in the gym. Consider the options:
• Body weight. You can do many exercises with little or no equipment. Try push-ups, pull-ups, abdominal crunches and leg squats.
• Resistance tubing. Resistance tubing is inexpensive, lightweight tubing that provides resistance when stretched. You can choose from many types of resistance tubes in nearly any sporting goods store.
• Free weights. Barbells and dumbbells are classic strength training tools.
• Weight machines. Most fitness centers offer various resistance machines. You can also invest in weight machines for use at home.
Getting started
• When you have your doctor’s OK to begin a strength training program, start slowly. Warm up with five to 10 minutes of stretching or gentle aerobic activity, such as brisk walking. Then choose a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 repetitions.
• “On the 12th repetition, you should be just barely able to finish the motion,” Dr. Laskowski says. “When you’re using the proper weight or amount of resistance, you can build and tone muscle just as efficiently with a single set of 12 repetitions as you can with more sets of the same exercise.”
• To give your muscles time to recover, rest one full day between exercising each specific muscle group. When you can easily do more than 15 repetitions of a certain exercise, gradually increase the weight or resistance. Remember to stop if you feel pain. Although mild muscle soreness is normal, sharp pain and sore or swollen joints are signs that you’ve overdone it.
When to expect results
• You don’t need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. Two to three strength training sessions a week lasting just 20 to 30 minutes are sufficient for most people. You may enjoy noticeable improvements in your strength and stamina in just a few weeks. With regular strength training, you’ll continue to increase your strength — even if you’re not in shape when you begin.
• Strength training can do wonders for your physical and emotional well-being. Make it part of your quest for better health.
Another wonderful reason to start muscle building and strength training- in addition to sculpting your body and building muscles of course! Those looking to lose weight and keep it off should consider starting a strength training routine now to get those pounds off, and keep them off.
Diet and cardio are very important when it comes to melting away fat, but if you really want to lose the weight and change your body, lifting weights can get you the results you really want to see.
Lifting weights helps to raise your metabolism since muscles burn far more calories than fat- that’s because they require more energy to move than fat. When you have more muscles, your body will naturally burn more calories, even when you are just going through the motions of the day- common activities can equate to major calorie burn.
Having stronger muscles will also strengthen your bones- which is important for everyone, but especially important for women. When you lift weights, you also increase your overall strength, and increases endurance- meaning you will be able to spend more time doing the cardio exercises that blast fat, you’ll probably be able to pick up the pace too.
Muscle conditioning will also increase your coordination, balance, and confidence- factors that may not seem significant, but will keep you going when you need to harvest your internal empowerment. Better coordination and balance also keeps the risk of injury lower.
The best way to get in shape and lose weight is to combine cardio and weight lifting. Develop a routine that’s right for you and start slow, then increase the amount of weight you’re lifting to see ongoing results.
Have you used a combination of cardio and weight lifting to lose the weight and keep it off? Tell us how your used your strength to develop a slim physic.
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