How to Supercharge Your Weight Loss Journey with Strength Training

Losing fat while gaining muscle is an important part of changing your body shape. If you want to lose weight regularly, changing your diet and exercising regularly are very effective methods. But not all exercise routines are measured. For example, if you want to lose fat instead of building strength, you’ll want to start hitting the weights.

Strength training helps your body burn fat, not only during your workout but long after it’s done. Putting on muscles affects your body shape and your metabolism in big ways. I spoke with some experts to help explain how strength training can help you lose weight and what you need to know to find success with it.

For more exercise tips, see how many calories you should burn to lose weight, how to burn body fat at home and the trick you need to lose weight body and get lean muscle at the same time.

Cardio vs. strength training

There is an ongoing debate about which one works best to achieve your ideal body: cardio or strength training. According to New York City personal trainer Oscar Colon IV, cardio is ideal for burning the most calories during exercise — and it’s key to to keep your heart strong – but strength training affects your body in a different way. “Strength training has two effects because you burn calories during exercise and during recovery and regeneration of the muscle groups you have worked,” he says. As a result, you get more results for your efforts.

It’s still a good idea to include cardio and strength training in a balanced exercise plan, so you can reap all the benefits. Whether you do anything in one may also depend on your current goals. If you training for your first marathonCardio will be your main focus as you build endurance, however strength training will be a priority when trying to get stronger or build muscle.

Read more: Changing Your Body

How muscle affects your ability to burn fat

As mentioned, strength training can help you burn more calories during and after exercise. This is because of the smaller muscles you gain as a result of strength training. If your goal is to lose weight, having more lean muscle mass can help the process.

This also means that the leaner your muscles are, the higher your resting speed will be. Your resting metabolic rate, or RMR, refers to the total number of calories your body burns at rest. Biologically speaking, resting your metabolism helps your organ function, nerve function, breathing and blood flow. Rachel MacPherson, an American Board of Fitness-certified personal trainer, performance expert and Garage Gym Reviews expert, explains that muscles are active, meaning they burn calories even when you’re at rest, and although the effect is small, it is important and adds more. time. “This also helps to prevent a decrease in metabolism and muscle mass as you get older, which can contribute to gaining weight in the middle,” he says.

Strength training also has post-workout fat burning benefits. Colon explains: “Excess oxygen consumption after exercise is your body’s way of returning to homeostasis after intense exercise. In other words, you’re burning calories.” warm up while you recover, as your body stays warm for a while while you cool down.

How long does it take to put on muscle

Now that you know that lean muscle is an important part of burning fat, you’re probably wondering how long does it take to build muscle. This will vary from person to person, due to genetics, hormones, gender, diet and other factors. play a role in how much muscle you put on and how fast. “If you regularly train three to four times a week for 30 minutes per session, you should start seeing results in three to four weeks,” Colon says.

MacPherson says you can put on muscle mass every week, and doing a 12- to 16-week hypertrophy training program is ideal to see the biggest amount of muscle gain. “You can expect to gain between five and 10 kilograms during this period,” he explains, adding, “As you progress, you will need to work harder for gains.” less, but you’ll still see results.”

That’s another interesting part of strength training: If you’re new to it, you tend to have an advantage over someone with more experience in building muscle. This is what some people call “newbie success,” which means building muscle. response to weight lifting as it is not used to this type of stimulation. Research has shown that untrained people (with experience in strength training) can put on muscle faster than someone who already has experience in strength training.

In general, men and women also have different results when building muscle mass. “Men can build muscles easier and faster than women because of testosterone, while women can still build more muscles, but they won’t look as big or full. like men unless they use anabolic steroids,” MacPherson explains. He adds, “It’s important for women to lift adequate volume and weight while eating enough to support muscle gain.” This means ditching the old-school mindset of dieting and limiting yourself, which will hinder your ability to build muscle.

In addition to a well-structured exercise plan, a diet that supports muscle building is also important. MacPherson says, “In order to build muscle, you need to eat a high-calorie, high-protein diet.” He explains that binge eating will cause you to gain body fat, which is normal and necessary to gain muscle. “You can lose it after that and it will be easier since your body is better able to burn calories because of the increase in muscle mass,” he adds.

Other benefits of lifting weights

In addition to helping your metabolism and strength, strength training has other benefits. Colon says it is also important for bone development and bone density. “Weight training puts temporary stress on your bones, sending a signal to bone-building cells to activate and rebuild strong bones,” he explains.

Another benefit associated with strength training is reducing the risk of injury by improving the strength, range of motion and mobility of your muscles, ligaments and tendons. “This can increase strength around large joints like the knees, hips and ankles to provide more protection against injury,” Colon adds.

Another factor is your heart, as strength training has been shown to help lower blood pressure. You can also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve blood circulation and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on mental healthand resistance training has been found to reduce anxiety as well.

Low profile

It’s good to know the specific effects of strength training on your body while creating a consistent workout routine. Not only will you naturally burn more fat by gaining more muscle, but you’ll conserve energy as you age and improve your other lifestyle functions as well. If you don’t have access to a gym, you can start your workout routine at home and you still get the same results, as long as you have the right tools.

Even if your goal is not to lose weight or get in shape, strength training offers many benefits that make it an important addition to your lifestyle, and it will improve well-being. yours at last.