First off my friends- Happy New Year! As we are evaluating our fitness and weight loss goals, I thought I’d address the frequent question about weight loss and lifting. If you’ve made resolutions, aka goals- remember to be consistent, and create discipline in what you’re doing. Motivation will get us started, discipline keeps us going! As any monthly, weekly, semi-annually type goal.. regardless of the label ‘resolution’ 🙂
There is a huge misconception that you shouldn’t lift weights when going through a weightloss phase. Not only is it believed to stunt your results, but it’s actually thought to be counterproductive.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Truth is..
Strength training/weight lifting can be greatly beneficial for fat loss. Why? Because it builds lean muscle, increases the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)… which is increasing the speed of your metabolism, even beyond the time spent working out!
Cardiovascular exercise is probably a better candidate for general caloric expenditure during the workout – the keyword here being ‘during’. Strength training is universally more effective at burning total calories and fat overall.
Let me explain… By increasing muscle mass, you increase the BMR. In its simplest terms, a higher BMR equates to more calories being burned in the space of 24-48 hours.
Why is this beneficial for weight loss?
Through building lean muscle and increasing your BMR, you inevitably burn more calories at rest throughout the day AND increase your overall caloric deficit – a necessity for weight loss. This is what is known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).
In a nutshell- Increase the intensity and begin to implement a consistent strength training regimen consisting of weight-bearing exercises in conjunction with aerobic activity. This is called Metcon (Metabolic Conditioning), or known as ‘bootcamp’ style workouts.
This is the optimal weight loss plan to keep you strong, burning fat, and building your confidence in your workouts.
If you’d like to chat about your goals, and design a plan that works for you, in or outside of the gym, feel free to contact me. I enjoying chatting and talking about all things fitness related.
-Christina
