Most people think of cardio when it comes to exercising to lose
fat. That's because running, biking, or any other form of
intense aerobic exercise helps to burn calories, as well as
raise the body's metabolism.
But there are new studies out that show weight training to be
better at raising your resting metabolic rate, which is the rate
at which you burn calories at rest. This may mean that the best
way to burn off unwanted fat is by building muscle in the gym.
There is one requirement for weight training to be effective at
raising the metabolism. The weight lifting must be very intense
to produce a drastic increase in resting metabolic rate.
Lifting light weights or exercising for too short a time can
diminish the results. You need to do 3 to 4 sets per exercise
and do an average of 6 to 8 reps for each.
This ensures that each major muscle group is trained intensely.
In the studies, it was shown that the test subjects resting
metabolic rate was still elevated, on average 21%, even 24 hours
after the workout.
It appears weight training can release hormones like growth
hormone and norepinephrine that assist in the fat burning
process.
Also, removing the lactic acids that's built up through heavy
weight training also requires calorie expenditure.
Finally, the muscle building process of repairing damaged muscle
tissue caused by weight lifting can also burn more calories.
Building muscle itself will increase resting metabolic rate,
since muscle tissue burns far more calories at rest than fat.
So the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher the resting
metabolism. That's why building muscle through weight training
is also a way to lose unwanted body fat.
The best way to lose fat is to combine cardio with weight
training, to create a synergistic effect in which both work
together to burn calories.
So if you're currently trying to lose some fat, try to focus on
building muscle as well, through weight training, so you can
raise your metabolism and burn more calories at rest.
About the author:
Personal trainer and fitness author Shawn Lebrun will show you,
step by step, how to build more muscle and lose more fat in the
least amount of time possible. Check out
Shawn Lebrun
Fitness.com to learn more