Which is Better for Burning Calories

If there’s one thing that a lot of people miss out on when it comes to losing weight, it’s weight training.

Unfortunately, the understanding that most people have when it comes to losing weight is that cardio is the only real option. Lifting weights just makes you ‘bulky’ and has nothing to do with slimming down and cutting flab… right?

Wrong! Actually, weightlifting can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to losing weight and it might just be the secret weapon in your arsenal. Read on to find out why this is and what you can do to start losing more weight right away.

Why Weight Lifting is Great for Burning Fat
The first thing to recognize is that lifting weights is still somewhat aerobic. While you’ll primarily be using the glycogen system for producing power output, your heartbeat will nevertheless be raise and if you train for 40 minutes you’ll often burn 500 or more calories. Seeing as the average person burns 2,000 calories a day before exercise, this is an extra 25% on top of your daily total! And it’s not that much different from running for the same amount of time. Try wearing a fitness tracker and see for yourself!

The next thing to bear in mind is that lifting weights involves the muscles and often it involves lots of them working together in unison. This in turn triggers a hormonal response, specifically releasing the likes of testosterone and growth hormone. These increase the metabolism further, burning fat and repairing muscle at the same time.

What’s more though, is that simply having more muscle means your body has to work harder to keep everything running smoothly. Muscle requires energy to maintain and as such, if you build some biceps and abs you’ll actually burn more calories in your sleep.

On top of all of that, weight lifting also helps you to tone. This is how you get rid of stretch marks and can create the illusion of weight loss. As for getting too big, you really shouldn’t worry about that. No one ever became Arnold Schwarzenegger overnight by accident.

One More Strategy
Want to really maximize your results? Then why not combine your weight training and your cardiovascular exercise together? This is called ‘resistance cardio’ and examples include riding a stationary bike on a high setting, or performing rows against a lot of resistance.