Weight lifting is for anyone who wants to shed weight and keep it off. Hopefully we're on the same page now. Lifting weights is fantastic for your metabolic rate, and therefore is necessary for maximum weight loss. But, what type of resistance training should you use? This is a complex question that varies to some degree for each individual, but here's a simple answer:. That might sound like a confusing answer, but in reality, your body moves in just 6 ways, often referred to as your Primal Movement Patterns.
These include squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling, bending, and twisting. Sometimes your gait, walking or running, is added as a seventh movement pattern, although it is a variation of a lunge. You can imagine prehistoric man using these 6 movements to chase down prey, throw a spear to kill it, drag it home, and then cook it on a fire.
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You are built the same. Your body wants to squat, lunge, push, pull, bend and twist.
The Science Behind Strength Training to Burn Fat
So, let's use a weight lifting program that trains those movements while stimulating your RMR as much as possible. These 6 exercises will get you moving through the primal movement patterns , but just as importantly, they stimulate your body's largest muscle groups, meaning that they will have a significant impact on your RMR.
That's why these are the best strength training exercises for weight loss Below is a video where I show how you can add resistance to your squats without actually using any weights. Of course, you can also head to the gym and use a barbell or dumbbells to create a similar effect. I love this lunge variation because it covers two primal movements into one i. For added resistance, you can hold a dumbbell, medicine ball, or kettlebell to create the resistance needed. This move is a little more advanced, so get some assistance before trying it on your own.
You can also use dumbbells or kettlebells instead of the barbell. I LOVE this exercise for so many reasons. It engages your back, shoulders, arms, and core all in one move a. Awesome for your metabolism. Plus, it provides strength in all the right places to battle poor posture from too much sitting. Do this! This is likely my favourite exercise at the gym, but it's also the one that I see people doing incorrectly and dangerously more than any other.
Watch the video below closely to learn a safe way to begin practicing your forward bends with a bodyweight deadlift. As you get comfortable with this movement, you can hold dumbbells for added resistance or begin working with a barbell deadlift with two feet planted. There are many ways to execute a Russian Twist, and you can use many pieces of equipment to make this more or less challenging.
But, regardless of the style you use, this exercise covers all areas of your abdominals, it strengthens your back and your arms, plus it will get your heart rate flying. I know we've just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to lifting weights to lose weight , but hopefully you've come away with 3 key principles that you can apply to your own exercise routine:. The key really is to keep things simple. Weight training, when compared to aerobic activities like running or cycling, doesn't burn a huge number of calories per session.
So it might seem more logical to increase the amount of aerobic activity. However, weight training builds and maintains muscle mass in a way that cardio exercise can't. When you build muscle, you increase your body's ability to burn calories at rest. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat.
Resistance training becomes increasingly important as we age, for many reasons, including reducing the accumulation of belly fat.
Here's Why Strength Training is the Best Way to Lose Fat
The researchers found that a combined program of weight training and aerobic activity led to the most optimal results in terms of maintain a healthy body weight and waist circumference. Measuring waist circumference is a better indicator of healthy body composition among older adults. Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass.
Not surprisingly, waistlines increased in those who increased the amount of time spent in sedentary activities, such as watching TV. Working with a fitness professional can be extremely helpful in designing a balanced weight-training program. Personal trainers can create a customized program and teach you how to perform each exercise so you get the best results and avoid injury. Regardless, aim for at least two resistance training sessions per week that works all the major muscle groups: back, chest, legs, arms, shoulders, abdominals and hips.
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Blog Explore expert recommendations on strength training for seniors: ensuring your residents areactive, engaged, and living to their fullest potential - with HUR. Muscle takes up about four-fifths as much space as fat, so the difference isn't huge. But if you take two people who are the same height and weight, the one with a higher body fat percentage will likely wear a larger clothing size. Wondering if your body fat percentage is in a healthy range? It's important to remember that fat doesn't turn into muscle. Weight lifting burns fat and builds muscle, but these are separate processes — you're not replacing each pound of fat lost with a pound of muscle.
Plus, having more muscle helps you naturally burn more calories. At rest, a pound of muscle tissue burns about 6 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns just 2 to 3, according to the National Council on Strength and Fitness.
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So, how long, hard and often do you need to lift weights to see weight-loss results? The number of days you lift weights per week is much less important than the intensity of those workouts and the number of calories you consume, DeLeon says. That being said, she recommends weight training three to five days a week — along with aerobic activity and active rest — if weight loss is your goal.
That's because the best workout plan is a well-rounded one: Not only will you target different muscles and challenge your body in new ways, but you won't get bored and a lot of times, keeping your workouts interesting is half the battle. DeLeon also suggests workout splits, where you target each muscle group on different days. You can technically lift weights daily, as long as you allow each muscle group to rest for at least 48 hours, but this split set-up allows you to work in cardio and active recovery, too.
Here's an example week: On Monday, you'd do a heavy legs and glutes workout , followed by active recovery on Tuesday walking one mile or doing an hour dance or light cardio class. Wednesday, you could focus on upper-body weight training, followed by active recovery on Thursday and full-body resistance training on Friday, light legs and glutes on Saturday and light upper body on Sunday. If you want to burn more calories in a shorter period of time, you can combine weight lifting with cardiovascular exercise in a weight-training circuit or high-intensity interval training HIIT routine, which involves repeated bouts of intense efforts followed by varying recovery periods.
A circuit-training routine should last about 20 to 30 minutes. Harvard Health Publishing reports that a pound person can burn calories after 30 minutes of circuit training — almost twice as many calories than from weight lifting alone. A pound person can burn calories after a half-hour of circuit training and a pound person can burn calories.