Lifting Weights to Lose Weight

Lifting Weights to Lose Weight

There is a common misconception, often amongst my female personal training clients, that lifting weights will increase their weight and make their body look bulky.  But a strength training program can achieve quite the opposite effect when a person is looking to lose weight and burn fat.  An increase in muscle will not only create a leaner, more toned look to the body but will also speed up your body’s metabolism.

Your metabolism is the biochemical process of converting food into energy(how quickly you burn whatever you eat).  Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy needed (calories) to help the body function at rest.  These include processes such as breathing, cell growth and repair, and muscle contraction to name a few.  A person’s BMR is responsible for 60-70% of calories burned per day and can affect the rate at which a person loses, gains, or maintains their weight.

There are many factors that influence a person’s basal metabolic rate, one of which is body composition.  Body composition is the amount of fat compared to muscle you have in your body.  Incorporating a strength training program can help decrease the amount of fat and increase the amount of muscle you may be carrying.  The more muscle you carry, the more calories you burn, even while at rest and the more calories you burn, the more weight you lose.

Therefore, incorporating a strength training program with both cardio and a healthy diet can help a person increase their basal metabolic rate and increase weight loss.  To learn more about weight training, losing weight, or if you’ve been thinking about hiring a personal trainer, contact us.