It’s no great secret that losing weight can be frustrating. Whether you need to lose two-hundred pounds or want to shave off that last fifteen, someone out there has the perfect product for you . . .
“FOR JUST THREE MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF _____!”
However, the actual secret to weight loss is that there is no great secret and you don’t have to get crazy about it! People are losing weight today the same way they were one hundred years ago.
Strength training.
While it isn’t impossible to lose weight with cardio alone at the beginning of your weight loss journey, it’s not sustainable. A strong, healthy body requires full body resistance training. That can mean anything from getting a fancy gym membership to doing lunges while holding your child.
If you’re tired of creating excuses for why you can’t lose weight, keep reading to discover why strength training and weight loss will always go hand in hand.
Fat vs Muscle
If weight loss is your main concern, but you don’t care about getting stronger, you might think that you can forego strength training altogether. After all, people who begin major weight loss journies are always told to start with cardio.
While this is good advice, avoiding strength training completely will slow your progress and can even lead to other health issues down the line. If you have over twenty or thirty pounds to lose, doing pure cardio can add stress to your joints and bones that they aren’t prepared for.
It’s Genetic
Humans didn’t climb to the top of the food chain by being faster or stronger than all the other animals on the planet. On the contrary, the only reason we became superior hunters (early weapons aside) is that we’re the only animals on Earth whose respiratory and cardiovascular systems operate separately from the muscular system.
Essentially, early humans were able to run down their prey over long distances better than any other animal. Our hearts and lungs might have been working in intense overdrive, but as long as our brains were telling our legs to move, we could run down and kill much larger mammals.
Although we no longer have to hunt to survive, the base need for exercise is still there. Humans are designed to move fast and pick up heavy things. For this reason, layering cardio with strength training will burn fat and allow your joints and bones to keep up the same level of progress as your respiratory and cardiovascular system.
Resistance Training Burns More Calories
On top of all that, strength training is good for weight loss because muscle burns more calories than fat. If all you do is intense cardio, you can burn a ton of calories during your workout. However, once that workout is finished, your body recovers quickly and stops burning calories.
However, strength training works much differently. After lifting weights, your body has to work much harder to get back to the state it was in before you started exercising. This can keep your metabolism working anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-six hours after your workout is finished.
For every pound of muscle you build, your body has to burn an extra five to ten calories per day to sustain it. While that isn’t a life-changing number, it beats not burning any calories AT ALL during your favorite movie marathon.
Overall Health
Losing weight with strength training has numerous benefits. Some are aesthetic and noticed immediately while others can only be measured over the long term.
Some basic changes are that it increases bone density, improves blood flow, reduces blood sugar, improves cholesterol, and helps with muscle memory, balance, and coordination.
Look Better
If you stick to the elliptical and the treadmill, you will lose weight eventually. However, you won’t get stronger or leaner, and your fat won’t entirely disappear. In the industry, people who focus completely on cardio are called “skinny fat”. This means that, although they’re slender, they’re weak and not toned at all.
Even without a scale, it’s easy to see whether or not someone lifts weights. A pound of fat and a pound of muscle might weigh the same. However, a pound of muscle is about the size of a tangerine. In comparison, a pound of fat is around the size of a grapefruit.
This is because muscle is much more dense than fat. Even if your number on the scale isn’t plummeting, adding strength training to your routine will trim your waist, legs, and arms. Your clothes will fit you better, and you’ll look better naked (it’s okay. We’re all thinking about it.)
Feel Better
Not only will starting a strength training routing make you look better. You’ll also feel much better. You’ll have less stress and anxiety, and the increase in endorphins will give you more energy and better moods.
Resistance training has even been proven to increase cognitive function and improve sleep. These changes will only be noticed over time, but strength training is proven to reduce every single symptom related to heart disease. You’ll look better, feel better, and live longer.
Have More Fun Working Out
Let’s be honest. We know that working out isn’t always fun. There’s a reason so many people are tempted to skip leg day. That lactic acid hurts so good, but it hurts.
However, there’s a distinct level of enjoyment that comes from literally feeling the progress as you add more and more weight each week. Discipline becomes more natural, and your workouts become a source of pride rather than agony. Soon, you’ll be searching out new and creative ways to target the same muscles.
How to Get Started with Strength Training and Weight Loss
Some people, particularly women, shy away from weightlifting because they think it will make them look like some bright orange bodybuilder. This simply isn’t the case. Bodybuilders train for years and lift incredibly heavy weights to grow as large as they are.
If you want to lose weight and feel healthy, the simplest way to start is with your own body weight. Doing lunges, donkey kicks, and even bicep curls without weights will help your muscles grow accustomed to the activity. Then, as you progress, you can add more and more weight to your exercising.
If your goal is to gain weight, you need to focus on fewer reps with heavier weights. If growing leaner and streamlining your shape is your priority, more on doing more reps with lighter weights. This rule of strength training and weight loss is very important.
If you’re ready to start your journey to a healthier body and mind, start planning by learning how much exercise is enough.
