Weight lifting for weight loss is a very effective way to lose weight. It’s not a fad diet or cleanse that promises you’ll shed 20 pounds in 10 days.
How many times have you hopped on the treadmill, burned 500 calories in an hour and still can’t lose weight? The truth is, those calorie counters can be off by up to 20%. Not only that, you’re not using your time spent efficiently to lose weight.
That’s where strength training comes in. You can lose weight faster and burn energy more efficiently when you add strength training to your exercise routine.
Keep reading to learn why lifting weights can help you lose weight.
How Does Strength Training Help You Lose Weight?
At Duke University, researchers performed a study of 119 clinically obese people and put them into three groups. One did only cardio, another did only weight training. The third did a combination of the two.
What they found was that while all the participants lost weight over eight months, the group that did only cardio was most likely to gain it back. They also found that the third group had more lean muscle than the first two.
When you have a lot of lean muscle, your body needs more energy to keep those muscles engaged and fueled. That means that your metabolism increases when you build muscle. When your metabolism increases, you’re burning more calories, even when you’re binge-watching Netflix.
Burn More Calories in Less Time
One of the great things about lifting weight to lose weight is that you don’t have to be on a treadmill for hours at a time. You can get in a great workout in half the time.
HIIT workouts are great for giving you a combination of strength and cardio training in one workout. You’re more active and less likely to get bored. You build muscular endurance and strength at the same time, turning your body into a machine.
Will You Get Bulky?
One of the biggest concerns from women when it comes to strength training is whether or not they’ll get bulky when they add weights to their routine.
Generally speaking, it is very difficult for women to gain that much muscle mass. For women, it is hard to lift weights and get bulky. Two things need to happen for you to gain bulk. The first is that you need to have a lot of testosterone in your body. The second is that you need to eat a lot of calories.
Sometimes, what you’ll find is that muscle mass grows, but it’s still under a layer of fat. That can give the appearance of bulkiness. What you can do is make sure that you’re eating right. We’ll get to that part later on.
How to Start Weight Lifting for Weight Loss
Now that you know why you should incorporate weight lifting for weight loss, how can you get started? There are countless ways to add weight lifting to your workouts. It’s not about doing complex Olympic lifts with a heavy bar and
You can do bodyweight, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, resistance bands and suspension training, barbells, and more. What you need to do depends on two things: your goals, and what you like to do.
If you want to get a great workout in with little time on your hands, you’ll find that kettlebells are a great way to go. You can easily increase your tempo and weight as you gain strength.
You might find that you don’t like kettlebells but really enjoy working with dumbbells and bodyweight. For people who are brand new to weight lifting, it helps to try out different forms on strength training. What’s really important is finding something that you truly enjoy and will stick with.
In the end, you might find that you love a mix of things. That’s great, too, because you have a wide variety in your workouts.
Reversing the Effects of Aging
If you’re a “person of a certain age,” you may find that you’re a little weaker, you have bat wings under your arms and you can’t do the same things you used to and stay the same weight.
There’s a lot that happens when you get older.
One major benefit of weight lifting for weight loss is that you preserve muscle. Once you hit 30, you can lose up to 5% of muscle mass per decade.
You can’t do anything about getting older, but you can do something to limit the effects of aging. Weight training can help you limit these effects and maintain your muscle mass for a longer period of time. That means that you’re still going to be able to preserve your energy as you get older.
Nutrition Still Matters
Just because you’re lifting weights and burning more calories doesn’t mean that you have full license to eat whatever you want. You’ll never lose weight that way.
Nutrition matters even more when you’re weight training for weight loss. You have to make sure that your body gets the right amounts of macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, proteins) and vitamins and minerals.
The easiest way to do that is to make sure you eat a balanced diet that includes whole foods. The less processed food is, the better. Whole grains, fruits and veggies, beans, lean meats, healthy fats like avocado and olive oil are excellent to have.
Losing Weight By Lifting It
Losing weight can be hard. You have to eat right, find time to exercise and have a lot of motivation to be successful with weight loss. All of those things have to be done within a chaotic schedule.
Weight lifting for weight loss adds a new dimension to your workout routine. There are countless possibilities and workouts you can add to your routine between kettlebell, dumbbell and bodyweight training.
If you have the right mix of weight lifting, cardio, and nutrition, the pounds will melt away fast.
Would you like more great tips on getting fit and losing weight? Check out our weekly workout plan to get started.
