Understanding Resistance Training

Adding resistance training to your program is a simple way to lose weight faster, but most people don’t do it. This is usually because they don’t understand the benefits of resistance training.

Resistance training is where we exercise the muscles against resistance. Lifting weights is one example. Some gym machines that have you pushing or pulling something, would be another.

Most people think that they will lose more weight from aerobic exercise like running. This is a mistake.

It is true that if you take the calories used over one hour of aerobic exercise or resistance training, the aerobic exercise is usually higher.

However, resistance training goes on using more calories after the end of the exercise period. This happens because the muscles use energy to repair and recover from the workout. So in total, the calories used from the resistance workout can be higher.

Another advantage of resistance training is that it builds muscle mass. Muscle is heavier than fat so one pound of muscle is smaller than one pound of fat. This means that toned body looks better and fits into clothes more easily than a flabby body of the same weight.

Muscle also uses more energy even when the body is at rest. So if you increase your muscle mass, you can lose more weight even while you sleep.

Some women do not like the idea of resistance training because they think they will end up looking like a female body builder which for most people is not an attractive look. But there is no need to worry.

It takes years of dedication to develop the physique of a body builder. It will not happen by accident, you can be sure of that.

The kind of weight lifting that we are talking about here, will simply firm up your body and help you to avoid that ‘empty sack’ look that some people get as they lose weight.