Strength training can help you lose weight. Here’s everything you need to know

Did you know that strength training can give your weight loss process a boost?

Lifting weights helps your body burn more fat.

Losing weight takes time, consistency, and a willingness to push yourself to reach your goals. However, it’s entirely possible to lose fat while building muscle mass, which will make you stronger than when you started working out. There are many things that can help you lose weight including following a balanced diet and consistent exercise. Adding a strength training program to your regimen isn’t always the most common strategy, but it can make a huge difference in reaching your fitness goals.

Strength training boosts your overall metabolism, increases the number of calories you burn during your workouts, and helps you build more muscle mass while you’re in the gym. By changing your body composition, you can burn fat even if you’re not actively exercising. To break it all down, I talked to fitness experts who explained exactly how strength training promotes fat loss and what strategies will help you maximize your results.

Want more fitness tips? Learn how many calories you need to burn to lose weight, easy ways to get rid of fat at home and how to achieve that elusive balance between losing weight and gaining lean muscle mass.

Cardio and strength training

There’s an ongoing debate about which is more effective for achieving the perfect physique: cardio or strength training. According to New York City-based personal trainer Oscar Colon IV, cardio is ideal for burning more calories during a workout – and is key to keeping your heart strong – but strength training affects your body differently. “Strength training has a dual effect because you burn calories during the workout and during the recovery and revitalization of the muscle groups you’ve worked,” he says. As a result, you get more results for your efforts.

It’s still a good idea to incorporate cardio and strength training into a balanced fitness plan so you can reap all the benefits. How much you do one or the other can also depend on your current goals. If you’re training for your first marathon, cardio will be your main focus as you develop endurance, while strength training will be a priority when you’re trying to get stronger or build muscle mass.

How muscle affects your ability to burn fat

As mentioned, strength training can help you burn more calories during and after your workout. This is due to the lean muscle mass you gain from strength training. If your goal is to lose weight, more lean muscle mass can help with this process.

This also means that the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. Resting metabolic rate, or RMR, refers to the total number of calories your body burns at rest. From a biological standpoint, resting metabolism helps your organ function, neurological function, breathing and circulation. Rachel McPherson, an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer, performance specialist and Garage Gym Reviews expert, explains that muscles are metabolically active, meaning they burn calories even at rest, and while the effect is small, it is significant and builds up over time. “This also helps counteract the decline in metabolism and muscle mass as we age, which can contribute to weight gain in middle age,” she says.

Strength training also promotes fat burning when you’ve just finished a workout. “Excess post-workout oxygen consumption is the body’s self-regulatory process of homeostasis after a strenuous workout,” explains Colon. In other words, you continue to burn calories while recovering because your body stays warm for a while while it cools down.

How long it takes to build muscle

Now that you know that muscle mass is a key component of fat burning, you’re probably wondering how long it takes to build muscle mass. This will depend on the individual, as genetics, hormones, gender, diet and other factors play a role in how much muscle you gain and how quickly. “If you consistently work out three to four times a week for 30 minutes per session, you should realistically start seeing results in three to four weeks,” says Colon.

McPherson says you can build muscle mass every week, and doing a 12- to 16-week hypertrophy training program is ideal for seeing significant muscle gains. “You can expect 5 to 10 pounds of muscle gain in that time,” she explains, adding, ”As you get more advanced, you’ll have to work harder for smaller gains, but you’ll still see results.”

This is another interesting aspect of strength training: if you’re a beginner, you have an advantage over a more experienced person in building muscle mass. This is what some call “beginner’s gain,” which refers to your body’s response to building muscle mass to lifting weights because it’s not used to this type of stimulus. Studies have shown that untrained people (those with minimal to no strength training experience) can build muscle mass faster than those who already have strength training experience.

In general, men and women also show different results when building muscle mass. “Men can build muscle mass much easier and faster than women due to testosterone, while women can still build a significant amount of muscle but will never look as big or as full as men unless they use anabolic steroids,” says McPherson. “It’s vital that women lift enough volume and weight and eat enough to support muscle growth.” This means abandoning the old-school mentality of dieting and reducing yourself, otherwise it will hinder your ability to build muscle mass.

In addition to a well-tolerated workout plan, a diet that supports muscle mass building is also key. McPherson says, “To build muscle mass, you need to eat a diet that is excessive in calories and high in protein.” She explains that excess nutrition will cause you to gain some body fat, which is normal and necessary for gaining muscle mass. “You can shed it later and it will be easier as your body has gotten better at burning calories because of the increased muscle mass,” she adds.

Other benefits of lifting weights

In addition to helping you metabolize and get stronger, strength training has other benefits. Colon says they’re also important for bone development and density. “Weight-bearing exercise puts a temporary strain on your bones, sending a signal to bone-building cells to kick in and rebuild stronger bones,” he says.

Another benefit associated with strength training is a reduced risk of injury by improving the strength, range of motion and mobility of muscles, ligaments and tendons. “This can build strength around major joints such as knees, hips and ankles to provide additional protection against injury,” says Colon.

Another plus for your heart, as strength training has been shown to help lower blood pressure. You can also lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, improve circulation and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Exercise has even been shown to have a positive effect on your mental health, and strength training has also been found to reduce anxiety .

Bottom line

It’s helpful to know the unique effects of strength training on your body when you establish a consistent exercise program. Not only do you naturally burn more fat by having more muscle, but you also maintain strength as you age and improve other functions of your life. If you don’t have access to a gym, you can start your exercise regimen at home and still get the same results if you have the right equipment.

Even if your goal is not to lose weight or change your body composition, strength training offers many benefits that make it worth adding to your lifestyle, and it will only improve your well-being in the long run.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as medical advice. Always consult your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or health goals.