It’s no secret that in order to achieve a healthy body and lose weight, you need to combine a diet with regular exercise. In fact, the amount of calories you burn during exercise is directly linked to weight loss. Reducing your fat intake combined with a high-intensity workout plan will get you there fast. But what type of exercise should you choose?
Many people give up on exercising because they think it’s too hard or boring, but resistance training might be just what you need. Resistance training (or strength training) is a form of physical exercise that increases your muscle strength by challenging it with dynamic movements that demand more force than normal. An easy way to understand this is thinking about the last time you saw someone pick up a heavy bag of groceries and walk with it for several steps – that’s resistance training!
What Is Resistance Training?
Resistance training is a form of exercise that uses the force of your own muscles to build strength. It's often referred to as strength training, weight training, or resistance training (RT). The main idea behind resistance training is to create more muscle fibers. When you lift weights, you are targeting your muscles and causing them to grow. This growth is called muscle hypertrophy, and it actually happens naturally when your body is stressed by lifting weights.
Resistance training is a type of training that improves muscle strength by challenging it with dynamic movements that demand more force than normal. For example, when you lift weights, you would be engaging in resistance training, since you’re challenging your muscles to lift the weights. When you do that, the muscles get taxed and the body tries to repair itself to get stronger. This process is called “muscle growth,” and it’s what leads to a fitter, healthier you.
There are many different ways to perform resistance training. The most common is the free-weight lift, but there are also machines (such as the stationary bike), body weight exercises (such as squats), and other types of movements that can build muscle mass and increase strength.
The Basics of Weight Loss With Resistance Training
The first step in understanding how strength training can help you lose weight is understanding what happens on a molecular level with your body when you lift weights. You’re creating micro-tears in your muscles, which your body then repairs with new, stronger tissue. This process is called muscle hypertrophy, and it’s the reason why your biceps get bigger when you do curls.
Muscle hypertrophy is the process of creating more muscle fibers. It can be accomplished through both aerobic and resistance training, and the increase in muscle mass leads to an increase in metabolism.
In other words, the more muscle you have, the faster your body can burn calories. Generally speaking, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you’re not exercising. Resistance training is the best way to increase muscle mass, and it’s also the best way to lose weight.
How Does Resistance Training Help Lose Weight?
Resistance training tones your muscles and increases their size, which burns more calories throughout the day. This means that even when you’re not exercising, your body is still burning calories thanks to the newly developed muscles.
One pound of muscle burns about six calories per day, while one pound of fat burns only two calories per day. That’s a three-calorie difference per day!
If you combine resistance training with a high-protein diet, you can further increase your metabolism. Protein helps build muscles and keeps you feeling full. It also burns more calories during digestion than any other macronutrient.
There are a few different ways resistance training can help you lose weight:
1. You burn more calories throughout the day. When you increase your muscle mass, you’re also increasing your resting metabolic rate, or the amount of calories your body burns while at rest.
2. You burn more calories during your workouts. When you lift heavier weights during your workouts, you’ll burn more calories, and therefore more fat. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should try to lift with a weight intensity of about 8-12 reps.
3. You burn more calories post-workout. After you finish your workout, your metabolism will remain elevated for a few hours after to help your body repair itself.
What Are the Benefits of Resistance Training?
Every part of your body will benefit from resistance training, whether you’re trying to lose weight or not. Strength training can help improve your posture, reduce joint pain, improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and more. When you combine strength training with a healthy diet, you can improve your body composition. In other words, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. This can help you achieve your fitness goals much faster than just focusing on dieting. There are also many mental benefits of strength training. It can reduce your risk of depression, improve your self-esteem, and help you sleep better at night. It’s a great way to relieve stress, take a break from all-day stressors, and recharge your batteries.
Apart from helping you shed pounds and shed fat, resistance training offers a host of benefits, including:
1. Stronger muscles. When you work out with weights, you’re challenging your muscles to lift heavier loads. This trains your muscles to get stronger, so they can lift more weight in the future, which can help you perform your daily activities—from gardening to playing with your kids—more easily.
2. Better sleep. Working out regularly may help you sleep better. A study published in the Journal of Physiology and Behavior found that exercise had a “calming effect” that can reduce insomnia.
3. Better joint health. Stronger muscles help to support your joints, so if you have joint issues, working out with resistance can help.
4. More energy. When you have more lean muscle mass, you’re able to perform more tasks with less effort, which can lead to more energy throughout the day.
What Type of Resistance Training Is Best for Weight Loss?
There are many different types of resistance training routines you can try. But if you’re looking to lose weight, you should try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or circuit training. These types of workouts are short and intense, but they can help you lose weight fast. HIIT is particularly good for beginners, as it doesn’t require you to lift heavy weights.
The type of resistance training that’s best for weight loss depends on your goals.
- If you want to build muscle: try lifting weights with a higher rep range, say 8-12 reps. This will help you build more muscle and strength.
- If you want to lose fat: try lifting weights with a lower rep range (6-8 reps), which will help you burn more fat.
- If you want to do both: try lifting weights with a moderate rep range (8-12 reps) and lifting lighter weights.
In fact, you don’t need any equipment for this type of workout. With circuit training, you move from one exercise to the next without taking a break between moves. You can do this with body weight exercises, such as squats and push-ups, or with free weights like dumbbells and barbells. Alternatively, you can do a traditional strength training routine. This is more of a long-term plan, and it’s a great way to maintain your new weight after you’ve reached your goal.
How Long Should You Do Resistance Training to Lose Weight?
The amount of time you do resistance training will depend on your fitness goals. For general fitness, experts recommend doing two days per week of resistance training, with at least one day of rest between each workout.
For weight loss, two to three days per week is best, with at least one day of rest between each workout. These numbers are just a guideline—every person is different and will progress at a different rate. You should also make sure you’re doing a full-body workout. Your workout plan should include challenging your entire body, so you work all your major muscle groups.
Resistance training should be a lifelong habit. You can keep lifting weights even as you age, and you will continue to get stronger and more toned. Ideally, you should strength train at least three times per week. More isn’t necessarily better, but it can give you better results. The trick is to find the right balance between lifting enough to see results and not overdoing it so that you get injured.
If you’re a beginner, you might want to start with two or three times a week, and then add another day every few weeks. You can find a good beginner workout plan online, or you can talk to a trainer at your gym to get personalized advice.
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Can Resistance Training Reduce Belly Fat?
Yes, resistance training can help you lose belly fat, but it’s not the only way. That being said, cutting out your carbs and doing hours of cardio every day isn’t healthy or realistic for most people. If you want to lose belly fat and keep it off, you need to do more than just cardio. You also need to lift weights and eat right. Many people try to lose weight by doing nothing but cardio, but they give up after a few weeks because they see no results. If you want to lose belly fat, you should do both cardio and resistance training. However, if you have a limited amount of time, you should focus more on lifting weights than doing cardio.
Yes! Weight loss is not just about losing fat from one area of the body. You can lose fat from one area first, but then it will come back in another area. Resistance training can help reduce belly fat in particular. A few tips to keep in mind:
- Start light. If you’re new to resistance training, start light and easy, with light weights and a low intensity. This will allow your body to warm up and adapt to the new workout without becoming overworked and injured.
- Aim for a full-body workout. If you’re working out only a few areas of your body, you’re missing out on fat loss in other areas.
- Stick to it. You won’t see results from resistance training overnight. Be consistent for at least a few months to see results.
When you’re starting a resistance training program, make sure you’re doing it right. Otherwise, you may end up increasing your belly fat.
Resistance Training for Weight Loss at Home
You don’t need to go to a gym to do resistance training. In fact, you can do it at home whenever you have a few minutes. There are plenty of online resistance training plans you can follow, or you can come up with your own routine. Keep in mind that you want to challenge yourself but not get injured. There are plenty of ways to do resistance training at home, including:
1. Body weight exercises - Squats, lunges, crunches, and push-ups are all great ways to challenge your body and burn calories.
2. Dumbbells - Dumbbells are an easy way to add variety to your exercise routine and challenge your muscles in new ways. They’re also relatively inexpensive, and you can use them in a variety of ways to make your workout more interesting.
3. Resistance bands - Resistance bands are a cheap, easy way to add variety to your home workout. While they don’t provide the same level of resistance as dumbbells, they’re a great option if you’re on a budget.
4. Body weight workouts - Body weight workouts are great for beginners and those looking to save a little cash. For body weight workouts, all you need is enough space to do a few exercises, and you’re good to go.
If you’re not sure how to do that, you can always start out with beginner exercises. Or you can talk to a trainer at your gym to find out which exercises are best for your fitness level. It’s important to warm up before your workout and stretch afterward to avoid injuries. You can do the warm-up and cool-down exercises in the comfort of your own home.
What Are the Best Resistance Exercises for Weight Loss?
Some of the best resistance exercises for weight loss include squats, lunges, planks, push-ups, pull-ups, and many more.
- Squats and lunges are great for toning your legs and hips. Squats are an especially effective exercise for burning calories, and you can do them at home without any equipment.
- Planks are fantastic for building core strength. Plus, they also help improve posture and reduce back pain.
- Push-ups are a classic exercise that works your entire body. They’re especially effective for toning your upper body. Pull-ups are another classic bodyweight exercise, and they work your entire upper body. They’re also a great way to improve your posture.
- Lunges are great for toning your legs and improving your balance. They’re also a good way to warm up before a workout.
- Deadlifts are a great full-body exercise that works your back, shoulders, legs, and core.
Depending on your fitness level and goals, you can choose different exercises to hit different muscle groups.
Tips to Lose Weight Through Resistance Training
1. Make it a habit. You can’t just do resistance training once and expect to see results. You need to do it regularly.
2. Set realistic goals. You should aim for between three and five workouts per week, with at least one day of rest between each session.
3. Warm up. Before each exercise, do a few light exercises to prepare your muscles for the challenge ahead.
4. Cool down. At the end of each workout, do some lighter exercises to stretch your muscles and reduce your risk of injury.
5. Stay hydrated. You’ll lose more weight if you stay properly hydrated, so be sure to drink plenty of water.
6. Eat healthy. You can exercise all you want, but if you don’t eat right, you won’t lose much weight.
If you want to lose weight, you can do so by following a healthy diet and doing regular resistance training. You can even do resistance training at home with a few simple pieces of equipment. If you want to achieve a healthy body and lose weight, you need to combine a diet with regular exercise. In fact, the amount of calories you burn during exercise is directly linked to weight loss.
Resistance training is the foundation of strength training, which involves increasing your muscle strength by challenging it with dynamic movements that demand more force than normal.