Weightlifting- The Secret Behind Weight Loss

 



“Every morning, I go on my run for at least 2 hours, before I do my daily circuits of burpees and jumping jacks, and you won't find a single sweet treat in my diet, I'm basically doing all I can to get in shape!”

No, you are not. It is a common misconception that losing weight equals a balanced diet and cardio, and that gaining weight and muscle equals lifting weights. Both these cases are definitely true, but what gets missed out most often in this discussion is the fact that we completely dismiss the other side of lifting weights. The purpose of this article will be to spread awareness to beginners and people seeking to lose weight, on how they need to start incorporating weightlifting in their routines to truly get the maximum value out of their efforts.


The fact is, cardio definitely burns more calories in one session as compared to a workout consisting only of weightlifting. However, an interesting result of weightlifting is that consistently lifting increases a person’s resting metabolic rate (RMR), which in a quick explanation is the body’s use of energy when a person is not involved in any rigorous activity, and are just going about their day.


“Weight training increases muscle mass, which raises your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and effectively burns fat. You burn more calories even while you're at rest because maintaining muscle tissue takes more energy than maintaining fat.” Says Dr. Koulsoum Houssein, MBBS, MD and Consultant at Holy Family Hospital (ETV Bharat)


This is significant because it immediately proves how even if strength training is not a one-stop solution for weight loss, its significance when combined with a caloric deficit and cardio is unquestionable, providing long term benefits.



'On the more straightforward side of things, simply understanding that strength training does not only build muscle, but replaces fat mass is key knowledge to getting closer to your goals. When muscle replaces fat, the physical changes in one’s body are obvious with a more defined structure and a narrower waist, but the growth of muscles also increases metabolism because muscles require more energy to be used. This energy is produced by burning fat, hence providing us with a clear cut explanation of how the entire process of us putting our muscles to use helps us to lose weight at the same time. Besides, scratch all the science, who doesn’t want to look good and strong altogether? When you only focus on a low calorie diet and cardio, you might accidentally burn muscle to use up as energy in your hardcore routine.


"In some situations, however, such as when we eat too few calories daily or not enough carbohydrate, as well as during latter stages of endurance exercise, when glycogen reserves are depleted, skeletal muscle is broken down and used as fuel." (Human Kinetics Blog)


Yes, that really happens! So to prevent an unnecessary event like that from happening, make sure you keep punishing your muscles as part of a routine in your journey to lose weight.








The bottom line is, weightlifting, cardio and a diet altogether are undeniably the best and only combination that leads to a person burning fat, and revealing a toned and defined physique underneath. If all these options were carried out individually without the help of the other, progress would be made at a frustratingly slow rate, and when we don't see the changes in our body as fast as we want them to, we give up, leading to a complete halt in consistency, and without consistency there are absolutely no results.


Trust the process, be patient, and make sure to start exploring bodybuilding and the different types of strength training you can do alongside your cardio and diet to really get the most out of your workouts to feel lighter and stronger than ever before.


Picture References:

https://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2019/01/22/lose-weight-faster/


Research: https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/the-bodys-fuel-sources#:~:text=In%20some%20situations%2C%20however%2C%20such,down%20and%20used%20as%20fuel. (The Body's Fuel Sources)


https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!health/weight-training-effective-cardio-fat-loss-fitness-health-enn24121904993 (Weight Training Is More Effective Than Cardio, According to Science)

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