Strength training can help you lose fat by boosting your metabolism and building muscle. Cardio complements this by burning calories.
Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss
Weight loss and fat loss are related, but the two are not necessarily interchangeable.
Your body weight consists of body fat and lean mass, which includes your bones, muscles, and organs. Fat loss is a subset of weight loss. Weight loss can involve losing body fat, water weight, and some muscle mass but with the goal of maintaining lean mass.
That’s why you may find if you build muscle but lose fat, your body weight may not always decrease. However, one of the advantages of increasing muscle is weight management. The more muscle you have, the easier it is for your body to burn calories.
What Types of Strength Training Help With Weight Loss?
Two types of strength training can contribute to weight loss: pure strength training and metabolic resistance training (MRT), also known as HIIT.
Pure Strength Training
True to the way it sounds, this part of the program is explicitly designed to build or maintain muscle mass.
Building and maintaining muscle is essential as people age because muscle loss happens faster with age. The other good news is that studies show that increasing muscle strength is still possible as people get older.
There are other benefits to building muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the quicker your metabolism will be, and the more calories and fat your body will burn.
Your body type and level of expertise will determine how much weight you should be lifting and for how long. You can get away with lifting heavier loads if you’re more advanced. If you’re starting, use lighter weights—or no weights—and then add on once you’ve mastered the movement.
Metabolic Resistance Training
MRT incorporates periods of intense work followed by a short rest period. A small study showed that interval exercise was more effective than moderate-intensity continuous exercise for increasing energy expenditure, the number of calories burned.
When done correctly, MRT can be the best way to skyrocket your heart rate and keep your body burning fat throughout the rest of the day. There are several ways to do MRT, such as:
- Doing bodyweight exercises like mountain climbers or push-ups
- Using dumbbells
- Using kettlebells
How Cardio and Strength Training Go Together
Although cardio shouldn’t be your only source of physical activity, there is still a place for it in your overall fitness regimen. You can do cardio in two ways: Moderate or high intensity as a form of interval training. It all depends on where your heart rate is.
Use it as a warm-up before your strength training workout—about 10 to 15 minutes to get the body moving. You can also use it as an MRT workout, getting your heart rate up to about 90% of its maximum effort and then recovering with a rest period.
Try doing sets of 100 jump ropes as fast as possible, resting for 30 seconds to a minute. You could also run intervals on the treadmill: Sprint for a minute and then walk for a minute. Try increasing the incline by 1% each time for an added challenge.
Why You Should Have Rest Days
Taking good rest days is essential as a part of your program. Your rest days are as important as the days you go all out.
You break apart the muscle fibers when you work your muscles to exhaustion. To let them rebuild, you must allow them the time to heal. Additionally, your exercise performance may worsen, and you might develop health problems if you don’t get the rest you need.
A Sample Program To Do Strength Training for Fat Loss
Not sure how to build a good weekly workout regimen incorporating strength training? Try starting with this sample workout plan:
- Monday: Moderate intensity cardio warmup + pure strength training
- Tuesday: MRT
- Wednesday: Moderate intensity cardio warmup + pure strength training
- Thursday: MRT intervals (treadmill or jump rope)
- Friday: Moderate intensity cardio warmup + pure strength training
- Saturday: MRT
- Sunday: Rest
Other Strength Training Benefits
Other than helping you manage your weight, building muscle can have other possible benefits, such as:
- Helping you perform day-to-day tasks
- Improving bodily food processing for chronic disease prevention (e.g., diabetes)
- Keeping your bones healthy
- Making you stronger
- Protecting your body to reduce injuries
Tips for Strength Training
Always talk with a healthcare provider before beginning any exercise regimen. When you’re ready to try strength training, keep these tips in mind:
- Ask for help from a personal trainer or attend group classes with an instructor.
- Begin with smaller weights and work your way up.
- Keep arms and legs bent while lifting.
- Remember to breathe throughout your workout.
- Start slow if strength training is new to you or if you haven’t been active in a while.
- Take it easy on your body—you shouldn’t be too much in pain, exhausted, or sore.
- Use smooth movements when lifting weights.
