You’re Not Lifting Weights

Dos and Don'ts of Bodybuilding · Healthkart Blog

You’re Not Lifting Weights

The go-to exercises for those trying to lose weight is usually cardio. Lots of it.

While cardio is, without a doubt, a great way to burn extra calories, it should not be your only form of exercise.

Resistance training, such as lifting weights, is one of the most important things that you can do when trying to lose weight.

 

They will help you build muscle.

Muscle tissue is metabolically active. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn whilst resting or exercising.

If your goal is not to get “bulky”, don’t worry. Muscle growth is far more complex than you think. Just by lifting some dumbbells and barbells when at the gym, you’re not going to automatically grow bigger.

Muscle soreness is another factor. After a good resistance training you will leave the gym feeling sore the next day.

Sore muscles are a result of your workout damaging your muscle fibers. After your workout your body enters a “repair stage” where it begins rebuilding your muscle fibers and building new ones to prevent further damage. This is essentially what muscle growth looks like.

During this repair stage, your body will naturally use more calories to help push the process. Muscle recovery lasts for about 48 hours after your workout (depending on your composition). What that means is that you are going to be burning extra calories for 48 hours after leaving the gym.

Lastly, lifting weights can help prevent metabolic slow down. Ensuring that you will not hit a “brick wall” and see more long-term weight loss progress.

If you don’t have any free weights laying around, or if you do not wish to join the gym, that’s fine. Bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges are a great starting point.

You can also opt-in and get yourself some resistance bands to help add some variety to your resistance training.

Summary:

Adding resistance training to your workout program will  greatly benefit your weight loss progress. They will help you burn more calories, prevent muscle loss and  help maintain long-term fat loss.