What exactly Resistance Training is - How can it help to achieve weight loss? Resistance training is anything that provides resistance against your muscles.
The most popular resistance training is dumbbells or barbells, but it can take on tons of other forms as well.
For example, cable machines and pulley systems give great resistance, as do elastic bands.
Using body weight itself is another way to give your muscles resistance and, directly and indirectly, increase your rate of losing weight as well.
Today you have a lot of options when it comes to resistance training - but whichever you choose, be sure that all of them have one thing in common - they will change your life by helping you during your weight loss! So, why exactly should you lift weights? I mean, isn't weight lifting some kind of a macho guy thing? Is it mandatory to do to it to lose weight? "But I don't want to look too muscular and bulky.
" Its understandable that we, women, don't want to become too muscular, but in order for us to become "too muscular", we would literally need to train for many many years.
Resistance training can change your entire body, let alone your self-confidence as well as self-esteem, but most importantly, resistance training could possibly be the best thing that you will ever do to keep your body looking and feeling 10 years younger.
Needless to say that it will help you to lose weight as well.
So, what are the benefits of resistance training? 1.
Metabolism.
Resistance training is the one thing that we have to do to elevate our metabolism for hours after a workout.
Cardio workouts are effective and needed, but, after an hour of jogging, your metabolism will be higher for about an hour before going back down to normal.
More elevation is needed for weight loss.
Resistance training, on the other hand, will literally raise your metabolism permanently.
How? This happens because weight lifting is actually a process of breaking down muscle tissue and forcing body to rebuild it stronger, bigger and more tone.
This process takes time and energy AKA calories.
Once you have added muscle tone to a given area on your body it now takes even more energy to maintain this muscle, thus raising the overall calorie need for body to maintain its weight.
This is a direct way to achieve weight loss! When you are doing resistance training, you break down muscle fibers, which takes energy to rebuild.
After these muscles have been rebuilt they are toner, tighter, firmer and now need more calories to maintain.
Hence: a higher metabolism all day long, without stopping or "breaks".
Simple, yet so effective! Remember: 1 pound of muscle burns about 50 kcal a day while 1 pound of fat burns 4 kcal a day.
The difference is 12.
5 times!!! Now you most definitely understand how muscle building helps weight loss process.
2.
Toned and Sculpted looks.
Resistance training is the cause of the beautiful sculpted and toned look that tons of athletes have.
As mentioned earlier, resistance training breaks down muscle fibers so that they can rebuild much stronger.
These strengthened fibers are much more dense than the weaker ones they replaced, thus resulting in a firmer, tighter feel.
Since we know that muscles need more energy than fat, it is safe to assume that when your muscle mass increases, you will also decrease in fat.
(As long as your caloric intake does not increase and that your cardio activities do not decline.
) Because of the decrease in fat, the shape of your muscles will start to be uncovered by the shedding of the extra fat that covers them.
Now you understand what I am talking about? Resistance training not only helps with weight loss, but also with achieving good looks that we all crave.
3.
Healthy Bone Density.
Do you know hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed with Osteoporosis each month? Do you also know one of the best ways to prevent having this deadly sickness occur in your own body? According to the doctors, resistance training is one of the best activities you can do to strengthen your bones and defend it against Osteoporosis.
When your muscles are resisting against the weight that you are pushing or pulling, at the same time your bones are also being affected on by your tendons and ligaments.
This results in your bones building themselves stronger to compensate for your muscles being stronger.
If your muscles were to be stronger than your ligaments / tendons, then they might snap right off of your bones.
Your body is able to learn from the stimulus given to it and to adapt in order to perform better.
Weight loss is the prime example of this.