Weight Loss With Strength Training
Posted: Friday, January 09, 2009
by Marvin J Markus
http://www.ThePresidentialCandidates.US
You may think that lifting weights is just for body building guys. But this is not true at all. The muscle that is gained from strength training is actually the best tool in your fight against fat. That probably doesn't make much sense to you at first but when you consider that every pound of extra muscle on the body burns an extra 50 calories per day even while the body is completely at rest it may begin to become more clear. If you're able to add 10 pounds of extra muscle to your body then you will burn an extra 500 calories a day! That means you could start burning off fat even without changing your diet (although I do encourage you to diet as well as exercise.)
"Toning" does not actually exist. It's a myth. Muscle can only get bigger or smaller. It cannot get "toned." That doesn't actually mean anything. The top way to grow your muscle (which is the purpose of strength training) is to lift heavy weights. Why? Because the body responds to these heavy weights by growing more muscle. Lifting light weights many times is actually an awful way to go about strength training.
Yes ladies, I'm telling you that you should train like a real man. You should lift heavy weights for a small amount of reps. In fact I recommend only doing only one set of about six reps for each muscle area. How much weight should you lift? As much as you can lift without injuring yourself! The more weight you lift the more it will stress your body and the more likely your body will respond by growing new muscle.
That new muscle is the key to your fat burning power, particularly in the long run. Most diets fail because they do nothing to speed up your metabolism. In fact most diets actually slow down your metabolism with restricted calorie intake. But by adding new muscle to your body you are actually speeding up your metabolism in a way that will make it easier to burn off fat and to keep it off! You know how everyone says that it is so difficult to maintain fat loss? That's because most people who lose weight starve it off but don't do anything to really change their bodies at an intrinsic level. When you add muscle to your body you are becoming fit in a much more permanent way then you are by starving fat off your body.
What about that common fear among women that they will become "too muscular." This is a mostly nonsensical fear. It takes a lot of weight lifting to get to the stage of being muscular in a manly way for a woman. And if you do see yourself beginning to develop more muscles than you would like (as unlikely as that is) you can always begin to slow down or stop your strength training. If you get to that point then you are likely set with your muscle needs anyway. But again, these circumstances are unlikely to develop anyway. Do not let this irrational fear stop you from doing what you need to do to improve your health.
It is recommended that you choose an online diet program that includes a free strength training program. Probably the best example of that is The Day Off Diet which is includes an excellent strength training program (free of charge) with it's diet program (which is also very effective.)
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Marvin J. Markus recommends reading about the South Beach Diet. It may be a good choice to go with your strength training program although it does not come with a free strength training program. Never try a starvation diet like The Cabbage Soup Diet. It will do more harm than good.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I’m sure that those interested in the topic presented will find your article informative and interesting.
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