It’s very common for most people to immediately associate weight loss with cardio training. Whenever people think of exercising to lose weight, they visualize themselves jogging at the park, walking or pounding the treadmill for hours.

In the past, moderate or slow cardio done for hours was seen as the panacea for all weight loss problems. Strength training was viewed as just something extra and not necessarily a requirement to lose weight.

However, latest studies have shown that strength training is extremely important for weight loss. While cardio is good, when combined with an effective strength training program, the fat will melt off much faster leaving you looking toned and ripped like a Greek God.

Let’s look at some of the benefits of strength training.

 

• Preserves muscle mass

 

This is probably the biggest benefit of strength training. Strength training will prevent you from losing too much muscle while you’re trying to shed the fat. Losing some muscle is part and parcel of weight loss. However, your goal should be to keep the muscle loss at a minimum.

The only way to do this will be to mix up resistance training in your workout program. You could have 3 days of cardio and 3 days of resistance training. This will ensure that you have a well-rounded training program.

 

• Boosts metabolic rate

 

Strength training boosts your metabolic rate. This means that your workout will help to burn more calories over a longer period of time. The trend these days is towards full body workouts.

Usually, these are strength training moves done with minimal rest between sets. When done at this speed, the strength training workout takes on a cardio nature because you’ll be panting and gasping to keep up.

As a result, you’ll create a situation in your body known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. What this does is that it puts your body in fat burning mode for hours long after the workout is over. Conventional cardio only burns calories during the workout… and the calorie burning tapers off after the workout is done.

Full-body workouts keep you in calorie burning state for 12 to 14 hours after the workout is done.

 

• More attractive results

 

If you’ve seen marathon runners, you’d have noticed that they’re often scrawny and don’t exactly look muscular.

This is a result of excessive cardio training which results in muscle that is ‘burnt off.’ Most people do not want this look. The majority of men want a body that is muscular and looks good in a t-shirt. Women want toned legs that look good in a bikini or well-sculpted shoulders that look awesome in an off-shoulder dress.

The only way to get a body that is sexy and turns heads is through resistance training. You will be lithe, lean and awesome to look at. Since most people exercise to look good, strength training will help you lose the excess pounds and also sculpt a body that will turn heads.

 

• Improves your cardio performance

 

If you’re a runner, swimmer, cyclist, etc. with strength training you can strengthen the muscles used in these activities. For example, a runner who does barbell squats, lunges, etc. will have stronger legs and be able to run faster and further without his legs getting tired too fast.

As a result of this better performance, more calories will be burned and weight loss will be accelerated.

• Better sleep

 

Strength training has been shown to promote better sleep and get rid of insomnia. If you’re trying to lose weight, getting enough sleep is very important so that your body recovers from all the exercise and dieting.

If your body is stressed out from lack of sleep, it will release the hormone cortisol which leads to weight gain. Strength training will leave you craving for a good night’s sleep and you will wake up each day feeling refreshed and also leaner.

These are just a few of the many benefits of strength training. Everybody can benefit from strength training and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from being as strong as you can. Make strength training a part of your life.

 

If you are looking for knowledgeable training in the Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Glenn Mills and the Greenville or Wilmington Delaware area please call 610-388-1040 to sign up for your no obligation session with Applied Body Science Personal Training.