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The Benefits of Resistance Training in Weight Loss

ByMarcus J Michael

Irrespective of the angle from which you might want to look at the many options of losing weight being promoted today, the truth remains that proper diet and exercise are the surest ways to achieve healthy and sustainable weight loss.

Though an individual's ability to lose weight depends on several factors, it is nonetheless a generally acknowledged fact that the most important factor that can drastically impact weight loss is nothing more than an individual's basal metabolic rate (BMR).

BMR, which is also referred to as resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the total amount of energy that the body requires to maintain its vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, as well as body temperature while it is at rest.

This energy accounts for about 50-80% of an individual's total daily energy consumption which automatically makes it the biggest contributor to overall metabolic rate (as metabolism is impacted by several other factors besides BMR) and thus his or her weight loss ability.

In the same vein, the biggest contributor to your BMR is the total amount of fat-free mass (lean body mass) you have on your body. This is actually the amount of muscle on your body and it has been demonstrated that the more muscles you have, the more calories you will be able to burn because muscle is considered to be more metabolic than fat.

Similarly, the best way to increase your muscle mass is by engaging in resistance training through the use of resistance bands, free weights, or machines. Resistance training, or weight lifting, increases your overall metabolism like no other exercise routine can and concurrently increases and continues your fat burning processes for up to 48 hours after terminating your workout session.

Essentially, there are three ways through which resistance training impact your metabolism and these are as follows:

1. The Workout Session
As the muscles contract under heavy loads, they generally require more energy and also produce heat as a by-product of the muscular contractions. The rate of increase in metabolism largely depends on the amount of muscle mass and also the level of resistance employed during the workout.

Generally it is considered that the amount of calorie expended during the resistance training is a function of the total amount of weight lifted - the heavier the load lifted, the higher the metabolic increase which equally leads to greater calorie expenditure.

2. The Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)
According to a recent research study by the Colorado State University, strenuous resistance training have the capability of increasing the body's metabolic rate for extended periods and is mostly influenced by the oxidation of body fat.

EPOC is the amount of oxygen required by your body to recover from the muscular strain resulting from the resistance training. This oxygen is what is used to oxidize the built up lactic acid in the muscles and to replenish its stock of intramuscular glycogen as well as the repair of micro-tears sustained by your muscles while exercising. This is where the power of resistance training actually comes from as this process of repair can go on for more than 48 hours after the stop of your exercise session.

Furthermore, resistance training generally makes use of glucose (derived from carbohydrates) and the more glucose expended during the workout session, the more oxidation of fat that will occur after the exercise in order to meet the increased energy demands for muscle repairs.

However, other factors such as the amount of energy expended while exercising; increases in body temperature, breathing and heart rate; and also muscle and blood oxygen store restorations, affect your post-workout oxygen consumption. Generally, the intensity of your exercise is almost directly proportional to the amount of fat that will be burned during the recovery period.

3. The Additional New Muscle Mass
Scientific studies have confirmed that one pound of lean muscle can burn up about 30-50 calories per day while at rest and about 50-100 calories per day to function. Although this might appear insignificant, adding about 3-5 pounds of muscles can however have a very significant multiplier effect in BMR increase.

Resistance training is arguably the best known method of effectively building new muscle mass. The new muscle mass affects your metabolism basically because the new lean muscles are generally metabolically active and also causes a corresponding increase in post-exercise oxygen consumption.

Therefore it can be said that the use of cardiovascular exercise alone for weight loss will not take anybody very far. To achieve the best results with your weight loss efforts, it is therefore important to incorporate some form of resistance training as an essential component of your workouts.

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