The number of people practising weight lifting is ever increasing; indeed it has risen 76% in the last decade alone, according to research by the Fitness Products Council and Sporting Goods Manufacturers. In North America it is now one of the most popular sporting activities.
Weight training combined with cardiovascular exercise is a much more effective way of reducing fat. During the exercise routine, cardiovascular activity will increase muscle metabolism and will even continue to do so for a short while after the session.
Similarly weightlifting activities will also raise the muscle metabolism whilst exercising but will keep it elevated for a long time after the session. It has even been known amongst high intensity trainers for their metabolism to keep rising for several days after the exercise session.
Completing sufficient weight training routines should lower your repetitions to anywhere roughly between 1 and 20. This resistance on the muscles will trim up the tissue and make it stronger. Adequate rest periods are vitally important after resistance training as this is when the muscle growth will occur.
Whether you hope to achieve toned muscles or build up muscles, it’s essential to be aware of what is occurring during muscle training. During weight lifting, the tissues of the muscle are torn apart (microscopically) due to the stress put upon them and its then during the rest period the muscles become stronger and able to bear the extra stress. The usual length of time of a rest period is between 24 to 48 hours after training.
The muscle metabolism will still be burning energy during the rest period and this is the correct time for cardiovascular exercises. High repetitions of the same actions will stress the body in a different way. Using a combination of low repetition routines performed during weight lifting with high repetition exercises of a cardiovascular nature will work the muscles in a complimentary manner to achieve better fat burning results.
Those who are sceptical that weight lifting actually helps people lose weight and burn off fat, should have a go at weight training and just see their heart rate soar. Proof of this is the athletes who focus on short, concentrated bursts of energy and how they carry very little body fat.
The aim is a combination of weight lifting exercises with a cardiovascular routine as this will increase the muscle metabolism and the total ratio of fat burning.
It is essential to remember that a lot of muscle mass can be lost when attempting to lose weight. If you try to lose weight too quickly through faddy diets or starvation, you will lose muscle mass, therefore lowering your metabolism. It’s likely that this weight will just as soon be put back on.
It’s much better to lose fat gradually with a combination of cardiovascular exercises and weight training, which allows the muscle to build up, in turn increasing your metabolism. It may take a little bit longer this way but the effects will be longer lasting.
