Don’t spend all your energy on the treadmill if you’re trying to drop a pants size. Strength training is an important way to boost your weight loss. Here’s why—and how. Trying to lose a few pounds, but the scale won’t budge? Try adding more weight at the gym. Weight training—using free weights or weight machines to build muscle—is a type of strength training that not can only help you slim down but also offers a ton of other health benefits.
The best part: You don’t have to spend all your time in the weight room. You can even do it at home, without any fancy equipment. Here’s why weight training may be what you need to get the scale moving in the right direction, plus a few tips and exercises to get you started.
Burn More Calories
It’s really pretty simple: Weight training builds muscle, and muscle burns more calories than fat—up to three times more, according to some estimates. “Muscles are fat-burning machines.” So the more muscle you have, the more calories you’re going to burn.
It doesn’t end after you leave the gym, either. Your body keeps torching calories for the next 24 to 48 hours as it works to repair stressed muscle tissues. That’s known as the afterburn effect, another name for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The more oxygen you use both during and after a workout, the greater the EPOC. And studies show that strength training is one of the best ways to do it.
All of this is very good news if you’re trying to lose weight. Think about it. With weight training, you’re revving up your calorie burn. You’re boosting your metabolism—possibly by up to 5 percent, according to one nine-month study. And since you’re likely already watching what you eat, your exercise routine is now working with your diet to help you shed unwanted pounds.
Obviously, burning more calories throughout your day, combined with a sensible diet, is going to maximize your weight loss. Not only that, but it helps keep the weight off. One study found that less than an hour and a half of resistance training each week helped keep dieters from gaining back weight, especially harmful belly fat.
The Health Benefits of Strength Training
The benefits go beyond the bathroom scale, too. Weight training improves your posture, helps your endurance, builds strength and reduces your chance of injuries. Research shows it can also boost heart health, improve cholesterol levels and increase bone density. It also slows the inevitable decline in strength as we age, because it keeps our muscles from turning to mush and being replaced with fat as we get older.
Oh, and something weight training doesn’t do: It won’t make you bulk up. If you’re training to be a body builder, you’re going to be eating more. You’re going to be training with heavy weights, doing fewer reps and isolating different muscles. To lose weight, you’re going to monitor your calorie intake and do more reps with lighter weights. The end result: a leaner, stronger, more toned body. Who doesn’t want that?
Getting Started
Where people get into trouble is when they start by lifting too heavy. “They go to the gym, pick up 10 pounds and then try to lunge or squat or curl. And the next day they’re so sore and miserable that they get discouraged and quit.”
Instead, she suggests starting with your own body weight (read on for some suggested moves). Your goal is to do 12 to 15 repetitions—they should feel like a challenge, but you should still be able to keep your form. As you get stronger, you’ll gradually add more weight.
No dumbbells at home? Household items will do. Start with soup cans and slowly work up to lifting milk or laundry detergent jugs (partially filled). Try carrying a full laundry basket while you do a set of walking lunges. You don’t have to have a really heavy weight in the beginning, especially if it’s for weight loss.
Finally, remember to change things up. Do something new every week—even if it’s just a little change—so you’re challenging your body in a different way. “You’ll be using different muscles and expending more calories.” If you always do cardio first, switch the order and start with weights instead. One study suggests weight training first gets your heart rate up, making your cardio workout more efficient.
Weight-Training Exercises to Try
Try the strength-building moves below. Be sure to warm up first. Watch your form, and keep a slow tempo. If you feel pain, stop.
FLOOR BRIDGE Lie face-up on the floor, with knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Keep arms at your sides with palms down. Lift hips off the ground, squeezing your glutes and core until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Hold for three seconds at the top, then lower back down to starting position.
HIP THRUST Start in a seated position with your knees and feet flat on the floor and your shoulder blades (not your neck!) against a bench. Add weight to your hip crease using a pad, if needed. Squeeze your glutes and core and lift your hips until your back is parallel to the floor.
BODYWEIGHT SQUAT Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, arms at your sides, palms in. Squeeze your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat. Bend your elbows and bring your palms together in front of your chest. (You can also just hold your hands in front of your chest the entire time.) Push through your heels to stand back up, and squeeze your glutes at the top for one rep.
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