Burn Baby Burn! We’re talking about calories!

If fat loss if what you’re after then sit up and listen carefully.  Those long runs, aerobic classes and latest cardio equipment you might love will make you sweat and yes you will burn calories but not as many as you think.

Most of us know that person that lost weight when they first started running and then all of a sudden that stopped and they may even have put some back on.  The fact is if you go from doing nothing to all of a sudden doing something you will initially lose some fat but you likely won’t keep losing it.

If permanent fat loss is what you want then resistance training is the way to do it.   Here’s are a few reasons why:

1. You will burn more calories doing an aerobic activity for the same amount of time as resistance training; however after resistance training (with intensity) you will continue to burn calories.

2. For every pound of lean muscle you put on in place of fat your body will burn more calories.  Some claim it can be up to 50 more calories a day, this may or may not be an exaggeration as you’ll also find claims that it only burns about 6 calories a day; which ever is true  there’s no doubt muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.

3. Resistance training improves daily fat oxidation, this is when your body uses oxygen to turn fat in to energy.  Here is a published study on pubmed that found even minimal resistance training to improve fat oxidation.

Does this mean giving up your loved aerobic activities?  Not necessarily.  If you love them them keep doing them, there are always health benefits to getting out there and moving your body.

Ladies if you’re worried about bulking up then Josyln Thompson’s (Editor-In-Chief & Director of Fit Girl About Town) article ‘Lifting Weights? But I don’t want to bulk up’ is a must read.

Rocofit