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It is known that both strength and weightlifting exercises, and cardio exercises, such as running, swimming, cycling, and jumping rope; It is one of the beneficial sports activities. Tim Werner, professor of exercise science at Salisbury University, says, “The best exercise routine is a combination of cardio and weight lifting exercises.”
But BJ Kaddour, author and fitness expert, explains the importance of weight training and likens it to “steak, which provides the largest amount of protein for building the body. Cycling and running are good side dishes, as mushrooms and asparagus, for example, make the meal more comprehensive.”
Although weightlifting does not burn as many calories as cardio, it is more effective in building muscle and reducing the risk of injury. For this reason, experts say, “building muscle is the key to increasing the calories we burn at rest.”
The effect of weightlifting lasts 3 days
According to a study published in 2014, “lifting weights causes the body to continue burning calories even after the exercise is completed.” While cardio exercises improve cardiovascular health, weight lifting exercises enhance muscle size and strength, which leads to an increase in metabolism and continues for 3 days after exercise. It can even burn up to 50% of calories per pound of exercise. Muscles, if exercising with greater weights, as increasing weights during exercise “increases metabolic efficiency,” according to Tim Werner.
This is confirmed by Diana Chalo, a sports training expert, by saying, “If the goal is to lose fat, it would be ideal to start with strength training, followed by cardio exercises.” Lifting weights helps gain muscle, which speeds up metabolism and burns more fat in the long term.
Sebastian’s experience in 6 steps
Sebastian (38 years old), a father of two children, was always keen to be a virtuous father and a role model for his children, with strength, appropriate weight, and a good level of fitness. He practiced a lot of Thai boxing, running, and swimming, but he was unable to get rid of fat and lose weight, especially during the period of recession and lack of physical activity that accompanied the outbreak of the Corona virus, in the past two years.
Although he thought he was strong and considered himself reasonably fit in terms of cardiovascular ability, he had more fat and no visible muscles.
Sebastian says childcare takes an incredible amount of energy. “I wanted to make sure I could enjoy playing with my two loud little boys. I didn’t want them to have a father who would come back exhausted after a busy day at work and couldn’t give them attention and engage in sports and leisure activities.” “.
He reconsidered his method of exercise, as he was not accustomed to resistance training and weightlifting, and was content with doing cardio exercises, as he told the “menshealth” website. But he discovered that gaining muscle strength and losing fat efficiently can be achieved by maintaining a consistent resistance training routine, along with good nutrition.
The relationship between weight lifting and weight loss
When comparing weightlifting to another sport, such as cardio, cardio burns a greater amount of calories during half-hour training for a person weighing 70 kilograms, 250 calories are burned compared to only 120-220 calories for weightlifting exercises.
The desired benefit from weightlifting exercises is not only the amount of calories that are burned during the training period, but after practicing weightlifting, the body raises the level of its metabolism for hours after completing the training, meaning that the body continues to burn fat for up to 38 hours after completion. From weight lifting (it depends on the intensity and duration of training). Lifting weights increases the level of resting metabolism to 9% in men and 4% in women, which is equivalent to burning an additional 150 calories from fat for men and 50 calories for women.
Certainly, weightlifting exercise takes time to have this effect on the level of metabolic processes in the body, so this effect does not appear after the first time, but with continuity it gives a continuous effect of burning fat, as the person can lose more calories in the hours following the completion of lifting weights.
Weight lifting exercise has another advantage in addition to burning fat and its prolonged effect on weight loss. It enables a person to replace the fat in the body with muscle. Increasing muscle mass in the body gives strength and energy, in addition to the aesthetic appearance.
How long does it take to lose weight from weightlifting?
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends exercising more than 150 minutes per week to lose weight. Any period less than that is not considered sufficient to cause the body to burn fat. But it is important to consider not doing weight lifting exercises two days in a row, because the muscles need time to rest . This time is very important for the muscles to respond to the exercises without causing injuries, and also to take the appropriate time for new muscle to be built and blood nourished to it.
Important tips to avoid injuries while lifting weights
On the other side of the benefits of lifting weights or barbells, there are some side effects or injuries to the muscles, such as the possibility of a muscle strain or tear, specifically in the back or shoulder muscles. These expected damages as a result of weightlifting exercises occur at a very small rate, reaching 0.29 per 100 hours of training. This percentage increases in very heavy weightlifting sports, but the possibility of injuries can be reduced through the following steps:
Commitment to warm-up exercises
It seems very fun to start lifting weights right after entering the gym, but this is considered stressful and stressful for the muscles. Warming up before starting to lift weights by doing aerobic exercises for five minutes makes the person able to lift more weights.
Breathe well and avoid holding your breath
Some people hold their breath when they lift weights. Holding their breath or breathing slowly reduces the oxygen that reaches the muscles. Muscles during weightlifting exercises need double the amount of oxygen to be able to perform this effort, so you must be careful to breathe deeply during exercise so that sufficient oxygen reaches the muscles . Also, good breathing delays the early feeling of exhaustion or fatigue.
Diversify between exercises
Doing the same exercise for a long time makes the muscle get used to it and lose its progress, so trying to change your exercise routine every 6-8 weeks restores enthusiasm and energy to the muscles.
Exercise different muscles
It is recommended to follow a program to exercise all muscles while lifting weights, as focusing on one group of muscles without others in an exaggerated manner does not give a good appearance, and the body also needs to be integrated in the amount of muscle mass and its strength.
Exercising alone is not enough to lose weight, and eating healthy food alone is not enough, as studies have shown that exercising while modifying the diet leads to a weight loss of 20% more than adhering to a diet alone. An integrated system is necessary, and weightlifting, along with cardio exercises, is considered the most ideal exercise system for losing weight and building an athletic and healthy body.
