Consider the following:
1 in 3 people are overweight or obese
Strength training burns fat faster than cardio, interval training and other forms of exercise
Applying those 2 facts, there is a good chance that you may be looking to trim some fat from your body. If so, an understanding of how different types of exercise lead to health and wellness is required.
Cardiovascular exercises are those which you can perform for a prolonged period of time. They elevate your heart rate, and keep it up. Dance aerobics, jogging, and running on a treadmill are all forms of aerobic exercise.
Interval training requires altering your rate of speed and intensity. You sprint or do push-ups at your highest intensity for 30 seconds, then follow that up with 90 seconds of jogging or resting. You follow that process for 15 to 30 minutes.
Strength training requires pushing or lifting weights through space. This could be as simple as curling a set of dumbbells, or performing body weight exercises. Strength training often involves cyclical forms of exercises, performed in sets of a certain number of repetitions.
The way strength training outperforms other traditional exercises in the fat burning department has to do with Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). Very little of this occurs after cardio exercise. You do burn calories and fat while you are enjoying a cardio workout, but this stops shortly after your exercise is over.
Interval training is much better than cardio exercises at burning calories and fat after your workout is over. Your metabolism functions at a higher rate for hours and hours after your interval training session. Unlike many cardio sessions, which can go for an hour or over an hour, interval training sessions are recommended for 30 to 45 minutes or less.
With strength training, especially those movements that work multiple muscle groups, are even better than interval training for long-term fat loss and calorie burning.
Health professionals now understand that after a weight training session, you can expect to burn calories for anywhere from 24 to 36 hours after you have finished your workout!
The long-term weight loss benefits come from a metabolism boost, and the fact that you are building muscle. Muscle burns a lot of fat, even when you are just sitting around.
As your muscles are repairing over the next day or day and a half after you strength train, they require fuel to repair themselves. This comes from your fat cells, and the process burns calories as well.
Choose strength training over other forms of exercise for maximum fat burning potential.
Marc Ouellette is a Certified In-Home Personal Trainer, Certified Specialist in Fitness Nutrition and Owner of Personal Training Alliance.
I help busy men and women with weight loss, fat loss, muscle toning, speeding up your metabolism and getting you to become more energetic and confident.
I’m offering you a Free In-Home Fitness and Nutrition Consultation to see if we can work together so I can help you reach all your health and fitness goals.
Serving Fairfield County and New Haven County and I Bring The Workout Right To You!"
Contact me here at, info@personaltrainingalliance.com for more information about my services.
To your health, Marc