How Important Is Resistance Training To Weight Loss?

Have you ever noticed at the gym, you see the same people on the same cardio machines almost every day? There is a reason why this trend has become so popular at any gym you walk into. Most fitness enthusiasts trying to lose weight have the impression that doing cardio everyday is the best way to get rid of the weight and keep it off. I believe this has turned into one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to weight loss. Yes cardio is great for the heart, and a good tool to temporarily lose some fat, but it does not build the foundation to keep the fat off for good.

This is where resistance training comes into play. I am a very visual person when it comes to learning new concepts. So just imagine how the general Food Pyramid is split up. In this case, we will call it The Fitness Pyramid. On the very top of the pyramid, the smallest portion is your “Food.” The middle section of the pyramid is “Cardio.” Last but definitely not least, is “Resistance Training” which is the foundation of the entire Pyramid. All three elements must be incorporated if you are trying to lose weight long term or simply to be in the best shape of your life.

Now, I bet the main question is: How is resistance training going to make me lose weight. And most women will say “I don’t want to gain weight and look big and bulky with bulging muscles everywhere.” Let’s start off with the basic functions of muscle. By gaining muscle by weight training, your body changes in a special way that cannot be obtained through cardio. To keep it simple and short, muscle increases your METABOLISM. Your metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself at rest. The keyword here is “at rest.” Whether you are eating, drinking, watching TV, or even sleeping, your body is continually burning calories. Some lucky people out there have a high metabolism, meaning they can eat anything and everything and they never seem to gain ANY weight – you know who you are out there! This means they are constantly burning a higher amount of calories a day then the average type.

Now you might be asking: How much muscle should I gain and how long will it take? Of course it’s hard to give a set number for every body type; however I believe that men and women should shoot for 10 pounds of good lean muscle. 10 pounds might sound scary for most women, but just imagine this (remember I am a visual person). Make a fist with your right hand; this is the equivalent to one pound of lean muscle. Now make a fist with your left hand and put both hands together, this is one pound of fat. As you can see, even though they both weigh the same, muscle is much more dense then fat is. So now imagine replacing 10 pounds of fat on your body with 10 pounds of good lean muscle. Not only are you going to lose inches all over your body, but you are going to feel stronger, tighter and overall better about your body. It takes about 2-3 weeks to gain 1 pound of lean muscle. So realistically, it will take about 5-8 months to accomplish this goal.

So now let’s talk numbers. Why 10 pounds of muscle? It’s all about your metabolism. With one pound of muscle, your metabolism is burning an extra 50 calories a day at rest. Once you have the 10 pounds of lean muscle, your body will be burning a total of 500 calories a day. This means in one week you will lose 3,500 calories at rest, which is equivalent to one pound of fat. Most importantly, if we look at this long term, you will be losing this one pound of fat regularly when your body is at REST. The main key is that the calories are being expended at rest and is not taking into account the additional calories you burn while at the gym or the calories lost from a proper diet.

I know it’s a lot of information to absorb in one sitting, but this is the key to not only losing the weight, but maintaining it for the rest of your life. The worst feeling in the world is working hard to lose the weight in a couple of weeks, just to gain it back right after. If you only focus on cardio, your body will depend on cardio to keep the weight off. If you go on vacation, get sick, or lose motivation to go to the gym for a couple of weeks, this dependency will result in you gaining the weight back due to the lack of calories your body is used to burning during cardio. Like I said earlier, cardio is great for the heart and great for losing some weight, but this is only temporarily. Lets be honest, most people don’t have the time or motivation to do cardio every single day of our life for one hour. This is the main reason why we need to increase our metabolism now, rather then waiting long term when the damage is already done.

Do you know anyone that has lost a lot of weight in preparation for a marathon, just to gain it all back after the race? Or maybe you know someone that always fluctuates in weight loss throughout the year. Hopefully after reading this, you can understand why this happens to the best of us and you will be able to pass on the information to your friends and family in need of some advice. Use my Fitness Pyramid to help you balance out the most essential elements for good health. Make strength training the foundation to staying fit. Use cardio to benefit the heart and lose additional calories. Start to be conscious with your eating and make good nutrition a daily habit. I can promise you that if you just follow these guidelines, with commitment and hard work you will reach your goals.