That's because the more lean muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn at rest, as well as when you're active. The more muscle tissue you possess, the more energy your body will require to maintain that muscle.
It gets that needed energy from burning and utilizing calories. And again, the more calories you burn, the more likely fat loss to occur.
Muscle is a very metabolically active tissue. It takes a lot of work for your body to maintain it. Fat, on the other hand, takes no work to maintain. It just sits there, lumped together like, well, fat.
This is an important concept in fat loss because the more lean muscle tissue you can build, the more calories that will be burned off, without you having to do any extra work. Your muscle will burn off more calories 24/7 than if you didn't have that extra lean muscle.
This makes the case for why weight training, also known as resistance training, is so important to include in any weight loss program.
So if you can add a couple pounds of lean muscle to your frame, you're going to burn off more calories, even while sleeping, than if you didn't have that extra muscle.
The more calories you burn off at rest, the more likely that the calories burned off during exercise will create a calorie deficit in your body. A calorie deficit is a must for weight loss to occur.
Weight gain occurs from consuming more calories than your body burns off during the day. Since there is no deficit of calories, your body does not have to dip into stored body fat to get energy. In fact, due to the surplus, it stores the extra calories as body fat.
If you create a calorie deficit, meaning, your body has used all of the energy from calories it has received from food and it still needs more (like to support muscle tissue) it is going to go after your fat stores to get that energy.
Fat is a highly condensed form of energy. So, when your body starts taking fat from fat stores to use as energy, that is how weight loss occurs.
Weight training may benefit any weight loss program, possibly more than any other component.
Weight training can be a future investment for permanent weight loss and weight maintenance because as you continue to lose stored body fat and gain lean muscle, your muscle will continue to aid in the calorie burning process.
As there becomes less stored body fat to use as energy, the muscle tissue will start to directly utilize the calories you consume on a daily basis.
Since there is now more muscle tissue than there is fat to utilize calories, chances of storing any excess calories as body fat is greatly reduced.
Resistance training may offer the most benefit of all to women past the age of menopause. It can help prevent or reverse the effects of osteoporosis by strengthening and maintaining bone density often lost by diet alone.
So how much resistance training is necessary for long-term weight loss to be successful and to increase your lean muscle and strength?
Not as much as you would probably think. In fact, any more weight/resistance training than 2 to 3 hours a week may be counterproductive.
The best results I have witnessed while in the personal training field come from 3 sessions a week with weights, less than an hour each session.
Most people like the Monday, Wednesday, Friday approach to weight training. This leaves Tuesday and Thursday for cardio, which should be done separately from weight training.
The key to proper weight training is to establish a good foundation in which to build upon, much like building a solid foundation for a house.
So hire a trainer or check out a good program online. You can find my proven muscle building and fat loss program below.
Bottom line, if you want to lose stubborn body fat, start building muscle and you'll soon see the pounds disappear.
In a world where we know body image is less about other people's perception and more about your perception, electronic muscle stimulators can have a positive effect to supplement a good diet and regular physical activity. Using tiny electric pulses, an electronic muscle stimulator (EMS) tones and firms your muscles giving them that sculpted look you desire. Electronic muscle stimulators are not a new technology. Professional athletes looking for a competitive edge and body builders looking for that extra sharpness to their physique have been using them for years. However, an can be of practical use to everyday people who want to keep up a fit form simply from the comfort of their living room or home gym. In particular, people who are physically disabled, in physiotherapy or who just need results to appear quickly can benefit greatly from what an EMS has to offer.
Electronic muscle stimulators do just what their name suggests: they use electrical pulses to stimulate muscles into flexing many times in a small span of time. While an average workout might be able to flex an individual muscle a couple of dozen times in a half hour workout, an EMS can flex that same muscle a few hundred times in the same time span. Moreover, an EMS is capable of targeting very specific muscles and muscles groups that can be difficult to exercise especially without costly workout equipment. The abdominals, for instance, are extremely stubborn muscles that do not always firm up evenly with regular exercises such as sit-ups. An EMS can ensure the abs get a well rounded and thorough workout without complicated positions or expensive specialized exercise machines.
Electronic muscle stimulators are not a cheat or a new fangled quick-fix. They were developed over forty years ago in England for enhanced athletic performance as well as for everyday functions in beauty salons, health spas, hospitals, and physiotherapy clinics. Their use has been permitted by the International Olympic Committee for athletes since the early seventies. Through an array of soft rubber pads, gentle electronic impulses stimulate muscle groups into relaxing and contracting. Most electronic muscle stimulators come with a chart or a guide to the optimal placement of the pads to work out specific muscle groups.
Electronic muscle stimulators are safe for most users. The only people who ought to avoid an EMS are usually not meant to undertake any sort of intensive exercise program anyways such as pregnant women, those with a pace maker or internal metal plates or pins, or those with diabetes or abnormal blood pressure. On the other hand, an EMS can be ideal for a woman who was recently pregnant and wants to quickly reduce the appearance of being pregnant. Since the benefits of using an EMS are usually quicker to appear and easier to achieve than they are through traditional conventional exercises and since an EMS is lightweight, portable, and can be used just about anywhere, it is ideal for recent mothers.
are especially useful for injured people who want to speed their healing by reducing the blood flow to the traumatized area and reducing swelling and soreness. In conjunction with regular physiotherapy, electronic muscle stimulators can help to speed the healing process by strengthening weak muscles without putting any strain on joints or requiring an excess of movement as an EMS is effective even when one is in a prone position. More often than not, improvement is visible after even one session. Like any exercise, frequent use is needed to maintain form and tone of the muscles, but frequent exercise has never been easier or more convenient.
Both Lebrunny & Amy Nutt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lebrunny has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Lose Weight and Build Muscle. Shawn Lebrun is a fitness author and personal trainer. Make this the year you build more muscle, lose more fat, and get the lean, muscular body you desire. Check out Shawn's proven program to help:. Lebrunny's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.
Amy Nutt has sinced written about articles on various topics from Culture and Society, Recreation and Sports and Women. is a great way to help build, maintain and tone muscles throughout your body. There is a wide variety of. Amy Nutt's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.