It is no accident that muscular individuals tend to be slimmer and fitter than the average person. Weight lifting is one of the most fundamental and overlooked aspects of losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle. By itself, it is an activity that increases total calorie expenditure and influences the body's metabolism.
Factors
The amount of calories burned during weight lifting depends upon a variety of factors such as body weight, intensity of the weight training, duration, age and gender. Total weight lifted plays a large role, and it is important to keep in mind that that calories burned is not proportionate to weight load and intensity. Bodybuilder Greg Gillies states that increasing workload by a factor of four---from 20 percent of a one rep maximum to 80 percent---will actually use 12 times as much energy.
Metabolism
The goal of any physical activity is to increase total metabolism. The metabolism is the set of chemical reactions necessary for maintaining life. The Mayo Clinic states that calories from food and beverages combine with oxygen to produce the energy your body needs to function. Therefore, a higher metabolism will burn more calories, and ultimately it is workout intensity that raises metabolism.
Considerations
The level of resistance that each muscle can incur plays a large role in energy expenditure, so some types of weight lifting that reach multiple large muscles such as squats, leg presses and deadlifts inherently use more calories than other types of lifting such as concentrated curls. If you are trying to burn as many calories as possible, then you should focus your efforts on the most efficient exercises.
Calories Burned
According to the website Answer Fitness, a 180 lb. male performing one hour of vigorous weight lifting can burn approximately 400 to 475 calories. Vigorous intensity means little rest between sets and a consistently elevated heart rate. If you do take rests between sets, then the same person will only burn about 250 calories in an hour. Once again, these numbers are highly variable and depend on a large set of factors.
Comparison to Cardio
Weightlifting doesn't burn quite as many calories as other forms of cardio. For instance, a 180 lb. male would burn about 1,100 calories running one hour at 8.6 mph, which is more than double the amount of calories burned during the most intense periods of weight lifting. However, the actual synthesis and maintenance of muscle demands energy, so muscle tends to burn calories long after a weight lifting session is finished. Each pound of muscle will burn an additional 35 to 50 calories a day.
Member Comments