Cardiovascular exercise is known for its ability to burn calories, reduce weight and reduce your stress levels. Although it does hold true on these benefits, you can also look to strength training to slim down your body. You can do this without having to spend countless hours on a treadmill or indoor bike.
Identification
The point of strength training workouts for weight loss is to work the body in a way that builds muscle and burns calories efficiently at the same time. This gives the workout a cardio and muscle-building effect. By building muscle, you will increase your resting metabolic rate and burn more calories even when you are not moving. A pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day just to maintain itself, according to the University of Michigan Health System.
Exercises
Multijoint, or compound, exercises involve more than one muscle at a time. These types of exercises are the basis of strength workouts to lose weight. Not only do they cause a high muscle fiber recruitment, but they are also labor-intensive. This boosts the caloric expenditure. Bench presses, military presses, bent-over rows, triceps dips, twist curls and squats are examples of exercises. These target all of the major muscle groups. The more muscles you target, the more muscle you will build and the better effect you will create on your metabolism.
Rest Breaks
In a standard strength training routine, rest break times vary from 60 seconds to more than two minutes. This is generally done when overall power and size gains are the goals. When it comes to weight loss, the idea is to keep your heart rate elevated throughout the entire workout. This is achieved by taking short rest breaks in between each set. When you first start out, 60-second breaks are fine, but as you get into better shape, get your rest breaks down to about 30 seconds. You also have the option of doing active recovery breaks in between your sets. For example, after you do a set of bench presses, grab a jump rope and jump for 60 seconds.
Time Frame
Sticking with the program on a weekly basis is an important part of losing weight. To get the best results, aim for three to four strength training workouts a week. Take one day off in between your workouts to prevent overtraining and injuries.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is another type of strength training used for weight loss. Workouts involve doing eight to 12 exercises, back to back, with short rest breaks. After a circuit is completed, the whole series is started again from the top and it is repeated three to five times. You take short rest breaks and you can mix together bodyweight, free-weight and weight machine exercises. The overall goal is to eliminate the rest breaks completely. This way, you are doing weight training exercises back to back with no rest, causing muscle gain and a high caloric expenditure.
Considerations
Even though exercise is important for weight loss, it can only be made possible when you combine it with healthy dieting. If you are trying to lose weight, reduce your calories and only eat foods that are low in fat and high in nutrients.
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