Weightlifting is resistance training exercises done with weights. Weightlifting increases strength, reduces body fat and lowers your risk of many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. According to the American Council on Exercise, muscle burns calories at a faster rate than fat, so building muscle will increase your metabolic rate. How much weight you can lose by weightlifting depends on your weight, your age and how hard you work. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.
How to Start
Weightlifting requires weights. To work out with weights, you have three options. You can join a gym, which will give you a variety lifting options and may include access to personal trainers, aerobics classes and various cardiovascular exercise machines. A gym will have fees involved. Another option would be to purchase a set of weights for your home. Weights range from barbells to dumbbells to home gyms; prices vary accordingly. Last, you have the option to use items you already have in your home --- lifting canned goods, for example, or milk jugs filled with liquid or sand. This last option is virtually free and leaves you with no excuse not to start exercising right away.
Misconceptions
Many misconceptions surround weightlifting. Many think that lifting lighter weights for more repetitions will produce better toning results, while heavier weights and fewer repetitions will increase your muscle size. The American Council on Exercise explains that either strategy will yield the same basic results. You want to work your muscles to the point of fatigue --- either by doing a few exercises with a heavy resistance or by doing many exercises with lighter resistance. A misconception common among women is that lifting heavy weights will cause them to bulk up. ACE reports, however, that most women do not have the genetic capability to increase their size this way --- and that, in fact, few men possess this capacity.
Calculate Your Weight Loss
Calculating how fast weightlifting will produce weight loss involves many variable. To lose one pound, you need to produce a deficit of 3,500 calories. According to the ACE Physical Activity Calculator, a 150-pound adult burns 204 calories per hour doing "normal" weightlifting, and 408 calories per hour doing "intense" weight-lifting. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults do muscle-strengthening activities two days per week. If you were to lift weights at an intermediate level for one hour two times per week, you could expect to lose 1 pound every five weeks without any dietary changes; this translates to a loss of about 10 pounds per year. If you would like to lose weight faster, reduce your caloric intake as well. And remember, building muscle increases your resting metabolism --- which means you're burning calories faster while you're sleeping or resting.
Tips
To get the best results from your weightlifting sessions, choose a weight that is heavy enough to tire your muscle within 12 to 15 repetitions, the Mayo Clinic suggests. Add weight after a week or two so you continue to challenge yourself. It is also very important that you use good form when performing these exercises. You will normally want to keep weights close to your body and do not use swinging motions or inertia to complete your movement. If you are not sure whether you're performing an exercise correctly, discuss it with a fitness professional.
Warning
Performing exercises of any kind has the capacity to produce injury, but the many, many advantages of exercising outweighs the risks. You should, however, discuss any new exercises with your doctor before you begin.
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