Will Lifting Weights Cause Weight Loss?

Lifting weights causes weight loss because intense exercise burns calories, even when you're building muscle. However, weightlifting isn't a great weight-loss exercise because it's an anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercises are stop-and-start exercises. They generally burn fewer calories than continuous aerobic exercises because they don't require oxygen -- a key factor in the calorie-burning process -- while aerobic exercises do.

Moderate Weightlifting

How much weight you lose when weightlifting depends on the intensity of your workout. Your exercise intensity is measured by your heart rate. When your heart rate is 55 percent to 69 percent of your maximum heart rate, you're exercising moderately. If you're 40 years old, your maximum heart rate is 180 heartbeats per minute, or 220 heartbeats per minute minus your age. If you're 60, your maximum heart rate is 160 heartbeats per minute. Moderate weightlifting burns 259 calories per hour if you weigh 190 lbs., 211 calories per hour if you're 155 lbs. and 177 calories per hour if you're 130 lbs., according to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. If you weigh 155 lbs., it takes you almost 17 hours to lose 1 lb. via moderate weightlifting because 3,500 calories equals 1 lb. and 3,500 divided by 211 is almost 17.

Vigorous Weightlifting

You're exercising vigorously if your heart rate is between 70 percent and 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. Vigorous weightlifting burns 518 calories per hour if you're 190 lbs., 422 calories per hour if you're 155 lbs. and 354 calories per hour if you're 130 lbs., according to the Wisconsin study. If you weigh 155 lbs., it takes about eight hours to lose 1 lb. via vigorous weightlifting. It takes a 190-lb. person slightly less than seven hours to lose 1 lb. and a 130-lb. person almost 10 hours to lose 1 lb.

Comparisons

You burn the same amount of calories weightlifting vigorously as you burn bicycling, an aerobic exercise, with a "light effort." A light effort means you're bicycling at an intensity that raises your heart to 35 percent to 54 percent of your maximum heart rate. When you bicycle moderately, you burn 690 calories per hour if you weigh 190 lbs., 563 calories per hour if you weigh 155 lbs. and 472 calories per hour if you weigh 130 lbs., according to the Wisconsin study. When you bicycle vigorously, you burn 863 calories per hour if you weigh 190 lbs., 704 calories if you weigh 155 lbs. and 590 calories per hour if you weigh 130 lbs.

Recommendations

Weightlifting, or other types of resistance activities such as pushups and situps, are important parts of an exercise program -- even if their direct weight-loss impact is relatively small. Lifting weights strengthens your muscles so you can run, bicycle and walk faster. Because faster performances increase weight loss, weightlifting can indirectly increase your weight loss. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends two or three strength-training sessions weekly. Each session consists of eight to 12 repetitions of at least 10 strength exercises.