While carbohydrates remain the primary fuel for your body, fat will always get utilized to a degree. The intensity and duration of your fat burning depends on numerous factors, including training volume, intensity and your diet. While no one can question the fact that your body burns fat following an intense resistance training exercise, you can maximize your fat burning by modifying your training. Consult a health care professional before beginning any strength training program.
Fat Loss
Not only does your body burn fat following training, it burns fat for quite a long period of time. In a 1994 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," it was shown that the amount of calories study participants burned over a 24-hour period following weight lifting increased by 15 percent. A significant portion of these calories came from fat. In 2011, the "Journal of Obesity" recommended resistance training as a method of controlling excessive weight for this reason.
Duration of Burn
How long you burn fat after lifting weights varies with the training method, but you continue to burn fat following lifting for a significant period of time. In a 1997 study published in "The Journals of Gerontology," it was shown that a single bout of resistance training elevated the metabolism of all study participants for up to 48 hours following training. What is more significant is the fact that the study participants were all men of at least 59 years of age. As you age, your metabolism does not function as efficiently, which is one of the reasons for the decrease in muscle mass and increase in body fat everyone experiences as part of the aging process. If this type of protocol works well for seniors, it will work better for someone with a more efficient metabolism.
Maximizing the Burn
While any sort of resistance training will burn fat, and more intense training will burn fat for longer, there are ways to ensure that your body burns as much fat as possible. The first method is to limit your production of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that contributes to both muscle wasting and fat storage. By keeping your rest periods short when training in the gym, your cortisol levels are suppressed, according to a 2010 study published in "Fiziol Cheloveka." Keep all rest periods in-between sets to under one minute.
Other Hormones
Hormones such as growth hormone not only build muscle, but burn a small amount of body fat in the process. To achieve an increase in serum growth hormone levels, you must train intensely. Training with at least 70 percent of what you can lift for a single repetition on an exercise is one method of achieving an increase in growth hormone levels. The method of keeping your rest periods short to suppress cortisol levels also has the benefit of increasing your production of growth hormone, according to a 1993 study in the "Journal of Applied Physiology."
References
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Increased Energy Requirements and Changes in Body Composition with Resistance Training in Older Adults; W.W. Campbell, et al.; August 1994
- "Journal of Obesity"; Evidence for Resistance Training as a Treatment Therapy in Obesity; B Strasser, et al.; August 2011
- "The Journals of Gerontology"; A Single Bout of Concentric Resistance Exercise Increases Basal Metabolic Rate 48 Hours After Exercise in Healthy 59-77-year-old Men; D.L. Williamson, et al.; November 1997
- "Fiziol Cheloveka"; Acute Testosterone and Cortisol Responses to High Power Resistance Exercise; A.C. Fry, et al.; July - August 2010
- "International Journal of Sports Medicine"; Endogenous Anabolic Hormonal and Growth Factor Responses to Heavy Resistance Exercise in Males and Females; W.J. Kraemer, et al.; April 1991
- "Journal of Applied Physiology"; Changes in Hormonal Concentrations After Different Heavy-Resistance Exercise Protocols in Women; W.J. Kraemer, et al.; August 1993
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