Why Is Weight Lifting Important for Weight Loss?

By Diana Sanchez, Staff Writer 

Photo by Gursimrat Ganda on Unsplash

Many women tend to be wary of weight lifting when they’re trying to lose weight. They have a fear that weight lifting will cause them to get bigger - when that is far from the truth. Weight lifting is actually one of the best workouts you can do if you’re really trying to slim down. 

Several years ago, I completely changed my body by doing weight lifting focused HIIT workouts, 5 times a week (with heavy weights), and daily 30-minute cardio sessions. All in all, I was working out for about an hour and a half a day - or less. The first week I wasn’t so surprised to find I had dropped 4 lbs. It’s probably water weight, I thought. The following week I weighed in and couldn’t believe it! Another 4 lbs down! The trend continued for another 2 weeks until I hit my goal weight fairly quickly. 

The best part was that I was losing weight and toning simultaneously. During this time, I wasn’t tempted to miss a single workout. I was loving the results! Not only was the scale reflecting ideal numbers every time I weighed in, but my waist was smaller than it had been in years.

I know my weightlifting routine was mostly responsible for this. But why is weightlifting so efficient as a fat loss and weight loss exercise? Good question.

Weight Lifting Helps You Burn More Calories Everyday

When you weightlift, you actually increase your overall metabolic rate - meaning you burn MORE calories all day long. The reason for this is, is that as you build muscle, your muscles require more energy to be burned even when you are at rest - making weight loss happen at a faster pace.

You Burn Calories While Weight Lifting, Too

Don’t forget that weight lifting burns calories during the workout, too, making it easier for you to stick to a calorie deficit. The heavier you lift, as your strength improves, the more calories you burn.

You’ll Lose Fat - Not Muscle

Strength training preserves and builds your muscles, so when you lose weight you can be sure you are just losing fat.

Weight Lifting is Greatly Motivational

Weight lifting tones and strengthens your body in a way that no other workout can. Seeing your progress will motivate you to keep working towards your goals.

Finally...