|
|
Can
I lose weight by lifting weights?
If
you are one of those individuals who hit the gym everyday without
a miss and indulge in tiresome workouts in order to burn fat and
lose weight, and still are unable to achieve desired results,
then you should probably check your exercise routine keenly. Many
people, especially women, believe that aerobics exercises and
cardio help one lose weight and that weight lifting exercises
are only meant for those who wish to build a muscular body. The
truth is quite to the contrary, as it is the muscle building exercises
which really contribute towards the weight loss and buildup of
lean muscles, as a pound of muscles burn up more calories than
a pound of fat does. This does not mean that the weight loss aspirants
should entirely neglect the cardio exercises, as cardio workouts
contribute towards a healthy heart and metabolism. It is ideal
to combine cardio exercises with weight lifting, also known as
circuit weight training, so as to lose weight steadily, and keep
the extra pounds off your body forever.
Circuit weight training works effectively for those who wish to
lose weight by building muscles, as it aids to replace the fat
tissues in the body, increases the metabolism rate so that the
body burns calories even while resting, and makes one look slimmer
as the lean muscles take lesser space than the fat tissues do.
While lifting weights, one should start with low weights and high
reps. It is ideal to start with weights which one can repeat 15
times, so that the latter instances become more challenging than
the former ones. This serves to the buildup of muscles, and toning
up the body, which results in consequent weight loss.
One can also undertake interval training, which includes high
intensity workouts followed by smaller intervals of rest. The
interval training can be of the measured mode, like 1 minute of
high intensity exercises followed by 2 minutes of low intensity
exercise repeated 15-30 times. One can choose to do exercises
wherein the intervals are not measured - the basic idea remains
the same, which is to burn more fat tissues in the high intensity
exercises, and to allow the body to recover in the low intensity
exercises.
Apart from the obvious weight loss, lifting weights also serve
to strengthen bones and tissues, thus protecting them from damage
in case of an injury. Just a word of caution - any weight loss
would only be stable and permanent if it is slow and steady, as
weight lost from quick methods always comes back.
|
