Weight Training and Weight Loss

It is a common misconception that in order to lose weight, someone must a) eat like a mouse and b) exercise like a madman. While diet and exercise are important to any healthy weight loss program, just as important is the composition of the weight on the body. Someone weighing 200 pounds with a body fat index of 20% is in a different situation from someone else who weight 200 pounds and has a body fat index of 10%. The second individual has more muscle mass than the first. This will cause the second person to burn more calories during inactivity than the first.

Another common misconception about weight training and weight loss is that cardio or aerobic exercise should be done to lose the initial weight before undertaking weight training. In fact, the opposite is true since muscle is an active calorie burner than fat. Weight training alone should not be the only component of a weight loss plan. Weight training combined with cardio work and an intelligent diet work together to form a safe natural weight loss program. Weight training doesn’t mean your turn yourself into the next Arnold either. Starting off, you should do weight training 3 days a week, leaving at least one day between each workout. The workout should target all of the major muscle groups (arms, chest, back, legs, etc). As you advance, you can increase your workout frequency to 4 to 5 days a week.

To learn more about Weight Training and Weight Loss, check out Weight Loss By The Numbers.