When you lift weights to lose weight, you will naturally be burning more calories than if you were simply walking around. This should come as no surprise to most people. Your body needs calories in order to function properly and the more calories you consume the better off you are. You also need protein as your body uses protein as fuel. So, when you lift weights to lose weight you are really putting more fuel into the tank.
In order to burn more calories while you are lifting weights, it is important to raise your metabolism. Lifting weights actually increases the rate of overall metabolism and therefore keeps it high after the workout is over. This is due to the workout pushing your muscles to fatigue and therefore registering an increase in your overall metabolic rate. So, as you continue to lift weights your metabolism will continue to increase. Once you reach your goal weight, all that is left for your muscles to do is to breakdown the fat that was stored throughout your entire body.
Another myth is that you will become weak if you lift weights. First, if you look at professional athletes you will notice that not one of them are skinny. Most of them are built like their bodies actually require massive amounts of strength training in order to maintain their physique. Secondly, your muscles do not become weaker when you lift weights. In fact, your muscles actually become stronger when you do more resistance. So, to answer the previous question, no one becomes weaker when lifting weights.
The final myth we are going to talk about is that by lifting weights you will improve your muscle tone. There is some truth to this myth as far as increasing your muscle tone is concerned. It is possible that increasing your muscle mass will affect your body composition, but you will probably not change your entire body's fat percentage. If anything, you may end up with a slightly leaner appearance. Lifting is simply not enough to change your entire body composition.
One thing that you must be careful of is to not become too focused on lifting weights. You see, your whole goal is to burn calories, and in order to do that you must be able to burn off fat. Now, there is some debate as to whether or not strength training actually burns fat. However, when you focus primarily on strength training and ignore your aerobic activity you will actually be doing your leg work in order to burn calories and not fat.
The trick is to incorporate both strength and cardio into your workout routine. For instance, instead of just lifting weights you should also perform some cardio activities such as running or jogging. This will help you burn more calories and it will also help you get a more even body weight. Also, make sure to eat right as well. In addition to eating right, you should also drink plenty of water so that you are burning off those calories as well. As we have covered previously, you want to include both strength training and cardio when you are trying to plan an effective weight loss program, so keep that in mind when planning your workout.
You may also find that lifting weights is actually counterproductive and actually hinders you from reaching your goals when it comes to losing weight. For example, if you lift heavy weights all the time then you will likely bulk up in size as well as strength. This means that you will not be able to slim down as quickly as you would like. Even if you are able to lose a few pounds initially when you are lifting weights to lose weight, you will most likely gain back most of this weight once you stop doing strength training exercises.
Finally, one of the best ways to find the best workout plan is to consult with a professional trainer or a doctor. These individuals are knowledgeable about the proper resistance levels that are safe for you to use while you are working out. Also, a qualified trainer can guide you through the entire workout process and help to keep you motivated as you work towards your goals. Also, the trainer can provide you with helpful advice regarding any injuries that you might have that might prevent you from completing your workouts as you would want them to.
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