Lifting Weights to lose weight
Weight training or lifting weights plays an important role in your goal to lose weight. While many people are aware that cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet are important in weight loss, they may not realize that lifting weights can help you lose weight. The most efficient way to burn fat is to combine cardio workout and weight lifting. When you gain lean muscle mass, your body will get stronger and turn into a fat-burning machine.

Lifting moderate weights is a great way to lose weight. Many people are concerned that weight lifting will cause them to grow big muscles and gain weight. Women, in particular, are afraid of developing a muscular physique. This is unlikely to happen because women do not have enough testosterone for that kind of muscular gain. With the proper technique for lifting weights to lose weight, men and women can develop lean muscle mass that burns more calories.

Significance of Metabolism

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. Even when you are resting, your body continues to burn calories to sustain life. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. People with more muscle mass burn more calories than someone who has more fat, even if they weigh the same. If you want to increase your metabolism and burn more calories, it's important to lift weight to build more muscles. Even additional pound of muscle burns an extra 35 to 50 calories per day, even without additional activity.

High Repetition Intense Workout

One of the most effective ways to lift weights and lose weight fast is by high-rep intense training. Exercises such as bench press, rows, squats, leg press, and military press workout the major muscle groups of the chest, shoulders, back, glutes and legs. Exercises that isolate specific muscles should also be done, such as barbell curls and leg curls.

For weight lifting exercises to lose weight, do two sets of each exercise using light weight for 15-20 reps. Limit your rest period to 30 seconds betweens sets. After completing all exercises, rest for 3 to 5 minutes and then repeat. The high-rep intense workout should take at least 20 minutes. This will elevate your heart rate and cause your body to start burning fat.

Beginners can reduce the number of exercises or increase the rest period.

Circuit Training

Circuit training is another way to lose weight while lifting weights. Circuit training is a highly-intense exercise routine that should include 8 to 10 different exercises or stations. The circuit should include exercises for the major muscle groups and body weight exercises like crunches and push-ups. Do 15 to 20 reps per station and the maximum number of crunches and push-ups that you are capable of doing. Do not rest between stations.

After completing the first circuit, rest for 3 to 5 minutes and then repeat two or three times. Circuit training involves high-rep and light weights that will elevate your heart rate and burn more calories for weight loss.