Weight Lifting Can Boost Your Weight Loss Efforts

Joseph Mercola
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Are you having trouble trimming down? Your diet definitely accounts for the majority of your success here, but exercise can help take you the rest of the way.

In addition to high intensity interval training, weight lifting is an excellent way to get rid of that stubborn excess body fat, because working your muscles is the key to firing up your metabolism.

Your muscles follow the “use it or lose it” principle. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate. As noted in a Nerd Fitness blog discussing the merits of weight lifting, while your overall weight loss in terms of pounds may appear slower, you will tend to lose inches faster.

This is in part because, unlike traditional cardio, strength training causes you to continue burning more calories for up to 72 hours after the exercise is over through a phenomenon called after-burn.

Lifting weights, however, helps shed pounds as a side effect of building and carrying more muscle.
Lifting weights, however, helps shed pounds as a side effect of building and carrying more muscle.
Joseph Mercola
Joseph Mercola
Author
Dr. Joseph Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com. An osteopathic physician, best-selling author, and recipient of multiple awards in the field of natural health, his primary vision is to change the modern health paradigm by providing people with a valuable resource to help them take control of their health.
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