Resistance training is one of the best ways to burn off excess body fat. Let me explain why. Resistance training (also called weight training) uses the anaerobic energy system to provide energy during the workout. Anaerobic means “without oxygen”. This means that primarily carbohydrates are used for energy and burned without the use of oxygen.
These carbohydrates, in the form of glycogen, are stored in the liver and muscle and can only supply energy to the muscle in an anaerobic state for a short time – usually 1-2 minutes for each exercise set. During a resistance training workout you expend a sizeable quantity of carbohydrate energy. Depending upon your exercise intensity, bodyweight and muscle mass, this energy expenditure can range from 150 to 800 calories per workout.
Besides the energy expended during the workout, there are additional energy expenditures occurring after the workout. After the Resistance Training workout, you’re in a recovery mode. During this recovery, the body delivers glycogen, enzymes, and amino acids to the muscle. Now your body is in an aerobic state and burns mostly fat. This process has been nicknamed the “afterburn”. Depending on the duration and intensity of the workout, this “afterburn” can last several hours.
Studies have reported a 4-7% increase in metabolic rate over a 24-hr period following a resistance training workout. So, if you have a daily caloric expenditure of 2,500/day, you could expend 100-175 calories of fat after resistance training – this in addition to the 150 to 800 carbohydrate calories you’ve used during the workout. Again, your actual energy expenditure depends upon your bodyweight, muscle mass, daily caloric expenditure and exercise intensity.
To maximize the benefits of the “afterburn”, studies have shown that higher fat burning rates are achieved if you exercise to “near failure” or “failure” on the last set of each Resistance Training exercise. Reaching “failure” means that you’re not able to finish an attempted repetition. “Near Failure” means that you’re barely able to finish the last attempted repetition. Both of these conditions mean that you pushed the muscle to its limit during the last repetition of the last set of the exercise.
In Resistance Training, “failure is good”, because you exhausted the muscle during a maximum effort. This “near failure or failure” maximum effort will increase the “afterburn” or post-exercise fat burning rate higher. After your initial conditioning phase, progressively increase your resistance in the last set of each exercise to achieve your maximum fat burning capacity.
Check out my website www.resultzpersonaltraining.com for more information on my “Inches Away” Fat Loss Program, which uses resistance training to help you burn excess body fat.
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