This is a very very common question that comes up to a guy who has decided to lose weight. The question of whether strength training is necessary for weight loss is usually answered like this by many “knowledgeable” people – “Bro, strength training IS necessary because it will lead you to burn more calories and hence you’ll lose weight.”
But let me tell you, this kind of answer is the worst answer you could get regarding this topic. In this post, let’s take a closer look at what it means to do strength training for weight loss and are they even linked!
What is strength training?
This section is only for those people who don’t know about strength training. You may skip it if you know about it already.
So strength training, as the word suggests, is a training routine in which we do various exercises to grow strength or more muscle mass. This is done through lifting bars, weights, and exercises like push-ups and planks. These are basically the kind of exercises usually done in the gym.
So is strength training and weight loss linked?
Strength training has quite a few benefits worth talking about like increased metabolism, decreased risk of osteoporosis, protection from joint injuries, improved balance, blood-sugar control, sleep, and better mental health.
But does it correspond to losing weight?
Well, long answer short, NO!
You may think that because your body’s metabolism is increased by doing strength training, so you may end up losing weight too as your body will start to burn more calories now.
But you see, according to this study, there is only a 9% increase in metabolism in men and 4% in women by strength training. It’s quite a good percentage of increase in our body’s metabolism, but still not enough to achieve weight loss all by itself.
You must know that doing weight loss is not just about boosting metabolism, drinking green tea, doing exercise, staying away from sweets, or some other household myth that is circulated in our community.
However, at the same time, it is also not too complex to understand and implement. You see, for doing weight loss, the first thing that should be kept in mind is that you should remain in a calorie deficit of about 200-300 kcal. To achieve this, you must consume 200-300 kcal less than your net maintenance calories.
There are also some other things that should be kept in mind while doing weight loss, like proper sleep, avoiding junk foods even if you remain in a deficit, etc, etc.
Check out this post to know in detail about weight loss!
Conclusion
So I’ve written earlier also that, weight loss and strength training are not directly linked. But still, I would highly recommend doing strength training when you’re on your weight loss journey.
Why?
Well, mainly because when a person is in the process of losing weight, he/she also loses a lot of muscle mass. And I don’t think there is anybody in this world who wouldn’t like some muscle on his/her body.
And that’s where our strength training comes to the rescue! It helps us to maintain and even increase our muscle mass during our weight loss journey. Just note that, in order to do so, you’ve got to train every muscle group at least 2 times every week in the gym or at home.
Also, you can reap a lot of other benefits from strength training, which I discussed earlier in the post. So I would say that don’t do strength training just thinking that you’re going to lose weight by it. Rather, think of it as a step ahead towards your weight goal. And also keep in mind its other benefits that are just as good for your health as weight loss.
