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Apr 23
2012
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Women & Weight Training.Posted by James in Untagged |
Although the number of women who regularly participate in weight training is steadily rising, there are still an alarming number of those who don’t. Regardless of whether this is due to the delusion that by lifting weights they will “bulk up” or whether it’s simply due to the fact that they fail to see the importance of weight training and prioritise other methods of training accordingly, the benefits from weight training for women are becoming more and more prevalent and should not be overlooked, but be an influential factor when deciding upon what type of training should be included regularly into your health and fitness regime.
The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the benefits that weight training has, how they can benefit you and contrary to popular belief, expose the truth behind the misconceptions that have deterred women away from this type of training for years.
Weight training increases your basal metabolic rate
One of the most important benefits that weight training has, especially when it comes to weight loss is that it increases your basal metabolic rate (BMR). What this means is that the amount of calories you will burn on a daily basis will increase. Lean muscle requires more energy from our bodies to maintain than fat tissue does and therefore, the greater the percentage of muscle our bodies have, the greater our basal metabolic rate becomes. In fact, approximately two thirds of our daily metabolism is derived from the amount of muscle we have. What does this mean? Well to put it simply, the amount of muscle you have is going to be the single most important influence on your daily metabolism. By increasing your basal metabolic rate, you will be burning off a greater amount of calories on a daily basis, when used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan, increases the likeliness you have to enter a calorie deficit state (burning more calories than you consume). When it comes to weight loss, the most influential factor involved is to consistently be within this calorie deficit range.
How weight training can burn more calories than cardiovascular exercise
Now we are all aware that any form of activity that results in our heart rates becoming elevated will increase the amount of calories we burn. The amount of calories we burn will ultimately be determined by both the duration as well as the intensity of the activity we are performing. One thing that most people don’t realise when counting calories is that whenever we perform high intensity exercise, the amount of energy we burn post training can remain elevated for hours. This is due to an increased rate of oxygen intake that occurs after performing any form of strenuous exercise known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. This increased rate of oxygen intake occurs to restore our bodies back into their normal, resting states and the duration of this occurrence will reflect the intensity to which we were training. Obviously, the greater the amount of stress we place upon our bodies, the longer it will take for our bodies to recover. On the contrary, the less stress we place on our bodies, the faster the recovery process will be.
To highlight the significance that weight training can have in relation to calorie expenditure comparable to steady state cardiovascular activity, lets look at the following example:
If you were to go on a light jog for 45 minutes, you will find that through the initial phase of the jog you will find you are slightly out of breathe. This is because your body has gone from a resting state into an active state and as a result of your body being slightly shocked, the amount of oxygen you breathe in, does not quite match the amount of oxygen your muscles require. This warm up phase generally lasts for about 5 minutes and during this period, your heart rate will become elevated and as a result, your calorie expenditure will increase. This occurs until you reach what is called a “steady state” where the amount of oxygen required by your muscles is met by the amount of oxygen you breathe in. As long as you don’t change your speed or resistance significantly, you will remain in this state until you stop exercising. During “steady state” training, the amount of shock placed on your nervous system is minimal and as a result, you can become quite comfortable and learn to relax. When you hear people refer to “being in the zone” this is what they are referring to and although this is great in the sense that we can continue exercising for extended periods of time, the amount of calories that we burn whilst in this zone, is comparably lower. Once you stop running, your muscles will still need to be supplied with fresh oxygen in order of replenishing them from the debt incurred whilst exercising. This is why you will often find yourself out of breath, even when you finish exercising. After a “steady state” bout of exercise, you will find that you will only remain in this state for a short period of time, in which, your metabolism will once again be elevated before dropping back to its resting rate.
On the other hand, if you were to undergo a 45-minute strenuous resistance training session, you will find that your metabolic rate will be variable throughout the entire duration. As you are lifting the weights, your heart rate increases in order of supplying your muscles with the oxygen required to contract and move the resistance. This is similar to the oxygen deficit that occurs whenever you go from being in a rested state to an active state. During this time, your calorie expenditure increases. Once you have finished lifting and you are recovering in between sets, although your heart rate will decrease comparably to when you were lifting, it will still remain higher as your oxygen intake becomes elevated as your muscles need to be supplied with fresh oxygen in order of replenishing them from the debt incurred when lifting the weights. Your body will continually go through these phases each time you perform a set of weights until you finish your session altogether at which point your body will go into a prolonged “oxygen debt” state. Unlike when performing “steady state” cardiovascular exercise, due to the level of stress you have imposed upon your body and the amount of stress you have placed on both your muscles and your nervous system, you can remain in this state for hours after finishing your workout. Whilst in this state, your metabolic rate will remain elevated, meaning you will be burning an increased amount of calories comparable to your resting calorie expenditure rate.
In summary, when jogging for 45 minutes, although your metabolism would have been elevated for the entire duration, due to your body being in a “steady state” the amount of calories you would have been burning would be comparably lower than when you are working under stressful conditions. Further to this, as your body was not exposed to strenuous conditions, your recovery period will be much quicker, meaning that your metabolic rate would go back to its resting state much faster. On the contrary, when lifting weights, even though you are having recovery periods in between sets, due to the strenuous nature of the activity and the amount of stress placed on both your muscles and your nervous system, your metabolic rate will remain elevated throughout the entire session. Further to this, once you have finished your session, your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption will be comparably higher and continue for longer than when you undertake “steady state” training.
Obviously, there are many variables involved when comparing these two types of training, most importantly being the intensity at which each is performed. Obviously if the tables were turned and you were performing sprints as your form of cardio exercise and light weight training as your form of resistance training, and then comparing energy utilisation between the two, the opposite would occur. However, in the particular instance of “steady state” cardio training in comparison to strenuous resistance training, and the implications that each has on weight loss, despite what the common conception may be, hopefully you can see that weight training can be just as good a form, if not a better form of weight loss if performed correctly and in conjunction with a structured weight loss plan.
The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the benefits that weight training has, how they can benefit you and contrary to popular belief, expose the truth behind the misconceptions that have deterred women away from this type of training for years.
Weight training increases your basal metabolic rate
One of the most important benefits that weight training has, especially when it comes to weight loss is that it increases your basal metabolic rate (BMR). What this means is that the amount of calories you will burn on a daily basis will increase. Lean muscle requires more energy from our bodies to maintain than fat tissue does and therefore, the greater the percentage of muscle our bodies have, the greater our basal metabolic rate becomes. In fact, approximately two thirds of our daily metabolism is derived from the amount of muscle we have. What does this mean? Well to put it simply, the amount of muscle you have is going to be the single most important influence on your daily metabolism. By increasing your basal metabolic rate, you will be burning off a greater amount of calories on a daily basis, when used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan, increases the likeliness you have to enter a calorie deficit state (burning more calories than you consume). When it comes to weight loss, the most influential factor involved is to consistently be within this calorie deficit range.
How weight training can burn more calories than cardiovascular exercise
Now we are all aware that any form of activity that results in our heart rates becoming elevated will increase the amount of calories we burn. The amount of calories we burn will ultimately be determined by both the duration as well as the intensity of the activity we are performing. One thing that most people don’t realise when counting calories is that whenever we perform high intensity exercise, the amount of energy we burn post training can remain elevated for hours. This is due to an increased rate of oxygen intake that occurs after performing any form of strenuous exercise known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. This increased rate of oxygen intake occurs to restore our bodies back into their normal, resting states and the duration of this occurrence will reflect the intensity to which we were training. Obviously, the greater the amount of stress we place upon our bodies, the longer it will take for our bodies to recover. On the contrary, the less stress we place on our bodies, the faster the recovery process will be.
To highlight the significance that weight training can have in relation to calorie expenditure comparable to steady state cardiovascular activity, lets look at the following example:
If you were to go on a light jog for 45 minutes, you will find that through the initial phase of the jog you will find you are slightly out of breathe. This is because your body has gone from a resting state into an active state and as a result of your body being slightly shocked, the amount of oxygen you breathe in, does not quite match the amount of oxygen your muscles require. This warm up phase generally lasts for about 5 minutes and during this period, your heart rate will become elevated and as a result, your calorie expenditure will increase. This occurs until you reach what is called a “steady state” where the amount of oxygen required by your muscles is met by the amount of oxygen you breathe in. As long as you don’t change your speed or resistance significantly, you will remain in this state until you stop exercising. During “steady state” training, the amount of shock placed on your nervous system is minimal and as a result, you can become quite comfortable and learn to relax. When you hear people refer to “being in the zone” this is what they are referring to and although this is great in the sense that we can continue exercising for extended periods of time, the amount of calories that we burn whilst in this zone, is comparably lower. Once you stop running, your muscles will still need to be supplied with fresh oxygen in order of replenishing them from the debt incurred whilst exercising. This is why you will often find yourself out of breath, even when you finish exercising. After a “steady state” bout of exercise, you will find that you will only remain in this state for a short period of time, in which, your metabolism will once again be elevated before dropping back to its resting rate.
On the other hand, if you were to undergo a 45-minute strenuous resistance training session, you will find that your metabolic rate will be variable throughout the entire duration. As you are lifting the weights, your heart rate increases in order of supplying your muscles with the oxygen required to contract and move the resistance. This is similar to the oxygen deficit that occurs whenever you go from being in a rested state to an active state. During this time, your calorie expenditure increases. Once you have finished lifting and you are recovering in between sets, although your heart rate will decrease comparably to when you were lifting, it will still remain higher as your oxygen intake becomes elevated as your muscles need to be supplied with fresh oxygen in order of replenishing them from the debt incurred when lifting the weights. Your body will continually go through these phases each time you perform a set of weights until you finish your session altogether at which point your body will go into a prolonged “oxygen debt” state. Unlike when performing “steady state” cardiovascular exercise, due to the level of stress you have imposed upon your body and the amount of stress you have placed on both your muscles and your nervous system, you can remain in this state for hours after finishing your workout. Whilst in this state, your metabolic rate will remain elevated, meaning you will be burning an increased amount of calories comparable to your resting calorie expenditure rate.
In summary, when jogging for 45 minutes, although your metabolism would have been elevated for the entire duration, due to your body being in a “steady state” the amount of calories you would have been burning would be comparably lower than when you are working under stressful conditions. Further to this, as your body was not exposed to strenuous conditions, your recovery period will be much quicker, meaning that your metabolic rate would go back to its resting state much faster. On the contrary, when lifting weights, even though you are having recovery periods in between sets, due to the strenuous nature of the activity and the amount of stress placed on both your muscles and your nervous system, your metabolic rate will remain elevated throughout the entire session. Further to this, once you have finished your session, your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption will be comparably higher and continue for longer than when you undertake “steady state” training.
Obviously, there are many variables involved when comparing these two types of training, most importantly being the intensity at which each is performed. Obviously if the tables were turned and you were performing sprints as your form of cardio exercise and light weight training as your form of resistance training, and then comparing energy utilisation between the two, the opposite would occur. However, in the particular instance of “steady state” cardio training in comparison to strenuous resistance training, and the implications that each has on weight loss, despite what the common conception may be, hopefully you can see that weight training can be just as good a form, if not a better form of weight loss if performed correctly and in conjunction with a structured weight loss plan.