When it comes to boosting your metabolism, the first thing most people think of is cardio training. However, if you overlook resistance training, you’re missing one of the most powerful tools for keeping your metabolism revved up all day long.
How Does It Work?
Building muscle actively supports your metabolism by increasing your resting metabolic rate. Research has shown that every pound of muscle burns roughly six calories per day at rest, which is three times as many calories as a pound of fat. Since lean muscle is more metabolically active than fat, a body with more muscle mass will burn more energy (calories) even at rest. The result? A more efficient, resilient, and energized body.
Resistance training has also been shown to increase the excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) as compared to cardio, like walking or jogging. Also known as oxygen debt, EPOC is the amount of oxygen required to return the body to its resting metabolic rate and explains how your body continues to burn energy after you’ve finished your workout. Similar to how a car has to cool down after it has been running, the body continues to burn calories at rest for a period of time after you exercise.
Not all resistance training methods are created equal when it comes to metabolic benefits. Higher exercise intensities produce higher EPOC values. Performing compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull-ups, etc, which recruit the largest amount of muscle, and doing them at higher intensities such as in a HIIT or plyometric LYT class, are great options for higher EPOC values.
Finally, weight lifting at a resistance that is heavy enough for you to perform only 8-12 reps per set with proper form will increase muscle size and therefore increase metabolism as well.
Is It Too Late to Start Resistance Training?
The answer is no. In fact, resistance training is even more important as we age. Starting as early as our 30s, the body begins to slowly lose muscle mass. Women lose up to 15% of their total body muscle per decade by the age of 50. So not only are we losing strength, but our metabolism is slowing due to the decrease in muscle.
This is why we’ve created several different weight training options on the LYT Daily for you to choose from. These classes are full of compound bodyweight resistance training movements to keep our metabolism fired up for the long haul. Be sure to check them out under the category “Weights” on our Browse Classes page!
References:
Greer, B. K., Sirithienthad, P., Moffatt, R. J., Marcello, R. T., & Panton, L. B. (2015). EPOC Comparison Between Isocaloric Bouts of Steady-State Aerobic, Intermittent Aerobic, and Resistance Training. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 86(2), 190–195.
