Strength training effects on fat loss
Strength training as we know helps us build muscle and get stronger, but that’s not all. Through this process, we are also reshaping our metabolism enabling our bodies to burn more calories at rest. The more muscle we have on our body the more energy output we have, which allows our body to break-down our fat stores in order to meet this new demand. Also having a higher muscle mass percentage improves our body composition. This is our lean mass to fatty mass ratio. Having a lower body fat percentage helps us better manage our weight in the long run. Strength training can often lead to a higher after-burn effect. This means that the body continues burning calories even after the workout is over.
Calorie consumption is equally important for fat loss
While you will gain benefits in fat loss from strength training alone, it will only get you so far. Diet and calorie consumption are equally as important. Being in a calorie deficit will help you lose some weight because it means you’re burning more calories than you are consuming. However, working to heal your metabolism by slowly increasing your calories until you’ve reached a slight surplus before then going into a calorie deficit will help you not only lose fat, but improve your body composition. It’s much easier to manage your weight in the long run when you have a body composition comprised of more lean mass vs fatty mass and thus a higher basil metabolic rate.
Here’s how it works. When you are in a slight calorie surplus you’re able to focus on building more muscle since muscle requires a more substantial calorie supply. Then when you put yourself in a calorie deficit you’re able to lean out burning more fat, but also while carrying a higher percentage of muscle mass. This is how you achieve a lean strong physique without becoming “skinny fat.”
Why protein is so important for fat loss
Another important factor to consider when it comes to diet is protein intake. Consuming a diet that is higher in protein will help improve your fat loss and here’s why:
- Protein keeps you more satiated thus keeping you from overeating. A recent study found that “increasing protein from 15% to 30% of calories made overweight women consume 441 fewer calories each day without intentionally restricting anything.”
- Protein is the building block of muscle so more consumption promotes new muscle growth while also maintaining your current mass. The more muscle you have on your body the more efficient your body is at burning fat.
- Protein has a higher thermic effect than fat and carbs so it boosts your metabolism and increases your calorie burn. A higher metabolism and calorie burn allows you to burn fat more efficiently.
Strength training alone is not enough
If you want to focus on losing fat while maintaining a healthy metabolism and most importantly keeping the weight off then you want to couple strength training with a high protein calorie deficit diet.
Tracking your calorie consumption and your weight is very beneficial so you can see if you’re already in a calorie deficit. If you are then you may want to take the extra time to reverse diet out of the deficit to pack on more muscle before going into a calorie cut. If you’re already in a calorie surplus you can spend some time here strength training first to build more muscle before going into a cut. Bottom line, if you have the time it’s always useful to delay going into a calorie deficit to improve your metabolism and body composition first. Do this while maintaining a high protein diet with at least 30% of your calories coming from protein.
Fat loss isn’t the only thing you should be concerned about. This process is how you can guarantee lasting fat loss results while also maintaining a healthy optimal metabolism and healthy body composition.
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