Does doing strength training...

JDUR19
JDUR19 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It might be a stupid question but nonetheless I am a little unsure on the topic?

Are strength exercises effective in burning calories?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Strength training does burn calories, but the benefits go far beyond that...by retaining muscle you also help maintain a higher metabolism. The more muscle you lose during weight loss, the lower your metabolism dips. You also increase strength and bone density. You don't burn a ton of calories during your lifting session...maybe 150-200 during a 60 minute session depending on intensity, rest periods, etc...but you also burn calories over the next 48 hours for muscle repair. You're also going to get to goal weight and look a gazillion times better than you would if you didn't lift.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    As long as you are either a) performing mainly compound movements or b) performing the strength training exercises in a circuit workout format, yes. Tons and tons of calories are burned. If you're not doing one of these two things, though, calorie burn is virtually nonexistent.
  • lyndabraczynski
    lyndabraczynski Posts: 53
    May be a stupid question what is compound movement?
  • SlimJanette
    SlimJanette Posts: 597 Member
    I find if I do 10-15 minutes of cardio before lifting I burn more calories because my heart rate is already up.
  • StrongFitSexy
    StrongFitSexy Posts: 129
    Strength training does burn calories, but the benefits go far beyond that...by retaining muscle you also help maintain a higher metabolism. The more muscle you lose during weight loss, the lower your metabolism dips. You also increase strength and bone density. You don't burn a ton of calories during your lifting session...maybe 150-200 during a 60 minute session depending on intensity, rest periods, etc...but you also burn calories over the next 48 hours for muscle repair. You're also going to get to goal weight and look a gazillion times better than you would if you didn't lift.

    this:)
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    May be a stupid question what is compound movement?

    Weight lifting movements that uses several different muscles simultaneously. Squats, deadlifts, power cleans, bench presses, that sort of thing. Stuff like leg extensions, curls, etc that only focus on one muscle are not compound movements.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    May be a stupid question what is compound movement?

    squats, dead-lift, bench press, overhead press, pendlay rows, power cleans. Lifts which require multiple muscles and multiple muscle groups to perform vs an isolation lift like barbell curls which isolate only the bicep.
  • mamacooksalot
    mamacooksalot Posts: 6
    Thanks for the advice about compound training.
    By the way, the PTs at my gym all say exactly what someone else said about the metabolic rate and 48 hours continued calorie burn after the actual workout. In addition, they recommend doing some interval cardio AFTER a strength session in order to maximise calorie burn.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    It might be a stupid question but nonetheless I am a little unsure on the topic?

    Are strength exercises effective in burning calories?

    I think of it this way .... cardio burns calories & builds endurance

    Strength training is about the "shape" of your body. So, regardless of whether or not you burn calories .... who wants to look all flabby and puffy when the weight loss is complete? Without strength training you are just a smaller (size) of the current you.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Strength training is good for you for lots of reasons and it does burn calories. But there have been articles saying that the amount of calories burned after exercise has been overstated. Calorie reduction should still be your main method for losing weight.
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    Strength training does burn calories, but the benefits go far beyond that...by retaining muscle you also help maintain a higher metabolism. The more muscle you lose during weight loss, the lower your metabolism dips. You also increase strength and bone density. You don't burn a ton of calories during your lifting session...maybe 150-200 during a 60 minute session depending on intensity, rest periods, etc...but you also burn calories over the next 48 hours for muscle repair. You're also going to get to goal weight and look a gazillion times better than you would if you didn't lift.

    Yep, this! Listen to Wolfman, he knows his stuff!

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