Strength training - important or not?

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  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Strength training/muscle building is NOT important for fat loss. The effects of extra muscle on your metabolic rate have been overblown hugely. Whilst absolutely true, the effect of adding an extra 20lbs of muscle to your body is about 50cals a day, so it's irrelevant.

    Similarly the caloric burn of a weights workout is substantially less than a cardio workout.

    So a purist answer to your question is NO. However, there are so many other benefits from weight training on strength, body shape, self image/confidence etc etc that it's a great thing to do and I would never argue against it, but you don't need to do it to lose fat.

    So then is cardio important?

    Same answer really. In a purist sense NO it's not. You can create your calorie defecit just from diet. But it certainly helps the fat loss by generating a larger defecit and again there are second order benefits to health, fitness, increased energy etc that are very valuable.

    In a purist sense, you don't need cardio either. However, from a PRACTICAL sense, the research strongly supports a combined training approach as opposed to diet-only, cardio-only, or strength-only.

    This is a bit wrong.
    Replacing 20 pounds of fat with 20 pounds of muscle results in a significant gain in calories burned daily, ie metabolic rate.
    It is debatable how many exactly based on body weight, but the generally accepted formula is about a 15:1 ratio. So if you trade off 20 pound of muscle for 20 pounds of fat, you will burn 300 more calories daily at rest.

    Granted it is pretty difficult to accomplish that 20 pound shift, but it is fact that the difference in calorie burn is what it is.

    Hence the use of the term PRACTICAL. I work in a center with 3000 members, I can count on one hand (after losing some fingers in an industrial accident) the number of people who have ever gained 20 pounds of muscle.

    "generally accepted formula" --accepted by whom? The research is all over the map on that question.

    And then there are the studies that show better fat loss results with combined cardio and resistance exercise (compared to cardio only or resistance only programs)-- even when NO increase in muscle mass or FFM has occurred. Given that the average person will only ever achieve modest gains in muscle mass, focusing solely on that part of the discussion is pretty limiting, and in my experience, is not all that motivating to the average exerciser. It's like telling everyone their cardio goal should be to quality for the Boston Marathon.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Strength training is only important if you want to look good. You can lose weight and be skinny-fat or have saggy skin with cardio alone, if that is your goal.

    Also, re:calories, if you are lifting heavy, most of the calories burned are burned anaerobically. For each calorie you burn anaerobically, it takes approximately 4-5 calories to repair your body and perform muscle synthesis (assuming adequate protein intake). This means that if you burn 200 calories in an hour of weights (quite possible), you will burn another 800-1000 calories over the next 72 hours. Try burning >1000 calories/hr with cardio!
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
    Bump, interesting thread to read when I am not so tired.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
    First, I would not even bother entering calorie value for strength workouts, it may lead to false figures that "allow" you to eat too much.

    I've been doing a lot more walking recently and neglecting my strength workouts. My trainer pointed out that doing that puts my out of balance, and that strengthening my muscles will lead to a higher intensity walk, which will burn more calories. It also reduces the chance of injuries and cramps,
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member

    This is a bit wrong.
    Replacing 20 pounds of fat with 20 pounds of muscle results in a significant gain in calories burned daily, ie metabolic rate.
    It is debatable how many exactly based on body weight, but the generally accepted formula is about a 15:1 ratio. So if you trade off 20 pound of muscle for 20 pounds of fat, you will burn 300 more calories daily at rest.

    Granted it is pretty difficult to accomplish that 20 pound shift, but it is fact that the difference in calorie burn is what it is.

    I dispute that, I've never heard this before but I'm happy to be proven wrong. But even if it were true and the 20lbs muscle did equal 300 more cals a day, you haven't subtracted the reduction for the lost 20lbs of fat.

    Could you pls cite the studies that conclude the 300 Cals as I'd be interested to review that.

    Reference: Robert Wolfe, Ph.D., Chief of Metabolism and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas Medical Branch cites that, “every 10-kilogram difference in lean mass translates to a difference in energy expenditure of 100 calories per day, assuming a constant rate of protein turnover.”
  • JaimeO1980
    JaimeO1980 Posts: 5
    Hey Reggie,

    Great that you're doing strength training. I was a little disheartedn after the first time I input the training on MFP as it showed no calories burned. However, i do recomment that you invest in a heart rate monitor as this will tell you the calories you burn in the time period you work out..

    It is also absolutely true - Strength Training increases muscle mass and that means that at rest you burn more calories. The more muscle mass you have the better you base metabolic rate. It also tones and improves posture. So you may not see a radical difference on the scales as muscle does weight heavier than fat but you will notice a massive difference in you jeans and clothes. :)

    Keep at it and enjoy!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Try this formula:
    220 pound person / 2.2 = 100 Kilogram person

    Vigorous free weight training = 6 METs

    100 x 6 x 0.0175 = 10.5 Calories per minute

    60 minute workout = 10.5 x 60 = 630 Calories burned

    Obviously, plug in your own data. ;)

    edit to add: I answer to your question on how important it is, I'd say very as part of an overall fitness program. It maintains lean mass while eating in deficit and doing cardio. You can lose weight but if you are also losing muscle mass it is self defeating. BTW, like you, I do strength, and cardio, both HIIT and steady state.

    Interesting. Thanks for this.

    Got it from trainingwithtonya. She just recently completed her advanced certification as an exercise physiologist. She's very knowledgeable!

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