Why is Resistant Training Important for Fat Loss?
Have you ever considered weight training but been fearful of becoming big and muscular? This is a fear for a lot of women. Over the past decade, there has definitely been a shift and more women are comfortable with weightlifting; however, I still see that some women are fearful of gaining muscle and looking bigger.
Is resistance training important for fat loss, and why am I talking about this?
One thing I always tell my clients is that if it was easy to gain muscle and to get huge, there would be a ton of buff, super fit men and women walking around. But is that the reality? No, that is not the reality. It's not easy to gain that amount of muscle.
I played collegiate tennis for UC San Diego, and during that time we weight lifted two times a week. I was lifting the most I've ever lifted in my entire life. It might not be a lot for some, but it was a lot for me. I was bench pressing 50 pounds of added weights on the bar - so, including the bar, about 70 pounds. Then, I was doing squats with 100 pounds or more. At that time, I was the smallest in size but the strongest I have ever been in my life!
The point is that lifting weight does not mean being big, and I want to debunk that fear. Weightlifting is actually so important to lose fat.
Before we talk about weightlifting, here's an important question. Why do most people try to lose weight? There are several reasons. One really important reason is to improve overall health and some common health issues that occur with being overweight or obese. These include metabolic disease, such as diabetes. Another is high blood pressure, which affects the ability of the heart to pump blood to certain parts of the body. Body weight can also affect your joints, causing pain in your joints during movement.
Another reason why people want to lose weight is because they want to feel and move better. They want to decrease the amount of pressure on their joints. They want to feel like they can play with their kids without having to use an inhaler. They want to go on a hike while they're on vacation and not injure themselves. I have personally talked with people in all these situations. These are real problems people are experiencing. These people just want to feel good and be able to live life and enjoy everyday life experiences.
Another reason people want to lose weight, which is unfortunately a big one for most people, is that they want to have a leaner appearance or a smaller frame. They want to feel confident in their own body, and for many people, unfortunately but truthfully, this correlates with being leaner.
Here we come to an important point. A lot of people associate being lean with their weight - with the number on the scale. They don't take into account other factors that affect that number on the scale and what really makes up a person's weight. They focus on that number and believe that a smaller number means less fat, but that is not true. Weight loss and fat loss are two completely different games.
You can lose weight by literally cutting off your hair or not eating for a day so there is no food in your belly. Maybe you had an episode of a stomach issue and now there is less weight. You also could lose muscle and weigh less. In all of these situations, there is no fat loss! It's just a number on the scale. The point I want to make is that the goal is actually not to lose weight. The goal is to lose fat.
So I want to rephrase that. I want to put it out there that if you are on a weight loss journey, it'd be better to rephrase it as a fat loss journey. This is healthier for you and also helps you have a more realistic mindset. It helps you realize that sometimes you lose weight for reasons that might not be so healthy and that don't actually correlate to fat loss.
So, back to resistance training. What is resistance training anyway?
Resistance training is any type of strength training. It can be any sort of strength exercise, even ones that use just your body weight, including exercises like squats, lunges, pushups, or sit ups. It can also mean lifting actual weights, such as barbells or dumbbells. There can also be pulley systems at the gym. All of these are considered resistance training.
Pilates or high intensity yoga can also be resistance training. There are different types of yoga and some are more restorative and focus on stretches. But there are also plenty of yoga moves where you are doing resistance training using your body. CrossFit is another example, as well as Olympic lifting. Even doing YouTube videos where they're running you through a workout is resistance training.
As you can see, resistance training can come in many forms, but it is essentially the equivalent of lifting some sort of weight to strengthen your muscles.
So why is resistance training so important for fat loss? I have three points here.
First, resistance training helps keep you from losing muscle. When you are trying to lose weight, you are most likely on a calorie deficit diet. And when you are on a calorie deficit diet, you are eating less than what your body needs to run its normal functions. You lose both fat and muscles and actually that weight loss is half fat and half muscle loss.
However, when you add resistance training - strength training - you will maintain your muscle mass better if you increase the volume of your weight lifting. Increasing the volume means increasing the weight or the amount of sets that you do. If you make sure to consume the right amount of protein necessary, you can also actually gain muscle mass as you lose fat. This is important so you don't lose muscles when trying to lose fat.
This leads to my next point. Muscle helps increase your metabolism. The more muscles you have, the more energy your body needs to function. Energy, as you know, is measured in calories. Calories are energy. Having more muscle means your body will burn more calories. It will also help you to maintain a healthy body fat composition. So having more muscles really helps you to stay lean and reach your fat loss goal.
My third point is that muscle gives you a leaner, firmer, more toned look. I have a weird but helpful way to picture this. Imagine you have two cups - a cup of muscle and a cup of fat. You put each of the cups on the scale, one at a time. Can you guess which will weigh more? The muscle will actually weigh more than the fat, even though it's the same volume.
Here's another weird but helpful way to explain it. Muscle actually takes up more space than fat. If you had one pound of muscle and one pound of fat right next to each other, the pound of muscle would actually be much bigger than that pound of fat!
Why is this so important to remember when you're looking at that number on the scale?
Because here is the story for many people. They start on their health journey. They work out diligently. They go to the gym after work. Maybe they have three kids, so making it to the gym is a huge sacrifice. They get home later than usual and maybe their spouse has to take care of the kids. Or maybe they have to pay for a babysitter. It's a huge sacrifice. But they make it happen. Then, after a month of hard work, sacrificing time and energy, they get on the scale and see they didn't lose anything. Maybe the number is even "worse" - higher!
You may gain a few pounds after training and see the number on the scale go up and feel so discouraged. You will feel like you're not doing the right thing, and you will jump off of that routine you're doing. But I wanna encourage you, do not be fooled by the scale, but continue to press into this journey. Don't just pay attention to the number on the scale, but pay attention to how you feel. Pay attention to how your clothes feel. Pay attention to your body measurements. All of those are huge indicators if you are losing body fat.
Here's a tip. Know that the scale is one of many tools, but it is not the only tool that is an indicator of your fat loss journey. (Again, notice I didn't say weight loss journey, but fat loss journey.)
Another tip for losing body fat is to do both aerobic exercise and strength training. Definitely continue walking, biking, swimming, running, etc. Then add resistance training to your weekly routine for the best results.
If you're curious to know an exact amount to start with, I'd recommend starting with getting in 150 minutes of some sort of aerobic exercise each week and resistance training at least two times a week. That'd be a great place to start to help improve your heart health, your lung health, and your overall body health, if you can stick with it diligently.
I promise you, you will see amazing improvements!
If you have questions, feel free to email me at cktan@verticalmovementwellness.com. You can also send me a message on my Instagram @verticalmovementwellness. I'm happy to just chat with you and to help you on your journey!
With Love,
Dr. Cindy Kimmi Tan