Is Weight Training Necessary To Burn Fat?

Many who try to construct their own natural weight loss training program opt to avoid resistance exercise (such as weight lifting) due to the fear of gaining significant muscle mass. This is especially so with females, most of whom are not interested in building large muscles, and would instead rather tone and firm problem areas without increasing muscle size. But those who neglect resistance exercise due to the fear of gaining muscle are actually robbing themselves of an important fat burning tool.

The more muscle a body carries, the greater amount of calories are burned each day, and hence the lower body fat levels will ultimately be. When someone is overweight, the best chance of achieving a lean body is to have a metabolism which supports enough food to satisfy hunger, and adding muscle allows more food to be used for fat loss than is otherwise possible (hence cutting cravings, and improving the chance for long term fat burning results).

But what about those who wish to only tone, and are not interested in building muscle? Toning is actually the process of burning fat and building muscle, with the amount of muscle gained limited so that the body does not become bulky. This can be achieved by constructing a natural weight loss training program using a rep and set structure that promotes small to moderate improvements in muscle, so that bulk can be avoided, while still providing a metabolism boost and enhancing the shape of problem areas.

Those who fear that they will automatically gain massive amounts of muscle just because they begin lifting weights have been misled, and are in fact best served to implement a properly designed resistance training program so that metabolism and tone can simultaneously improve, producing a firm, attractive body shape, instead of a lifeless and saggy exterior. On the flip side, those who begin lifting weights haphazardly might find that they gain more muscle than they would like, so it’s important to follow a professionally designed exercise plan that takes into account your specific fat burning and muscle toning goals.