Between Myths and Reality: The Right Path to Healthy Strength Training
You used to hear the saying: “Want to lose weight? Then move a lot, go running, swimming, cycling.” In addition to a moderate calorie intake, of course. But is that still true today? Is it really THAT simple? Many years, studies, and insights later, we can safely say: No, it's not quite that simple. There is a much more effective way to lose weight and burn more calories. And the magic word here is strength training.
Now female readers might immediately picture highly defined, muscle-bound bodybuilders in their mind's eye. Rest assured, that is not what I mean when I talk about strength training. Especially since women, due to their typical hormonal makeup, aren't naturally capable of building massive, defined muscles through moderate strength training.
But the fact is: Proper strength training is more effective and can even burn more calories than an intense cardio workout.
Why is that? We'll shed light on this and other aspects below.
The benefits of strength training
According to current findings, strength training is one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit as you age. Why? Here are some of the positive findings on why strength training is good for your health:
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Strength training is fantastic protection against age-related muscle loss!
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It increases bone density and can thus prevent osteoporosis.
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The risk of injury is minimized. Makes sense: More muscle mass provides better protection for our skeleton and organs.
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The risk of developing Type II diabetes decreases the more muscle mass you build. Because the more muscle you have, the more blood sugar (glycogen) is stored in it, thereby lowering your blood sugar. If you also do endurance training, your risk of developing diabetes drops by up to an incredible 60 percent!
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Strength training reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, or a heart attack.
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And one of the best arguments for anyone wanting to lose weight: Building muscle through strength training increases your body's basal metabolic rate. Muscles need energy, and where do you think your body gets it? That's right—either from food or from the body's fat reserves.
As a side note, it has been observed that the increased release of endorphins during and after strength training has a positive effect on mood, helping to keep depressive episodes at bay.
Strength training and weight loss – how are they connected?
Particularly among women, a few persistent myths about strength training still persist: that strength training leads to an (overly) broad back, a six-pack, and unnaturally bulky muscles. Here, a clear distinction must be made between bodybuilding and standard strength training. Female bodybuilders typically train several hours a day and follow an extremely strict meal plan.
Another myth: I can only lose weight with cardio training. That might be true if you burn more calories per day than you consume. The downside, unfortunately, is that if you rely solely on endurance sports to lose weight, you might end up losing muscle mass. Sounds paradoxical, but it's true. So if you want to lose weight in the long run, you can't avoid complementary strength training.
Strength training and the afterburn effect – what is it?
Much is written about it, but what exactly is this famous afterburn effect? Especially during and particularly after an intense workout like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) or strength training, the so-called EPOC effect is particularly effective. EPOC stands for “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption”. Your body continues to burn energy for 24 to 48 hours after intense strength training to return everything to normal, so to speak. Glycogen stores are replenished, waste products are removed from cells, and muscles are built. All of this costs energy. Recovery after a strenuous workout also requires energy: Small micro-injuries in the muscles (don't worry, that's normal) must be repaired by the body. The accumulation of lactate in the muscle tissue, which is responsible for your sore muscles, needs to be balanced out again. All of this requires energy from the body as well. Since a lot of energy is stored in fat tissue, the body willingly taps into it during the rest period after training. And the more muscle you build, the higher your basal metabolic rate increases. This is a key factor when you consider that we want high calorie expenditure paired with a lower calorie intake.
Strength training and weight loss – an eternal topic
Right off the bat: Anyone who focuses solely on the number on the scale is essentially sabotaging their own success. There are plenty of before-and-after photo series showing a “weight loss success” that seems completely paradoxical at first glance.
An example:
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Image 1 shows a female person weighing, say, 65 kg, with a few curves and a rather untrained stomach.
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Image 2, a few months later, strangely shows a significantly toned midsection weighing around 68 or 69 kg.
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And the same person again a few training months later in Image 3 shows a significantly slimmer body compared to original Image 1, yet with 72 kg on the scale.
How can that be? The explanation is relatively simple: Strength training builds (more) muscle, which in turn requires more energy. Muscles tone and shape the body. Fat is lost and replaced by muscle, resulting in a noticeably slimmer silhouette. However, 1 kg of muscle mass weighs more than 1 kg of fat mass. Hence the weight gain on the scale despite a visibly slimmer figure. In principle, this tells you one thing: It's a mistake to focus solely and exclusively on the number of kilograms displayed on your scale. It is far more important to pay attention to whether your pants fit better! Or if you want to be precise: At the start of your journey, take your body measurements at key spots such as thigh circumference, waist circumference, upper arm circumference, etc. And compare these regularly. Those are the real numbers you should be looking at. It might sound harsh, but forget the number on the scale. It tells you nothing about how your body transforms over the months of training. A scale is really only useful if it also shows your body fat percentage alongside the water and bone percentage of your total weight. Those numbers will be much more helpful to you. But the pure kilogram count only holds you back mentally.
Pursue your goal.
Feel free to combine cardio sessions with a few strength training sessions per week and a healthy lifestyle, and success will surely follow. Plus, you actively prepare for old age so your body can age healthier and stronger.
