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How Much Does Resistance Training Increase Your Metabolism?

How Much Does Resistance Training Increase Your Metabolism?

Once you pass the age of 30, your metabolism begins to slow. The four slices of pizza you used to scarf down at one time without impacting your weight begin to show up when you step on the scale. One of the main reasons metabolism slows with age is a gradual age-related decline in lean body mass. Loss of muscle can impact your metabolic health. Muscle is a “sink” that sucks up glucose. This helps with glucose control – but can resistance training increase your resting metabolic rate?

Resistance Training and Metabolism

In 2000, a group of researchers put resistance training to the “metabolic” test. They asked a group of older men and women, between the ages of 65 and 77, to take part in a 26-week resistance training program. None of the subjects had previously weight trained.

Each of the participants worked out at between 65 and 80% of their one-rep max. One-rep max is the maximal amount of weight they can lift for one repetition. Their workouts consisted of standard weight training exercises with a focus on lower body movements.

As the participants’ strength improved, the resistance was increased for progressive overload.

At the end of 26 weeks of training, they remeasured their resting metabolic rate. The results? The participants’ resting metabolic rate increased by 7% over the course of the study. This would be the equivalent of burning an extra 100 calories per day. Not bad!

The Effects of Resistance, Endurance and Concurrent Training on Metabolic Rate

Another study looked at concurrent training (combined endurance and resistance training) and each form of training individually on basal metabolic rate (BMR). One group of healthy males did resistance training. The second group did only endurance training while the third did combined resistance and endurance training.  After 10 weeks of training, they remeasured their metabolic rate. The resistance training group showed an increase of 6%. The resistance/endurance training group also showed a rise in their basal metabolic rate of 5%. The endurance group? They actually showed a 2% drop in BMR.

The three training groups experienced other changes as well. All three experienced a drop in body fat percentage but the group that did both endurance and resistance exercise showed the greatest drop in body fat (3.5%). The endurance training group experienced a 2.3% decrease in body fat while the resistance training group lost an average of 1.4% body fat.

The resistance training group showed the greatest increase in muscle strength, although the group that did combination training also showed strength gains. As expected, the endurance group had no improvements in muscle strength. What they did experience was an increase in aerobic capacity of around 13%. Aerobic capacity increased in the combination group too, but to a lesser degree (7%). The resistance training group actually experienced a slight decline in aerobic capacity.

What can you conclude from this study? Resistance training is best for increasing basal metabolic rate and muscular strength. Endurance exercise wins the most points for improving aerobic capacity, while combination training is most effective for decreasing body fat. Doing a combination of endurance training and resistance exercise offered some benefits in all areas tested – strength, aerobic capacity, body fat loss, and basal metabolic rate. For overall health and fitness, a combination of endurance and resistance training should help you improve to some degree in all areas.

Increasing Your Metabolism Through Resistance Training

Most literature suggests resistance training boosts basal metabolic rate by between 6 and 7% after several weeks of training. Your basal metabolic rate accounts for between 60 and 75% of your energy expenditure each day. Although subtle, raising your BMR by 7% gives you definite advantages when it comes to controlling your weight.

To get the most metabolic benefits from resistance training, use a challenging resistance you can only lift 8 to 10 reps before experiencing failure. Lifting light weights for multiple reps, a muscular endurance workout, won’t elicit the same hormonal response as lifting heavy.

When you lift heavier weights to near failure your body releases growth hormone and testosterone to help you build muscle and burn fat. Plus, you’re targeting fast-twitch muscle fibers when you use heavy resistance. This maximizes the metabolic benefits you get from a workout.

The more muscle tissue you have the better for your metabolism. A pound of fat isn’t very metabolically active. It only burns between 3 and 5 calories a day. In contrast, a pound of muscle burns almost 5 times that amount daily. Which do you think will help better control your weight? Go for the muscle every time.

To burn more fat during a resistance training workout, focus more on large muscle groups and do a high percentage of compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, dips, overhead presses, upright rows and pull-ups rather than isolation exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions. Limiting the rest between sets will also create more metabolic stress and increase fat burning.

The Bottom Line?

Resistance training can increase your basal metabolic rate by as much as 7%. In contrast, endurance training doesn’t give your metabolic rate a sustained boost. Resistance training is also best for changing the composition of your body. In reality, both should be part of a well-rounded workout. The ratio you do will depend upon your goals – whether your primary goal is to build strength and lean body mass or to improve your aerobic capacity.

 

References:

Journal of Applied Physiology. 89. pages 977 -984. (2000)

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001 Apr;33(4):532-41.

Training for Weight Management. Len Kravitz, Ph.D. and Randy Malone, M.E.D

 

Related Articles By Cathe:

Does Strength-Training Really Boost Your Metabolism?

Are There Legitimate Ways to Boost Your Metabolism?

5 Factors that Contribute to a Fast or Slow Metabolism

Why Metabolic Rate Calculators Aren’t Always Accurate

Can You Speed Up Your Metabolism Through Lifestyle?

Is Muscle Loss the Only Reason Your Metabolism Slows with Age?

 

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