Did you know that starting as early as when we are in our 20's We naturally begin to lose muscle and gain fat especially if we have an inactive job or lifestyle? On average we lose 1/2 pound of muscle every year. Because of this muscle loss we also have a reduction in our Basal metabolic rate or BMR. Bmr refers to the calories used by our bodies while we are at rest.
Our muscles have high energy requirements. Even when we are sleeping our muscles use more than 25% of our calories. With strength training we can increase our lean muscle and condition our metabolism to work better and more efficiently even when we are at rest. Strength training also provides many other health benefits. According to Jane Polley of the Longfellow Heath Center, " studies have clearly proven that consistent strength training can increase bone density and prevent osteoporosis. .
Lets begin with strength training and muscle loss.
Strength , weight and resistant training are all terms used for exercise that uses resistance to strengthen and condition our muscle system. Muscles gradually decrease in size and strength as we again a process known as atrophy which is the wasting away of body parts or tissue. When our muscle mass decreases, less energy is used for daily functions so that calories previously used for daily activities will now be stored as fat. If by incorporate strength training into our fitness routine we will increase muscle mass strength and endurance. This greatly contributes to improvements in our work, our favorite sports and hobbies and general day to day activities.
Now that we know the why it's important to build and maintain muscle mass .
I"ll talk about how it fits into weight loss.
Arthur Drechler, author of The weight Lifting Encyclopedia states that cutting calories without exercise causes a loss of muscle as well as fat. Our slowed metabolism means that our bodies are less able to use the food we eat as energy so it gets stored as fat.