Strength Training: Key for Weight Loss

Strength Training: Key for Weight Loss

When people think about losing weight, they often focus on cardio workouts like running or cycling. While those are great for burning calories, strength training is a powerful — and often underrated — tool for weight loss.

Strength training builds lean muscle mass, which plays a big role in increasing your resting metabolic rate. In simple terms, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns even when you’re not working out. This means you’re torching calories not just during your workout, but all day long (and then even more calories while you sleep!).

Another benefit? Strength training helps preserve muscle while you’re in a calorie deficit. When you lose weight through diet alone or excessive cardio, you risk losing muscle along with fat (a common side effect of GLP-1 meds). That can slow your metabolism and make it harder to keep the weight off. By lifting weights, you signal your body to hold on to muscle and burn fat instead.

Plus, strength training changes your body composition in ways the scale might not show. You can lose inches, look leaner and tone up without a huge drop in weight, because muscle is denser than fat.

Finally, building strength can improve your energy, confidence, and consistency — all key for sticking with a weight loss plan long-term.

Bottom line: If weight loss is your goal, don’t skip the weights.