Strength training is one of the best ways to increase your metabolism so you will burn more calories. It is also great for increasing strength, building stronger bones, increasing energy, improving overall function, and toning your body.
Muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body. Making muscles stronger will improve your body’s ability to burn unwanted fat. In the first six weeks of starting a strength training program, metabolism may increase up to 30%, and then it will taper off.
Start with whole body type exercises like squats, lunges, pushes and pulls, with bodyweight or light resistance for at least three weeks, in order to strengthen the tendons and ligaments adequately before increasing the load. Always maintain excellent posture throughout each exercise. This will help prevent injuries. Exercise two to three days a week with at least one day off between sessions. When you are going through your routine, you are breaking down the muscle tissue, so you are actually weaker at the end of the workout than you were when you started. You need at least two days for your body to rebuild the tissue stronger than it was before. If you do the same exercise two days in a row you are simply breaking down your tissue and you will get no strength gains.
After about six to eight weeks, you will need to change the exercises and exercise parameters in order to continue progressing and to avoid boredom. A well designed resistance program done in a circuit format can provide an excellent cardiovascular workout as well.
If you chose to do aerobic exercise, either do it on alternate days of your strength training program or do aerobic exercise after your strength training program. Keep your aerobic exercise to 30 minutes, using high intensity interval training. My professional recommendation: Tabata Intervals!
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