For years, people (especially women) were afraid that lifting weights would cause them to become big and bulky. Consequently, resistance training was deemed the exercise for bodybuilders only. However, in recent years, more and more people have warmed up to lifting weights, realizing that it is an incredible way to burn fat. In fact, research has shown that is actually the BEST way to burn fat.
A study conducted at West Virginia University revealed that lifting weights boosts your metabolism. Volunteers who lifted weights dropped an average of 32 pounds and boosted their metabolism by 4 percent by the end of the study. Volunteers who performed aerobic activity lost an average of about 40 pounds by the end of the study. "But wait - I thought you said lifting weights was supposed to be better?", is what you may be wondering.
It is. And here's why.
Even though the people who performed aerobic activity lost more weight, part of that weight loss was muscle (almost 9 pounds of it). As a result, their metabolisms ended up being around 14 percent slower than the volunteers who lifted weights (this is because the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns to sustain that muscle). Over time, the aerobic activity group will have a more difficult time shedding fat than will the weightlifting group.