Stop running to lose weight? Aerobic exercise is difficult! Strength training improves basal metabolism, 5 benefits for you to know

Many people think that the way to lose weight quickly is to do aerobic exercise, such as jogging, swimming or cycling. However, some weight loss experts point out that it is easy for people to fall into a calorie trap after doing aerobic exercise, making it more difficult to control their food intake and they will quickly return to their previous diet cycle. Based on her own successful weight loss experience, she recommends strength training (weight training), such as squats, crunches and other exercises, and at the same time debunks four myths about aerobic exercise and strength training, such as "Can girls build muscles by doing strength training?" and "Can walking and cycling help lose weight?"

When you start to lose weight, you will choose to increase the amount of exercise, and aerobic exercise is often listed as the first choice. Are jogging, swimming or cycling effective for weight loss? Which is better for fat loss: aerobic exercise or strength training (weight training)? Do you have the above misconceptions? In fact, no matter what kind of exercise you use to lose weight, sustainability is often the key to successful weight loss.

The author Lu Letian successfully lost weight from 100 kg to 70 kg and recorded his own weight loss process in 300 days. In his new book "Give Up Losing Weight, I Lost 30 kg", he said from his personal experience that aerobic exercises such as running are not suitable for people in the weight loss stage or without a sports foundation, both from the perspective of execution difficulty and avoiding injuries. In addition, it is easy for people to fall into the calorie trap after aerobic exercise, and the amount of food consumed is more difficult to control, and they will soon return to the previous diet cycle.

Don’t try aerobic exercise first when losing weight. Long-term strength training can help improve basal metabolism.

"Strength training", also known as weight training or resistance training, is a type of anaerobic exercise. The author Lu Letian believes that the well-known push-ups, squats, movements with dumbbells and various fitness equipment, and crunches (an exercise to train the lower abdomen) all fall into the category of strength training and can also be understood as "fitness." It is not recommended to do aerobic exercise to lose weight. Besides the high threshold and long time required, the more important reason is that strength training is not inferior to aerobic exercise in terms of weight loss effect and fun.

In principle, you only need a yoga mat or even a bed. If you use equipment such as dumbbells, you can do more exercises. The process of strength training is essentially the process of stimulating the muscles in a certain part. The soreness after completing strength training and the increase in muscle strength that can be felt in a short period of time were a great motivation for the author to complete daily training during the weight loss period. The soreness will gradually disappear after a few days, and you will find that the trained parts have become stronger and the muscles have become harder. This process is called super recovery after exercise. Through long-term strength training, the body's basal metabolic rate will also be improved.

"Strength training", also known as weight training or resistance training, is a type of anaerobic exercise that includes push-ups, squats, and movements with dumbbells and various fitness equipment.

Four reasons why aerobic exercise is not recommended for weight loss:

1. Aerobic exercise takes a long time and has a high threshold for execution.

2. Aerobic exercise is not suitable and should not be performed every day, which means it is not suitable for the micro-goal strategy.

3. Aerobic exercise can easily lead you into a calorie trap, focusing on energy income and expenditure and using weight loss as a reward.

4. In aerobic exercise, the difficulty and uncertainty of obtaining rewards (weight loss) are higher.

5 benefits of choosing strength training for weight loss:

1. The implementation threshold is very low and can be done at home.

2. Training effects visible to the naked eye can be obtained.

3. The time required is short and the effect has no direct relationship with time.

4. Physical functions are substantially improved.

5.Basic metabolism is improved.

What is the difference between aerobic exercise and strength training? What other misunderstandings may you have about weight loss? Here are some answers:

Summarizing the 4 common myths about weight loss exercise

Q1: Can walking or cycling help me lose weight?

A: Walking can be a way to relax, but if used as an exercise for weight loss, its efficiency is too low. As a daily basic behavior, it is hard to say whether riding a bicycle to get off work can bring any weight loss effect. Your current lifestyle determines your current weight. Maintaining your existing lifestyle habits will not bring about any changes. Even if the threshold and difficulty of exercise are lowered as much as possible, there will still be a little resistance to exercise during weight loss. You can start by completing just one strength training exercise, and when you feel the resistance is too great, lower your goal further.

Q2: I don’t like strength training, can I not do it?

A: HIIT (High-intensity Interval Training) has been very popular in recent years. Many exercise plans in fitness apps are essentially HIIT. It may be very effective for weight loss, but as its name suggests, "high intensity" means that it is easy to get out of breath during the process, and in order to keep up with the pace, you may not want to stop and rest easily. Therefore, after each exercise, you will have the perception in your mind that "exercise is very hard", which is not conducive to sustained weight loss.

There are hundreds of ways to exercise, and of course every kind of exercise has a weight loss effect. Strength training is definitely not the most efficient way of exercising to burn fat, but the advantage of strength training is that it has a low threshold for execution and you can do it at home. Moreover, by adjusting the movements and dumbbell weights, you can always complete effective training at just the right difficulty.

Q3: I am a girl. Can I build muscles by doing strength training?

A: No. As long as you feel you need to lose weight, there is no need to worry about turning into a "Barbie". It’s not easy to develop muscular lines. Don’t think too much, just do it. If you are really worried about certain parts getting thicker, avoid training those areas.

Q4: Doesn’t it mean losing fat first and then gaining muscle? Should I do cardio first and then strength training?

A: "Lose fat first, then gain muscle." Many people have heard this sentence, so they think that losing weight should start with aerobic exercise. In fact, this sentence is meant for the "skinny people" who need to exercise and keep fit, and it has nothing to do with you. What you need right now is a form of exercise that is time-saving, has low execution threshold and resistance and can be sustained for a long time. The key question is not "what exercise should I do" but "what kind of exercise can I sustain for a long time".