Pump off the pounds
By Sally Squires
Washington Post
What if just 15 minutes of activity could keep your metabolism revved up for 24 hours? Almost sounds like one of those infomercials touting the latest too-good-to-be-true product, right?
Associated Press
Well, take a closer look at resistance training — aka weight-lifting — a physical activity proven to build bone, strengthen muscles and, yes, even rev up metabolism — things that could prove extremely useful to those trying to hold the line on weight gain.
Jeff Famble, 43, does squat thrusts with a bar bell on his back during a workout at the Lord's Gym in Cincinnati, Ohio. Researchers found that the real benefits of consistent weight lifting comes after the workout, when your resting metabolic rate is higher and you can burn additional calories.
The University of Connecticut's William Kraemer studied weight lifters for nearly 20 years and discovered that they burned a measly 15 to 20 calories during workouts. (Yes, you read that right.) That led Kraemer to ponder how these bodybuilders stayed so lean.
What he and his team found is that the real benefits of weight lifting take place in the 24 hours after a workout, a time when there's a "significant after-exercise burn in calories," he says.
How significant? "Somewhere in the range of 100 to 200 calories," says Kraemer, who is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Strength Training and Conditioning Research. Since experts recommend weight lifting every other day — to give affected muscles time to recover — regular workouts could allow you to burn an extra 300 to 600 calories a week.
Keep up the weight training, and there could be a few more benefits for your metabolism. Building enough muscle — something that takes at least six months of consistent training and gradual increases in poundage lifted, Kraemer says — can also help boost your resting metabolic rate, which means you'll burn a few more calories every day than you're burning now.
Consistency is the key. "If you're expecting results, you will have to work for them," Kraemer says. "It takes some dedication."
He ought to know. After studying athletes for years, Kraemer realized that he had let himself get out of shape. "I had an epiphany six months ago," he says. "I was 49 years old, looking at turning 50 and realized that I had to get in shape again. It really hit home."
He started weight training and other regular exercise and worked on getting his eating habits back in order by keeping a food log. Kraemer has trimmed 50 pounds, one for each of those years he's about to celebrate.
Here's what Kraemer recommends in starting a weight training program:
• Go slowly. Figure that it will take about two months of regular conditioning to really get up to speed with weight lifting, particularly if you have been sedentary. Start with light weights — about 3 to 8 pounds for women; about 5 to 10 pounds for men — and slowly build up.
• Choose your venue. It's your choice whether you work out at a gym, using machines or at home. Free-standing weights are inexpensive and can be bought individually or in sets. Or start by lifting canned goods.
• Mix up your workouts. At the University of Connecticut, multiple workouts are used each week to build muscle and avoid boredom. The light workout uses weights that can be lifted for 12 to 15 reps. Do two sets. The heavy workout focuses on weights that can be lifted only three to five times. Do three sets. The third workout is moderate, using weights in between the heavy and light days. Do three sets of eight to 10 reps, Kraemer says. Each workout should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Think power. Jumps, push-ups, abdominal crunches and pull-ups are other ways to do weight training. All help build muscle by working against your body weight. "Even if you are 80, you need power," Kraemer says, to unload groceries, get out of chairs or work in the yard. Power exercises, such as jumps, can also build bone, as British researchers learned when they had 75-year-old women jump in the air 50 times a day. (People with knee, hip or spinal problems should check with their doctors first, of course.)
• Use the right amount of weight. Younger athletes tend to go too heavy; older athletes often go too light and miss 65 percent to 75 percent of the possible benefits, Kraemer says. The upper limit for weights should be what can be comfortably lifted three to five times in each of three sets. "Culturally, women have always shied away from heavy lifting, because they are afraid they will get big muscles," he says. "Women will never get big the way they fear they will."
