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Stronger Muscles Burn More Calories

It's common knowledge that strength training benefits both men and women by improving flexibility, mobility and overall well-being. Recent research tells us that stronger and denser muscles will provide an extra benefit that of burning more calories.

Men's Health (4/07) reports that researchers at Ball State University put overweight men on a 1,500 calorie-a-day diet and divided them into three groups - one that did not exercise, another that performed aerobic exercise three days a week, and a third that did aerobic exercise and weight training three days a week.

Each group lost nearly the same amount of weight - about 21 pounds. But the weight lifters lost five pounds more fat than those who did not lift weight. The weight loss was almost purely body fat where the other two groups lost just 15 pounds of fat and several pounds of lean body mass (muscle).

It's reported in Environmental Health that women tend to get a bigger calorie-burning boost than men from resistance exercises using weight machines or elastic tubing.

A common misconception is that women will "bulk up" if they engage in weight training exercises. Not true. Doing strengthening activities 2 to 3 days a week will not bulk you up. Only intense strength training, combined with a certain genetic background, can build very large muscles.

CK Fitness DVDs all have safe and effective strength training exercises incorporated in the workouts. Using the hand-held weights or the elastic tubing along with the moderate aerobic activity 2 to 3 times a week will help you to build muscles, and muscle burns more calories than body fat. If you have more muscle, you burn more calories - even sitting still.

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