Tone Up, Slim Down

Posted: Oct 18 in Weight Loss Blog by Staff

The weight loss help of a strength training routine

Seeking out the treatment of a weight loss surgeon makes losing weight a different ball game. The changes made during weight loss surgery will help you consume fewer calories and stay focused on eating healthy, bringing your body in line with your weight loss goals.

But introducing exercise to your lifestyle will help you keep off the weight you lose. Though most any exercise will help, it is a good idea to introduce different forms of activity to your routine as you lose weight—this way, you can improve the strength of all the muscles in your body, toning your physique as you drop that excess weight.

After weight loss surgery, many patients start out with simple, low-impact activities like walking, swimming and cycling. These workouts can help you avoid injury as you build up strength, but diversifying your workout as you improve your fitness can have many benefits. Once your weight loss surgeon says you are ready to start exercising, weight lifting is one activity that can make a big difference in your progress.

How Strength Training Can Provide the Weight Loss Help You Need

It is important to understand that strength training comes in many forms. While many people think that going to the fitness center and working out on expensive machines is the only option for strength training, there are plenty of ways to introduce weight training in the comfort of your own home using remotes, water bottles, books or other household objects in lieu of hand weights.

There is no reason to limit your workout style to one type of exercise. You can experience greater benefits to your muscle development and weight loss by mixing things up and adding variety to your fitness plan.

Here are a few reasons why adding strength training to your workout might make sense:

• Strength training can protect bone health and muscle mass. On average, people lose one percent of bone density a year after puberty. Lifting weights can slow this process down.
• This may sound obvious, but strength training can make you stronger, and that is something that cardio doesn’t necessarily help with. With more body strength, simple movements like walking or sitting can be improved by strengthening the correct muscles. Strength training can also improve your balance to prevent falls and injury.
• Strength training can improve other aspects of your health, such as chronic arthritis and diabetes. Improving your muscle strength is also known to reduce your risk of fracture.
• Strength training is shown to release endorphins that can improve your mood, act as an antidepressant, and help with sleeping.
• Increasing muscle density and strength can improve your metabolism, raising your base metabolic rate which will cause you to burn more calories while you are resting, and this can be a big weight loss help.

There are plenty of reasons to give weight training a try. If you have not tried weight training before, just remember to start small and wait for your weight loss surgeon’s approval. Learn the proper movements without holding any weights at all, then gradually build up your strength over time. Taking on too much weight before you’re ready can lead to injury, so be careful.