Many people think they need to go all in on cardio if they are trying to lose weight. And while cardio can help you burn calories and put you in an overall calorie deficit, strength training and lifting weights will help you lose weight long-term. Strength training will help you build muscle, and more muscle mass means your body burns more calories at rest.
Eric said in order to build muscle and see improvements, you need to implement progressive overload, which he describes as "doing more than you did before."
"This can mean more reps, sets, weight, etc.," he explained. "It can also mean you rest less between sets, you improve the range of motion of each movement, or you have a better connection with the muscle than you did last session." Not only will this help you see progress, but it will also burn more calories during each session.
To get more bang for your buck during your strength-training session, Rachel Gerson, an NASM-certified personal trainer, said to focus on compound exercises, which are exercises that target groups of large muscle like barbell squats, deadlifts, and the leg press. "Compound movements concentrating on larger muscle groups will burn the most calories," Rachel said. "If you think about it, you'll feel a lot more tired after doing a barbel squat than doing a bicep curl."
Plus, moves such as squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses also target your core, so you are working multiple muscle groups at once. "When you burn the fat off your midsection, you'll have built nice muscle underneath that will start to show, which is what gives you that toned look in your midsection," she added.