Losing weight doesn't only mean eating fewer calories than you burn. What's decisive is also how your body uses these calories – and here strength training plays a central role.
Strength training helps with weight loss – but not through direct calorie burning
Many believe that strength training is not ideal for losing weight, because you burn fewer calories than with endurance training. That's true for the duration of the training session, but the true effect of strength training shows itself after the workout and in the long term.
Because while you burn more calories with an hour of running than with an hour of strength training, the latter ensures that your body permanently needs more energy – around the clock.
Muscle mass increases your basal metabolic rate
Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories your body needs at rest to maintain basic functions such as breathing, heartbeat and cell regeneration. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn – even when you're simply sitting on the sofa.
🔹 Example: A person with more muscle mass uses more calories in everyday life than a person with little muscle – even if both weigh the same.
That's why someone who does strength training regularly can, in the long term, lose weight more easily and maintain their weight, because their body burns more calories at rest.
Would you like to turn your hobby into a career too?
Discover the various training programmes of the update Akademie and qualify as a fitness trainer!
Additional calorie burning through muscle repair and building
The increased calorie burning after strength training is due not only to the greater muscle mass, but also to the bodily processes that take place after training.
During training, tiny micro-injuries arise in the muscle fibres that have to be repaired. This process – muscle protein synthesis – requires energy and ensures that your body uses more calories in the hours and days after training as well.
In this context, the afterburn effect (EPOC) is often mentioned. Strictly speaking, EPOC describes the increased oxygen consumption after training, in order to restore the body's energy reserves. This effect is indeed present, but rather small – in both strength and endurance training.
🔹 The actual extra calorie expenditure comes not primarily from EPOC, but from muscle repair and muscle building. This share of calories is not enormous, but it contributes to keeping your energy expenditure higher after strength training.
So the more muscle you build through training, the more energy is burned not only at rest, but also for its constant maintenance and regeneration – which ensures a higher overall expenditure in the long term.
Nutrition: the right calorie intake decides success
All of this, however, is of no use if you don't pay attention to your nutrition. Many make the mistake of suddenly eating much more after starting strength training, because they believe they "burn everything", or because they don't even notice it, since they are more hungry due to the training.
Important: If your calorie intake rises just as much as your expenditure, you won't lose any fat.
Here's how to do it right:
- If you increase your calorie intake, then only moderately and above all through protein – that helps with muscle building and keeps you full longer.
- Make sure to maintain a slight calorie deficit if you want to lose fat.
- Rely on high-quality foods rather than empty calories from sugar and processed products.
Conclusion: strength training is a "game-changer" for losing weight – if you do it right!
Strength training alone doesn't ensure fat loss – what's decisive is the combination of muscle building, controlled nutrition and an overall balanced energy budget.
If you combine strength training with a healthy diet and a moderate calorie deficit, you won't only lose fat, but also build a high-performing body.
