Lose The Beer Belly - Burn Fat With More Muscle

Weight training can be just as effective as using cardio machines when it comes to burning body fat and losing weight. If you can aim for a combination of the two then you will start to see results. People do not tend to associate weight training with weight loss because muscle is heavier than fat, but having muscle mass does in fact allow you to burn more fat. This is because the extra muscle that you have built up uses up more energy (and therefore calories) than body fat at rest. Weight training on a regular basis will result in a higher muscle to fat ratio which will allow your body to burn up more calories and stored fat naturally.

Another great benefit about building muscle mass is that your body experiences the after-burn, where it will continue to burn calories once you have finished your workout. This is due to the fact that your metabolism continues to increase for a few hours following exercise. This means you could still be burning fat once you are at home relaxing in front of the television, isn't that is a truly awesome thought.

Please do not misunderstand me, I am not for one moment telling you to forget about cardio exercise. In my opinion this still remains the most effective single way to burn fat, especially when your cardio exercise goes on continuously for more than 20 minutes. I am suggesting that your exercise routine should contain a balanced mix of the two. This will also add more variety to your routine as well as ensuring you do not overwork certain muscle groups.

Circuit training is a great way to strike a balance between cardio exercise and weight training. Spend five minutes doing a cardio exercise such as jogging or cycling then switch to dumb bells, push ups or weights. Then you return to a cardio exercise rotating between the two until you have exercised for a set amount of time. You will not only get variety but a more balanced workout using more muscle groups. Keep your exercise fresh by devising new circuits and increase the time and intensity as you get fitter. You can build muscle without needing weights doing exercises such as push ups, lunges, squats and the side and front plank, so do not use not having a gym membership or weights as an excuse.

Use weights and muscle-building exercises combined with cardio exercise for excellent results. Combine it with a sensible diet and you could experience rapid safe weight loss and lose the beer belly for good.

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