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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : December 23, 2014 11:14 PM IST
Strength training helps you to burn more calories and helps you to get a better and toned physique. Just 20 minutes of weight training can reduce abdominal fat that a lot of men tend to gain as they age, research has suggested. Combining weight training and aerobic activity leads to even better results in terms of maintaining a healthy weight and waistline, the findings showed.
'This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity, especially among the elderly,' said senior author of the study Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The researchers studied the physical activity, waist circumference, and body weight of 10,500 healthy US men aged 40 between 1996 and 2008.
Their analysis included a comparison of changes in participants' activity levels over the 12-year period to see which activities had the most effect on the men's waistlines. Those, who increased the amount of time spent in weight training by 20 minutes a day, had less gain in their waistline (-0.67 cm) compared with men who similarly increased the amount of time they spent on moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise (-0.33 cm), and yard work or stair climbing (-0.16 cm). Those who increased their sedentary behaviours, such as TV watching, had a larger gain in their waistline.
'Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass,' said lead author Rania Mekary, researcher at HSPH.
The study appeared online in the journal Obesity.
Here are the best 5 weight training exercises for weight loss:
Shoulder Press (Military Press)
The shoulder or military press is great for your shoulders and works your triceps as well. It s usually done with a barbell. Read how to do a shoulder press properly. Here is how you can do a shoulder military press.
The Bench Press
This compound exercise is great for the chest and also works the shoulder and the triceps. And it s not just for the guys, bench presses can help ladies tone-up, prevent sagging and have more shapely breasts. Here are steps to help you do a proper bench press.
Pull-up
The only exercise on our list which doesn t require any weights other than your body s, the pull-up is a classic exercise to increase your upper body strength and strengthen the muscles of your arms and back. Know how to do a pull-up here.
Squats
Squats are the ultimate lower body exercise. It targets the muscles of your thighs, hips, buttocks, quadriceps and hamstrings and also helps strengthen your bones, ligaments and tendons throughout the lower body. Learn how to do a proper squat.
Deadlifts
This exercise targets the entire back and burns fat over your entire body. Make sure that you maintain a proper posture and form throughout the exercise. Here is how you can do a dead lift.
Source: IANS
Image source: Getty Images
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