How Does Muscle Burn Fat?

It’s true that having more muscle can help you lose body fat. It’s true that muscle weighs more than fat, so as you’re gaining muscle you may not see the scale move much. But, your body will look much leaner, and over time, you’ll lose that body fat because all that new muscle burns fat.

How Muscle Helps With Fat Burning

Muscle requires more energy than fat – even when resting

So, as you add muscle, your metabolism speeds up. This means, in simple terms, you need more calories to get through the day when you have more muscle.

This is a big part of the reason men can eat more calories than women without gaining weight. Men inherently have more muscle mass. So, if you build muscle – over time this muscle burns fat that has accumulated in your body, so long as you don’t increase the amount of calories you consume.

When you’re trying to lose fat, it’s wise to modify your diet and be sure you’re getting some cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise, particularly when it’s of moderate to high intensity, burns fat. But, many people neglect to include strength training in their workout routines.

However, if you’ll ensure that you’re building muscle along the way, you’ll make losing weight and keeping it off much easier because your new muscle burns fat just like that cardiovascular exercise. As your fat is disappearing, you don’t have to reduce your caloric intake as much, because that new muscle is using up more calories.

Perform Compound Movements To Burn The Most Fat

Strength training can take many forms, so it’s easy to find a muscle building routine that you enjoy.

Be sure to pick exercises that target all the major muscle groups. Many people divide their workout into one for their upper body and one for the lower body; performing them on alternate days.

Your muscles always need a day of rest between workouts, so that the little tears you create when you work out can heal before you tear them again. This process is how you build muscle.

Strength training requires some sort of resistance. This can be in the form of weights, resistance bands or medicine balls. You can even lift gallon jugs filled with water or sand if you have nothing else to use. Many people find it worth the money to work with a personal trainer for creating your initial routine.

Once you know the exercises you need to perform, you can do them on your own, perhaps even at home. Books and websites are also helpful in creating the right strength training routine. Just be sure to write down the workout so that you can follow it each time.

As your fitness improves you’ll need to increase weight/reps to continue to improve. Keep on building that muscle and remember: muscle burns fat.