Muscle burns fat. You could blame it on habit or natural abilities, but there’s often a split between weight lifters and cardio addicts. While some prefer to grunt it out under heavy objects, you may prefer to cover some distance, amp up your heart rate, and move — free of any excess weight. Cardio can be addictive and exhilarating. It burns a hefty number of calories, increases your metabolism, and releases a dose of “feel good” hormones. It’s a great way to burn fat and lose weight, but after months of continual training, even the biggest cardio fan is sure to feel the lag. Take the hint and switch things up. If you want to keep your body healthy and lose weight it’s vital that you pepper in some strength training and keep an eye on your diet. This is why.
Muscle actually burns fat, so the more lean muscle you put on, the less fat you will have. Muscle serves as the body’s calorie-burning powerhouse. It can impact your basal metabolic rate or BMR, which determines how many calories you burn if you just lay in bed all day and did nothing. The more muscle you have the higher this rate will be and the more calories your body will burn by just keeping you alive.
