Can strength training increase metabolism

The answer is yes, but the improvement is far less exaggerated than what is claimed on the Internet, and it is by no means a once-and-for-all "easy-to-lose physique switch."

When I first got into strength training, I believed in the saying that "every pound of muscle you gain burns 50 more calories a day." If I counted on my fingers and accumulated 10 pounds of muscle, I would be able to show off half a hot pot meal while lying down. After practicing for more than half a year, I realized that this was not the case at all. Thing - after reviewing clinical research in recent years, I found out that the daily resting consumption of each pound of muscle is only about 6 kcal. When converted to the 8 kilograms of pure muscle I gained after practicing for a year, I burned an extra 24 kcal every day while lying down, which is not even worth half a mouthful of cream cake.

It’s no wonder that many bloggers now say that “strength training to improve metabolism is a scam.” In fact, to put it bluntly, everyone’s definition of “metabolism” is fundamentally different. People who advocate the effect count the total consumption throughout the day: a 40-minute strength training session itself burns two to three hundred calories. The excess oxygen consumption after the training (also known as the "afterburn effect") can last for 12 to 24 hours, burning an additional 180 calories in bits and pieces. In addition, after training, people unconsciously move more, and before get off work, I just sit on the sofa and check my phone. Now when I have nothing to do, I get up to get a glass of water, go downstairs to throw out the trash, and even shake my legs while sitting. This kind of fragmentary consumption that is not included in exercise may add up to 300 calories. In this way, the consumption throughout the day is indeed much higher, but if you only count the resting metabolism of lying down, the improvement is really minimal.

I accompanied my sister to have her body fat removed for the past two years. She only ran and did not train at first. After losing 15 pounds, she gained weight after eating just a few mouthfuls. Later, she was advised to add hip, leg and shoulder training three times a week. She continued to lose body fat with the same amount of food. Occasionally, she stopped training for a week on business trips and did not regain the weight. She herself The most obvious change is that you don’t need to wear two layers of down jackets in winter, and you don’t get cold easily at ordinary times. In fact, after the muscle mass is increased, the resting metabolism is improved and the daily consumption is increased. Although it is not enough to show off milk tea casually, it is indeed much more stable than pure aerobic reduction.

Of course, don’t overthink this effect. If you gain a few pounds of muscle after training for half a year, then you drink three cups of milk tea every week and eat late-night snacks, the metabolic increase will definitely not be able to offset the excess calories. If you stop training for two or three months, the muscle mass will slowly fall back, and the resting metabolic bonus you saved before will also disappear. To put it bluntly, muscles are like "long-lasting small boilers" in your body. Adding two more coals can indeed keep the fire burning brighter, but if you keep pouring cold water and piling wet firewood into it, no matter how strong the fire is, it will be extinguished.