Add Weight to Lose Weight

Add weights to your workouts, and you’ll lose more. Research shows that strength training speeds up metabolism, which means you’ll burn more calories even at rest. One study found that participants who pumped iron 2 out of their 5 workout days shed more pounds than those who did aerobic activity every day.

Trim down while bulking up with these muscle-building strategies:

Fatigue muscles, don’t destroy them. Reps and weight are important, but so is technique. Your last rep should look like your first, except slower. If you struggle to maintain form, you need less weight. If you don’t struggle at all, you need more.

Target all muscle groups in a week. Focus on upper body one workout, lower the next. Or try these full-body exercises:

Squat with front sweep: Holding a medicine ball, stand with feet hip-width apart. Slowly lower into a squat, keeping your knees behind the toes, and touch the ball to the ground. Push down into the ground with your heels to stand up, raising the ball over your head in a controlled motion.

Deadlifts with row: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Holding dumbbell weights in each hand, lean over and slowly lower weights to the ground, bending slightly at the knees. Tighten your gluts and hamstrings as you pull back to your starting position, then contract your lats (mid-back section) and row back the weights.