Utilising weight and functional training for body composition
When it comes to getting the body you’ve always dreamed of, it can be a daunting journey to get started on. Everywhere you look there are different diets, a plethora of different tips and theories and many suggestions on how you should train to fulfil your goals. Here at ENZED fitness, we want to take your training back to the basics with functional training and weight training, both of which decrease stress, improve your body composition, increase performance, improve your energy levels, promote sleep and prepare your body better for day to day life.
Utilising weight and functional training for body composition
Weight training involves physical training with the use of weights to increase strength and muscle definition. Functional training is closely tied with weight training and utilises training the body for activities that are performed in day to day life. Many people are misled when it comes to understanding these types of training and often believe that they are only effective forms of training when the goal is to build muscle. This commonly discussed idea isn’t quite the full truth and here’s why:
Increased calorie burn
When comparing weight training to cardio training such as running, walking and swimming, at a first glance it may appear that the cardio based exercised burn more calories. Whilst this is mostly true during the workout itself, weight and functional training have been shown to continue to burn calorie post training for much longer than cardio based training. This phenomenon occurs because the working muscles after a weight’s sessions require more oxygen to return to their post training state. This results in more muscle break down and a higher energy demand i.e. calorie burn. Increased calorie burn = increased fat loss which is great for weight loss or improving your body composition.
Increased muscle for fat loss
When it comes to body composition, increased muscle mass results in increased fat loss. This occurs because muscle is more metabolically active than fit tissue is, meaning over the course of the day muscle burns more calories than your fat tissue. Weight and functional training are highly effective in increasing lean muscle mass and hence, increasing your overall daily calorie expenditure. Strength training encourages greater muscle break down than other types of training resulting in increased muscle growth as muscles health stronger and bigger than they were before.
Toning / shaping
When it comes to our workout goals, most of us wish to increase our muscle (or at least maintain it) whilst reducing our body fat. This process is often given the term ‘toning’ or ‘shaping’ in the fitness community and results when our body composition changes. We have already discussed above how weight training and functional training work to increase our calorie expenditure as well as improve our muscle definition and mass. This makes these types of training perfect when it comes to toning and shaping pursuits.
Whether you’re aiming for weight loss, muscle gain, toning or generalised health and fitness, weight and functional training has something for everyone. ENZED fitness endeavours to show you how you can incorporate these styles of training into your workout routines to help you reach your goals. See our next article for the ultimate weight and functional training workout split.
Links for further reading
This article explores how functional training increases metabolic rate and calorie burn for up to 48hrs post training:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2051&context=ijes
This article breaks down the concept of post training oxygen consumption in aerobic exercise to show how more intense work outs utilise more calories post training:
