Strength-training Exercises for Weight Loss Back

Even though strength training alone doesn’t have fast results, don’t ignore weight training or strength training when losing weight. These training sessions can fire up your metabolism. And because they build lean muscle mass, you’ll burn more calories during exercise and at rest, according to Stephanie Blozy, an exercise science expert and the owner of Fleet Feet in West Hartford, Connecticut. Great weight and strength-training exercises to help you lose weight include:

Kettlebell swings

This full-body, demanding workout will amp up your heart rate while increasing your arm and leg strength and helping you develop a strong core, explains Blozy.

Complete a two-handed kettlebell swing for 20 seconds.
Rest for 8 seconds.
Repeat 8 sets.
Blozy recommends lifting faster to boost your heart rate even more and have a more cardio-intense workout.

Pushups

Pushups are an excellent exercise for stabilizing the core, building upper body strength, and increasing muscle mass in your arms.

If you’re a beginner, start with 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between each set. Gradually increase your number of reps as your strength improves.

Lunges

“I love the options lunges provide because you can do them forward, backward, weighted, and unweighted,” says Blozy. “For the weighted version, hold a kettlebell or weight plate next to your chest, or make it even more challenging and lift the weight overhead.”

Complete 1 set of 8 to 12 lunges per leg.

Step-ups

Blozy also recommends step-ups as another great exercise to strengthen the legs while stabilizing your core and lower back muscles. “Start with a small step height (6 to 12 inches) and then progress to a higher height, like 24 to 30 inches.”

Complete 5 sets of 5 to 10 reps per side.

Want to make it challenging? Add weight by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell next to your chest or hold one in each hand, Blozy says. “Not only will your quads burn, but your heartrate will accelerate and sweat will pour.”

Deadlifts

Blozy also suggests deadlifts as an exercise to build muscles in both the lower and upper body, while reducing fat. She encourages lightening the load to 50 to 70 percent of your max, and increasing the reps so it’ll feel more like cardio than weight training.

Complete 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.