Cardio exercises, such as running, walking, cycling, skipping and swimming, improve the health of cardiovascular organs and reduce the risk of dying from heart attacks and strokes. However, when it comes to losing weight, muscle mass training stands out as a better and faster option.

Why? That’s because muscle mass training helps to burn calories not only during workout but also during physical inactivity. The higher muscle content that results from the workout needs more calories than fat for survival. As a result, the body’s metabolism rate rises to provide the increased amount of energy to these muscles. In fact, the metabolism rate can rise up to 5 per cent. This high metabolism rate is responsible for burning fat to release energy throughout the whole day. In addition, muscle mass training initiates changes in the body, such as preventing resistance to insulin. This helps to burn fat in the abdominal region.

A person engaging in muscle mass training may gain weight slightly in the beginning since muscles weigh more than fat. However, as more and more fat is burned, the body will start to lose weight. Usually, a loss in 2 pounds is the maximum weight than can be lost safely per week.