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Pumping
Iron Helps Women
With the Battle of the Bulge
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Women gearing up to wage war on fat may
want to arm themselves with a set of weights in addition to a
pair of running shoes, a new study suggests.
According
to the researchers, resistance training burns calories for at
least one hour after a workout. Aerobic exercise such as jogging
burns more calories during the workout but boosts metabolism for
less than one hour afterward.
``To get the
maximum benefit, women need a combination of cardiovascular workouts
and resistance training,'' Carol A. Binzen, an exercise physiologist
at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a
prepared statement.
The study
included 12 women aged 24 to 34 years who regularly lifted weights
but were ``not super fitness enthusiasts,'' Binzen explained.
On one day, the women performed a 45-minute session of weight
training that targeted major muscle groups including the chest,
shoulders, legs, upper back, biceps and triceps. On another day,
the women did not do any resistance training and watched a movie.
Comparisons
of the number of calories women burned revealed that, on average,
women burned 155 calories up to 2 hours after weight training
and 50 calories while watching a movie. The findings are published
in the June issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
``The results
from this study suggest that an acute bout of a typical resistance
exercise session also facilitates a small increase in fat burning
in moderately trained, young women,'' the authors conclude.
Binzen and
colleagues suggest that the effects may be even more pronounced
in previously sedentary women who take up resistance training,
but stress that all women should check with their doctor before
beginning an exercise program.
Besides boosting
metabolism, resistance training can increase bone density and
muscle mass, thereby protecting against the bone-thinning disease
osteoporosis.
SOURCE:
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2001;33:932-938.
Reference
Source 89
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