If you’re not doing any cardio exercise but continue to strength train with weights, then you should see results, although not as quickly as if you incorporate cardio training with your exercise program. Strength training is extremely important to build a lean body and drop fat and cardio training is important to burn calories and residual lactic acid which accumulates during strength training.
Studies have estimated that for each pound of muscle that you add to your body, you burn an additional 35 to 50 calories per day. So, an extra 10 pounds of muscle will burn approximately 350 to 500 calories a day, or an extra pound of fat every 7 to 10 days, without making any other changes. But, by incorporating cardio training as part of your normal exercise routine, you will yield higher caloric losses and a more rapid fat loss. In another study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active ‘ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.
Remember to always incorporate some type of cardio training between your strength training days to see quicker results.
The combination of weight training, aerobic exercise and good eating habits have shown to be the most effective for fat loss and toning. Toning is simply the restoration of muscle and the simultaneous decrease of fat. Studies conducted by Harvard University have determined that every year after the age of 25, the average American gains one pound of body weight, yet loses one third to one half pound of muscle. Consequently, our resting metabolism decreases approximately one half of a percent every year. Proper exercise and good eating habits can reverse this process.