Motivating Scientific Studies

Westcott, W., Fitness Management. Nov., 1991.

The website http://www.exrx.net has a ton of valuable information on it. The most interesting parts of the site are the studies posted. 

One such study found that one can lose weight, burn fat and still gain lean mass (muscle) while dieting and lifting weights.

Yet, this study, is my favorite. It was a study done with 72 overweight individuals placed in two groups. One group did 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary cycle while the other group did 15 minutes on the cycle plus 15 minutes weight lifting. The group that did weight lifting lost a great deal of more weight than the other group. Not only that, the weight lifting group burned more fat and gained more muscle. 

I enjoy these studies because they are a reminder that fat loss and muscle gain (mainly fat loss) are what people who are embarking on a weight loss journey are really looking for. Your weight is just a measurement, fat loss and muscle gain are the real results. It is important to not just have a program that focuses on a dropping scale weight, but also one that will burn fat and keep muscle stabilized or increasing.