Generally, many people will do cardio exercises and forget all about weight training exercises when it comes to burning fat. A lot of trainers swear that aerobic exercises burn off fat and weightlifting is only used to build muscle. This isnt entirely correct, however, because the more muscle mass one builds, the more one will burn fat calories, even at rest. There is a growing trend from cardiovascular to weight training exercises.

According to a study by the Fitness Products Council and Sporting Goods Manufacturers, the number of people lifting free weights has increased 76 percent in the past decade. Currently, weightlifting is among the most popular sports in North America. This change is for the best because cardiovascular activity combined with weight training will result in much more effective fat loss. Cardiovascular exercises will raise muscle metabolism during the activity and for a short time after the exercise session. (see http://newweightlossreview.com/exercise-site-reviewed.html)

On the other hand, weight lifting exercises, will raise your muscle metabolism during the exercise session, and for a long time after the exercise session. Some high intensity trainers have even seen their metabolism rise for several days following their training session. Performing adequate weight training exercises should limit your repetitions anywhere from 1 to 20, in general. This kind of resistance on muscles will make their tissue leaner and stronger. Muscle development will occur during rest periods after resistance training is completed. This is why sufficient rest periods are essential.

Whether your goal is to tone up or build muscle, it is important to know what happens during the muscle training process. When lifting weights, muscle tissues are torn apart (at the cellular level) from the stress, and its in the recuperation period that your muscles become stronger and therefore able to support the extra stress. Usually the recuperation period required is 24 to 48 hours after the weight lifting activity.