The combination of weight training, aerobic exercise and sound eating habits have shown to be the most effective for fat loss and toning. Toning is simply the simultaneous decrease of fat and restoration of muscle. 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 sound eating habits can reverse this process.
Weight training can also increase the metabolic rate a second way.
It restores muscle tissue that had been lost over the years from a sedentary modern life-style, thus improving the aesthetics of the body by accentuating its curves and shape. Furthermore, one pound of muscle burns approximately 30-50 Calories per day. In contrast, a pound of fat only burns about 3 Calories per day. This may not seem significant considering one pound of fat contains 3500 Calories. Although, over the coarse of years, it adds up.