Study disputes an exercise belief

By Kat Carney

CNN Headline News

Friday, January 9, 2004 Posted: 8:58 AM EST (1358 GMT)

link to article

(CNN) -- How many of us have heard that lifting weights helps to burn more calories in hours "after" we've left the gym?

Well, a small study of men at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center says, "It just ain't so."

The lead author, however, says this shouldn't derail any trips to the gym because the average exerciser can burn between 200 to 300 calories "during" a weight training session, as well as, strengthen bones and muscle.

But according to the new research, there is no "after-burn effect" from weight training, and they say that the concept has been, "oversold," as only elite athletes can train at an intensity needed to create a post weight workout calorie deficit.

Dr. Christopher Melby, from the Department Of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, disputes the new research by pointing to "quite a few studies" that indicate that there "is" an after-burn effect following resistance exercise.

One issue that isn't in dispute when it comes to exercise is that it's never too late to start exercising.

Another study published in the journal of the American Geriatrics Society says that even 80-year-olds can improve their health by exercising.

And it doesn't take that much. The study found that aerobic exercise just a couple times a week is enough for people 80 and older to show improvements in blood pressure.

By the way, the elderly participants weren't marathon runners to begin with. They were all members of a retirement home and classified as "sedentary," according to the researchers. Several participants also had heart disease and high blood pressure.

During the study, participants walked on a treadmill or rode a stationary bike two or three times a week for about 20 minutes, and that was enough to improve their health.

How 'bout that ... working out at the age of 80.

I've never read all that much about an 'after-burn effect' from weight training. What I have read in a number of places is that if you do weight training and increase your muscle mass, then your body will burn more calories to support the muscle. Muscle uses more calories than fat. As an additional plus, muscle takes up less space than fat, so you will lose inches as well.

I still remember back when I was a teenager (long, long ago), how upset my mother was when she discovered that though I weighed some 15 or 20 pounds more than her, I could wear the same size she did. I was active then, and trim.

Unfortunately, it's only about 10 calories per day per pound of muscle -- about what one will burn in less than a minute of vigorous cardio exercise. Weight training is definitely a Good Thing, but not because adding muscle burns that many more calories.