Can strength training increase basal metabolic rate?

The answer is yes, but the extent of the improvement is far less exaggerated than what is reported online. There are also great differences between different individuals. The academic community has always had different conclusions on the specific improvement threshold.

Last year I took care of a female student who had just graduated. She was 163cm tall, with an initial weight of 102 pounds and a body fat rate of 28%. The basal metabolism measured by the physical meter was about 1280 kcal. She had been relying on dieting to lose weight, and it was easy to regain weight if she ate less. Later, she changed to strength training three times a week. I focused on compound movements such as squatting, pushing, and pulling. I practiced for an hour each time. I did not cut off carbs deliberately. I just replaced the milk tea I often drank with sugar-free tea. After 3 months, my body fat dropped to 22%, and my muscle mass increased by about 4 pounds. The basal metabolism was measured again and reached 1370 kcal. The actual increase was 90 kcal. The principle is actually very simple. Muscles are active tissues that need to continuously consume energy to maintain. The current academic consensus is that skeletal muscle consumes about 13 kcal per kilogram per day in the resting state, while adipose tissue only consumes about 2 kcal per kilogram per day. The resting consumption of muscle is more than 6 times that of fat at the same weight. The process of muscle gain will naturally increase the basal metabolism.

But don't be too quick to rejoice, many people have more misunderstandings about this conclusion than the conclusion itself. The most common thing is to regard excessive oxygen consumption after strength training (also known as EPOC) as an increase in basal metabolism. In fact, EPOC is only a temporary consumption caused by the body's recovery after exercise. It can last for more than ten hours at most. Ordinary people can burn dozens to more than a hundred calories after one exercise. It is completely different from a steadily improved basal metabolism. The saying on the Internet that "one exercise can increase your strength metabolism for 3 days" is purely a stolen concept.

There is also controversy about the extent of improvement. Research on senior trainers shows that when muscle mass grows close to the genetic ceiling of an individual, the increase in basal metabolism brought by each additional kilogram of muscle will even be less than 10 calories, which is almost negligible. This is why many veterans who have been practicing for three to five years will not feel as good as "eating a little more and not getting fat" when they first started training. After all, the marginal benefit of muscle growth is diminishing.

Many people also complain that they have been practicing strength training for more than half a year, but their metabolism has not increased at all, but they have gained weight. I have met such a boy before. He goes to the gym on time three times a week, and his training intensity is enough. However, after every training, he takes his friends to barbecue and drink cold beer. In three months, his muscles have increased by 3%. Jin, the fat has increased by 8 pounds, and the basal metabolism has actually increased by a few dozen, but the body fat is higher and the whole person looks rounder. He also complained that training to increase metabolism is a lie. In fact, the training is useless. He has already filled up the space for metabolic improvement by eating more. If you hold a 2 kilogram dumbbell and shake it for half an hour every time you go to the gym, and you don't even feel sore or bloated, then your muscles will not get any growth stimulation, and your metabolism will certainly not change. This is not because the strength training is useless, but because you have not practiced well.

It sounds like you have replaced your old mobile phone with a new chip that consumes slightly more power. Daily standby can consume 10% more power every day. If you still plug in the fast charger every day, the battery will definitely be fuller and fuller. In turn, if you control the input heat, the extra power consumption can slowly help you clear away excess fat inventory. Of course, there is no need to overestimate the role of this. If your only purpose of practicing strength training is to increase your metabolism and lose weight while lying down, you will most likely be disappointed. At most, it will give you more room for error by eating hot pot occasionally, and it will also help you lose less muscle when losing weight and prevent your metabolism from getting lower as you lose weight. If you really want to control your weight, you still have to pay attention to both eating and training.