Exercise - and not only a proper diet - is essential for people who want to lose weight, according to Thomas Haab, a sport scientist at the BSA Academy in Saarbruecken, a German higher education institution focusing on health management and illness prevention.
"The duration and intensity are what matter most," he said, pointing out that exercise burned extra calories. What is more, the body's elevated energy metabolism after a workout promotes weight loss, too, "because more calories are burned and hence less surplus energy is stored in fat tissue."
This "afterburn" occurs after strength or endurance training of sufficient intensity, Haab remarked. Although energy metabolism remains elevated up to 24 hours after both kinds of training, "the effect is greater after strength training," he said.
During strength training, more calories are burned when the particular exercises are done in several sets each rather than circuit training - i.e. various exercises of one set each. For leisure athletes, it is irrelevant whether endurance training precedes or follows strength training.
In combination with an appropriate diet, Haab advised would-be weight losers who opt for strength-training exercises using machine weights to do three sets of eight to 12 repetitions each.