Why Should You Weight Train?

Resistance training burns calories for more than an hour after a workout and may be as important as aerobic exercise for women in the fight against fat, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins and Arizona State Universities. The study found that after women did a series of resistance exercises involving weights, their bodies' energy expenditure was raised for as long as two hours after the workout.

Typically, exercises such as jogging or aerobics burn more calories during the workout but increase metabolism for less than an hour afterward.

*These results were published in the June issue of Medicine, Science Sports and Exercise, a journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Stephanie Oakes is a fitness correspondent for Discovery Health Channel, a contributing editor for USA Weekend Magazine and the LA Times, and appears on NBC's 'Today in New York'. She can be reached at soakes@beststuff.com.