I was at a Zumba class yesterday and chatting with the only other guy there. He was asking about my routine, how many calories I eat, how many I burn, etc. When I mentioned weight lifting as a contributor to weight loss he sort of raised an eyebrow and said, “That helps, huh?”

I’ve read a lot of books on fitness in general and dozen or so on weight lifting of one kind or another. The one thing that’s consistent is that no one seems to agree with anyone else. One expert says weight lifting is the devil, another one says it’s better than spending all your time in a hamster wheel (aka “the dishonor of aerobics“).

I lift weights for two reasons.

Functional Muscle

I have to get through airports carrying a heavy backpack. If I don’t stay strong, by the time I get through security and to my gate I’m pouring sweat. Since I’d rather not have to carry a hand towel with me everywhere I go, I keep up the conditioning so the extra weight doesn’t drive my heart rate up.

When I get into the rental car, I like to put my backpack in the passenger seat so I have easy access to my stuff. Without a healthy diet of lateral raises and shoulder presses I have a hard time with that particular maneuver.

Finally, I’d have to say the squats and lunges keep me taking the stairs without any fuss.

More Calories Burned

Without the muscle it would be tougher to keep the per-day calorie burn high. When I’ve hit the gym and done a Zumba class I can get 4100-4200 calories burned in a day. Without any exercise, I hover right around 3300. That means that when I’m on the road missing workouts I need to keep my intake in the 2800 ballpark if I want that 500 calorie deficit. Some trips I’ll come away with a loss, others I’ll maintain. It beats sliding backwards.

All that being said, weight lifting as an activity burns fewer calories than, say, a half hour on the treadmill at a brisk pace. For me, that is. I put in work, but I’m not dashing from one lift to the next without any rest. The real payoff of weight lifting is the higher calorie burn the other 23 hours you’re not in the gym.