Can strength training increase basal metabolic rate?

As a fitness coach who has practiced strength for 6 years and has coached dozens of ordinary enthusiasts, based on the current research consensus on exercise physiology, there is no black-and-white answer to this question - people who train regularly for a long time, consume sufficient protein, and have indeed achieved muscle mass growth will have a small increase in basal metabolic rate, but the magnitude is far less exaggerated than what marketing claims. This is also the core reason for the fight between different opinions.

Many naysayers say that "strength training to increase metabolism is an IQ tax", but this is actually not groundless. It has long been measured in exercise physiology that each kilogram of muscle consumes about 13 kcal per day in the resting state, which is not at all the "one kilogram of muscle burns 50 more kcal per day" spread on the Internet. An average healthy man can only gain 3-4 kilograms of pure muscle after practicing hard for a year, and women can only gain 2-3 kilograms. Calculated, the basal metabolic rate will burn an additional 30-50 calories per day, which is about the same amount as a mouthful of milk tea. No wonder some people think that this increase can be ignored.

Last year, I took care of a young girl who had just graduated. She was 160cm tall, had an initial weight of 49kg, and had a body fat of 27%. Her basal metabolic rate measured by a physical tester was 1180 kcal. At that time, she was afraid of getting fat even when she drank a cup of milk tea, and she always said that she had a "fat-prone physique". Later, I followed strength training three times a week. I usually ensured a protein intake of 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight, and did not diet deliberately. Eight months later, my weight was still 49 kilograms, my body fat dropped to 20%, and my muscles grew a full 2.8 kilograms. When I tested again, my basal metabolism had reached 1260 kcal, an increase of 80 kcal. Do you think this is too much? It does not seem like much, but it is a "passive consumption" that occurs every day. In one year, it is equivalent to running 15 more 5 kilometers. It is also harder to save calories than before when going out to eat hot pot with friends.

Many people feel that their metabolism has not increased after practicing for more than half a year. It is most likely that they have not met the premise: either they are training to fish, the weight and capacity are not in place, and the muscles have not grown at all.； Either you don't eat enough protein, and you don't have the raw materials to repair your muscles after training, so you lose muscle. ； Some people count the "afterburn effect" (excessive oxygen consumption) after strength training as an increase in basal metabolism. In fact, it is only an additional consumption in a few hours after training. It only burns an extra 100 calories at most. It is not considered a basal metabolism. If you don't feel "burning fat while lying down" for a long time, you naturally feel that you have been cheated.

To be honest, if you go for "you can lose weight lying down by practicing strength", you will most likely be disappointed. But if you combine the improvement in basal metabolism and the increase in daily activities and exercise consumption due to high muscle mass, it is not difficult to consume 150-200 more calories in a day than people of the same weight. Over time, you will have a lot more room for food, and you will not feel guilty about everything you eat.