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Weight-bearing activities that work against gravity — aerobic activities like walking, running, cross-country skiing, dancing, skating and stair-climbing — use proportionately more calories at a given level of effort than swimming, cycling or water aerobics.

The more muscle groups involved in your activities, the more calories you are likely to burn. That is why working out against gravity uses more calories than non-weight-bearing activities. On the other hand, because activities like swimming put less stress on weight-bearing joints, many people can do them for longer periods, making up for the lower caloric burn.

If your workout includes hills (real ones or on exercise equipment), you will use more calories per minute than doing the same activity on level ground. But if you engage in resistance exercises — working out with weights or on machines that strengthen various muscle groups — you may gain several pounds of muscle that partly offset the loss of body fat.

In other words, you may lose fewer pounds than if you expended the same number of calories on an aerobic activity (cardio) like brisk walking or swimming, but you will be stronger and better toned. With greater muscle mass, your basic metabolic rate will rise and you will burn more calories all day and night. And since muscle holds less water and takes up less room than the equivalent weight of fat, by shedding fat and gaining muscle you can lose inches and sizes without losing actual pounds on the scale.

Keep in mind, though, that the time spent doing resistance exercise burns fewer calories than if the same time were spent on aerobic activities (cardio).

If you have a fitness question, send them to Matt!

Physical Fitness consists of five basic components which involve the heart, lungs, strength, endurance, and flexibility.

1. Cardiorespiratory or “Cardio”

The ability to do moderately strenuous activity over a period of time. It reflects how well your heart and lungs work together to supply oxygen to your body during exertion and exercise.

2. Muscular Endurance

The ability to hold a particular position for a sustained period of time or repeat a movement many times. An example of this would be performing a particular exercise 20 to 30 times consecutively without stopping.

3. Muscular Strength

The ability to exert maximum force, such as lifting the heaviest weight one time. It is possible to have muscular strength in one area, say your arms, while lacking strength in another area, such as your legs. Find that happy medium.

4. Flexibility

The ability to move a joint through its full range of motion; the elasticity of the muscle. This is how limber or supple you are.

5. Body Composition

The proportion of fat in your body compared to your bone and muscle. It does not refer to your weight in pounds or your figure.

See all of Matt’s Fitness Tips.