Whether you’re looking to improve your overall health or simply slim down for summer, burning off excess fat can be quite challenging.

In addition to diet and exercise, numerous other factors can influence weight and fat loss.

Luckily, there are plenty of simple steps you can take to increase fat burning, quickly and easily.

Strength training is a type of exercise that requires you to contract your muscles against resistance. It builds muscle mass and increases strength.

Most commonly, strength training involves lifting weights to gain muscle over time.

Research has found strength training to have multiple health benefits, especially when it comes to burning fat.

In one study, strength training reduced visceral fat in 78 people with metabolic syndrome. Visceral fat is a type of dangerous fat that surrounds the organs in the belly.

Another study showed that 12 weeks of strength training paired with aerobic exercise was more effective at reducing body fat and belly fat than aerobic exercise alone.

Resistance training may also help preserve fat-free mass, which can increase the number of calories your body burns at rest.

According to one review, 10 weeks of resistance training could help increase calories burned at rest by 7% and may reduce fat weight by 4 pounds (1.8 kg).

Doing body-weight exercises, lifting weights or using gym equipment are a few easy ways to get started with strength training.

Strength training has been shown to increase resting energy expenditure and reduce belly fat, especially when combined with aerobic exercise.