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Weight Training for Fat Loss

High-intensity interval training and high-intensity resistance training are most effective at elevating both short and long-term after-burn. The reason HIIT-type exercises are thought to be more effective than steady-state endurance exercise is because of the increased fatigue associated with HIIT. This fatigue leads to more oxygen and energy required over a prolonged period to repair damaged muscle and replenish depleted energy stores. As such, resistance exercise is an effective way to lose excess fat due to the high-calorie cost of the actual training session, and the “after-burn effect.”

LONG-TERM FAT LOSS

Resistance training can also be effective for long-term weight control, too. This is because muscle size plays a major role in determining the resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is how many calories your body requires to function at rest. Resting metabolic rate accounts for 60-75% of total energy expenditure in non-exercising people, and fat is the body’s preferred energy source at rest.

Increasing muscle size through resistance training increases RMR, thereby increasing or sustaining fat loss over time. A review of 18 studies found that resistance training was effective at increasing resting metabolic rate, whereas aerobic exercise and combined aerobic and resistance exercise was not as effective. However, it’s also important to control calorie intake in order to lose fat and sustain fat loss.

Resistance training exercises should engage the largest muscle groups, use whole body exercises performed standing, and should involve two or more joints. All of these make the bodywork harder, thereby increasing the amount of muscle and therefore RMR. An effective resistance training program should combine intensity, volume (number of exercises and sets), and progression (increasing both as you get stronger). The intensity should be high enough that you feel challenged during your workout.

The most effective way of doing this is by using the repetition maximum method. For the purpose of fat loss, this should be performing between six and ten repetitions of an exercise with a resistance that results in fatigue, so that you cannot comfortably do another full repetition after the last one. Three to four sets, two or three times a week for each muscle group is recommended.

The repetition maximum method also ensures progression, because the stronger you get, the more you will need to increase resistance or load to cause fatigue by the tenth repetition. Progression can be achieved by increasing the resistance or intensity so that fatigue occurs after performing fewer repetitions, say eight or six.

Resistance training helps with excess fat loss by increasing both after-burn after exercise, and by increasing muscle size, thereby increasing the number of calories we burn at rest. Combining it with a healthy diet will only further increase the loss of excess body fat – and may also provide other positive health benefits.

If you’d like to find out how we can help you torch those pounds you’ve added over the last 6 months, please schedule a FREE INTRO at either of our 2 locations: Downtown Jersey City and Journal Square.  We use a combination of all the methods mentioned above (interval style training, weight training and nutrition coaching) to help our members achieve their body composition goals and we measure results through workout tracking and InBody testing.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by David R Clark, Carl Langan-Evans & Robert M. Erskine, at Liverpool John Moores University. Read the original article here.

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