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Weight Training For Fat Loss: The Holy
Trinity
By
Eugene Thong
CSCS
................................................................................
 Of course, everyone
knows you should weight train if you’re trying to lose fat. It’s vital,
for reasons Mike outlined
in
adding muscle to lose weight. But there’s a problem here.
If you’ve spent any
time pursuing the fine art of losing weight, then you know that there’s
thousands and thousands of workout programs out there.
So which program do
you use?
And why do all the
programs look so different?
How come this one says
I have to work out 5 days a week with 3 different exercises for each
body part, this one says I need to lift a weight so heavy I couldn’t move
it with a forklift, and this one says if I don’t lift dumbbells while
standing on a wobbly ball, my arms will eventually fall off?
The answer:
Context, or “Why are you doing what you do?” Each of these programs is
designed with a specific goal in mind. Seeing as how you’re
reading this site, I’d say your goal is
weight loss – so let’s
explore the factors most important to a weight training program designed
to maximize fat loss.
I call them The Holy
Trinity, but if that offends you, you can simply look at them as the
Three Integral Elements of an Exercise Program Directed Towards Fat Loss
(you now understand why I shortened it to “The Holy Trinity”).
They are:
1)
Work multiple
muscle groups at once.
2)
Take little rest between sets.
3)
Use the twin principles of intensity and progression to maximize
results.
Let’s explore each one
in-depth. Of course, if you couldn’t care less about the “why” and just
want to get started on an actual program, our primer on strength
training (Weight
Training 101) is just the place you want to go.
Element one:
Work multiple muscle groups at once.
Now hear this: From
this point on, biceps curls are out. You are hereby forbidden from doing
hip abduction and adduction (the “inner and outer thigh” machines).
Likewise for triceps extensions, calf raises, or any other exercise that
you’re working only one muscle group with.
Why? Because they
are not efficient uses of your time.
Your goal (weight
loss) is hastened by you getting the biggest bang for your buck. By
working multiple muscle groups at once, you increase energy expenditure
during the workout, since more muscles are working simultaneously. Also,
you use more weight in exercises that involve multiple muscle groups,
which results in greater muscle stimulus.
More stimulus = more
muscle built – definitely the scenario we want!
So, select exercises
that involve more than one or two muscle groups. Multi-joint exercises
are the best ones to choose (squat, deadlift, bench press, rows, etc.).
Element two:
Take little rest between sets.
I alluded to this
facet in the Parkinson’s Law article, but let me expand on it here. For
fat loss purposes, you should take as little rest between sets as
possible. The reason for this rapid-fire stream of exercise is simple:
We’re revving up
your engines!
Think of your muscles
as your internal engine – the harder they work in a shorter span of
time, the “hotter” your engines will get (akin to the engine in your
car, after you floor the accelerator).
What we’re doing is
increasing the metabolic output of your muscles by forcing them to burn
more substrates for energy, since the energy demands of the exercise are
greater. This rise in metabolic output is sustained throughout the
workout, since you don’t allow your muscles to take a break, and even
lingers after the workout (one study from Ohio University found that
this rise in metabolism lasts as long as 38 hours post-exercise).
It's called EPOC
(excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and we utilize this effect in
our
interval workouts as well.
Take less rest, burn
more calories, both during the exercise and after. It's
as simple as that.
Element three:
Use the twin principles of intensity and progression to maximize results
Some clarification is
in order here. When I say intensity, what I'm referring to is
the load, i.e., the amount of weight you're lifting. In general
terms, the heavier the load you use (relative to your maximum capacity -
100%), the greater amounts of muscle you'll build.
Building muscle is the
name of the game here, since that added muscle will only help you to
lose body fat by increasing your resting metabolic levels (the amount of
energy you burn at rest).
Additionally, when
dieting, your body will indiscriminately burn all kinds of tissues for
energy, including fat (which we want to burn) and muscle (which we don't
want to burn). Unless, of course, you're strength training. When you
strength train, you send a message to your body that muscle tissue is
"off-limits" for energy usage, so it goes to fat and carbohydrate for
energy.
So
how does this apply to your programs?
Easy - use the
heaviest weights you can handle with impeccable form. By doing so, you
simulate the maximal amount of muscle fibers possible.
But we can't look at
our workouts in a vacuum. After all, it's not like you intend to do
only one workout ever. As you proceed through your workouts, you must
see progression - in other words, your weights should be getting
heavier over time and your work capacity should be increasing.
Progression is simple
to employ in your workouts; just raise the weights by a small increment
every time you hit your repetition goals. Simple to employ doesn't mean
easy to do, and if there's one main failing in most trainee's programs,
it's that they never, ever change. And since their programs never
change, their bodies never change either!
No
progression, no results
Are you running around
in circles? Feel like you just can't go it your own?
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About the Author:
Eugene Thong, CSCS, was born a weak, skinny,
bespectacled child. Now, thanks to a steady diet of martial arts,
scientific inquiry, and heavy compound movements, he's no longer weak.
His scientific bent, Zen-like demeanor, and efficient but intense
methods have made him one of New York's most sought-after personal
trainers.
 When
not helping clients cultivate their own inner 6-packs, Eugene can be found
arm barring opponents at Renzo Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy or
sailing through the air on his snowboard. Read Eugene's semi-weekly musings
on exercise, fitness, and fat loss
at his blog
Eugene is Mike's co-author of The Black Book of Secrets- The Bible of
Effective Weight Loss.
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