In this post, we shall discuss the 9 major principles in weight training, when fat loss is the main target. This works equally for men and women.

Have you gained fat recently? You may have gained an unwanted belly tyre if you are a man. Maybe you have developed some ugly buttock and thigh fat, if you are a woman. Look around you, several people around you are complaining the same at middle age.

Don’t worry , this is definitely reversible. If you’ve gained weight with belly or thigh fat deposition, you should get it investigated too. Visit a doctor and complete the workup. You may find deranged lipid profile (higher LDL, VLDL, cholesterol or triglycerides etc) or even high fasting insulin or post Prandial sugar. Still don’t worry. Continue medications but read below for permanent solution.

 

Besides medicines, PROPER DIET and PROPER EXERCISES (note the term ‘proper’) will actually help you. If you don’t know the power of these two, (proper diet and exercise) you are in real trouble. These tends to worsen with age and can destroy you as you age.

 

Weight training is the key to your permanent long term health besides proper diet. Diet is a big issue and needs a separate post. Let us discuss the details on strength training only for fat loss and good health, that too permanently.

 

Do you think low intensity cardio or aerobics is the best way to go for fat loss or getting healthy? Well, you are only partially correct. I am not talking about HIIT (high intensity interval training). Have you seen fat people walking endlessly on a treadmill, cycling in gym or trudging along in the morning. They walk or jog but their belly bump (men) or pelvic/thigh fat (women) stays forever with them!

Cardio has lots of benefits, I shall discuss it another day, in a separate post.

But for permanent fat loss and reversing lifestyle diseases weight training is the way to go. But curling 10 lb dumbbells or lateral raise of those small pink dumbbells will not help you. Also looking at mirror, chatting with gym buddies or being engaged for long with mobile between sets, is not going to help at all.

So how to lift weight to optimize fat loss and be permanently fit and healthy? Let us discuss it here. Grab a cup of coffee and read on…

 

1) Go heavy or go home:

This is a common gym saying. But this is the crux of the game. If you lift light for several reps, you are doing cardio type of strength training. That is useless and you are not getting the benefits of heavy weight training.  Remember we recommend gym to lift heavy shit and not to do endless cardio for weight loss.

 

As you lift those pink dumbbells or use those fancy machines for few pounds, you are not challenging your body. Remember that the principle of weight loss is not by calorie burn, it is by forcing you in an anabolic environment.

 

For calorie counting, diet and aerobics are fine. But heavy squats or deadlifts for 6 – 8 REPS max releases lots of testosterone/ growth hormones. It also skyrockets your metabolism and make your body ultra-sensitive to insulin. This can burn a lot of fat, even when you are resting.

 

The afterburn of heavy weight training continues upto 48 hours. The body also handles carbs very well and you can eat carbs without fear of getting dumped as fat. Also the muscles you build, improves your metabolism even more. You can never get these benefits by targeting calorie burn with walking or slow jogging.

 

So forget the treadmill or the cycle. Wear the belt, load up the bar and lift all out. Even for women, the same is true.

 

2) Do big compound moves:

For best results of fat loss you need the big moves like squat, Deadlift and bench press. These work the big muscles and more than one joint of the body.

 

Squats works the quads,  glutes, hamstrings and the calf muscles. That is why it is called the king of all exercises. There is hardly any other workout, better for the lower body. You can use its variations like back squat with high and low bar, sissy squat, front squat, goblet squat etc. Mix and match them for best results. 

 

Deadlift is another great choice. It works all the posterior chain muscles of the body. Also it is the movement which involves maximum number of muscle in the body. Also try its variations too like Romanian, single leg, kettlebell deadlift etc. These are amazing for your hamstrings, glutes, back muscles etc. 

 

Bench press is another great move. It is perhaps the best compound movement for the upper body. Go heavy with correct form and use a spotter or power rack (beware, it is extremely dangerous and injury prone). It activates heavily the chest, triceps, ant delts and other stabilizer muscles and a great one for your fat loss goals too.

 

Besides these ‘big three’ also try few good sets of pull ups / chin ups, rowing (barbell row, seated cable row, overhead barbell press. etc. Dumbbells are also useful like seated dumbbell overhead press, incline, flat and decline press, dumbbell rows, different types of shrugs etc. The list goes on and there are also many other options for the heavy compound exercises. 

 

3) Intensity is the key:

By intensity, we mean the amount of load lifted and also the rest period in between sets. You’ve already understood the benefits of lifting heavy. Also don’t gossip or water time, seeing your mobile or the other hot chick / muscle guy in the gym.

 

Take 1-1.5 minutes of rest between big moves like squat and deadlift and 30-45 seconds between isolated movements. Target a maximum of an hour in the gym including warm up. You can easily do 18-20 heavy working sets, warm up sets, stretching etc. within that time.

 

Toiling for too much time in gym increases your cortisol level. Cortisol, being catabolic hormone, is not good for your gains. You are here to build muscles and lose fat by anabolic pathway. Do not allow cortisol to get better of you. Get into gym, lift heavy, move quick between sets, don’t take too much rest and go home.

 

4) Take higher amount of protein:

People will tell you stories like:

• Excess protein may be bad for your kidneys
• Aged people should avoid protein as much as they can
• Whey protein supplements are mixed with steroids
• The anabolic window concept is vague, just eat enough protein, timing does not matter
• Protein can make you fat bulky (targeting women)
• Protein source from plants like legumes, soya etc. are enough

and so on…

 

These are all bullshit.

 

For a normally functioning kidney, taking 1.5 – 2 grams of protein by lifters isn’t going to do any harm. Rather you run risk of losing muscles if you break muscles in gym and not feed them enough amino acids required (from protein).

 

Also as you age, you lose muscles. Weight training and taking higher protein is the only way to survive. Don’t give a damn to the kidney damage theory. Check your blood for creatinine level yearly. If it’s OK, lift heavy, eat more protein, conserve your muscles and stay fit and healthy for life. Your muscles will take care of the extra protein.

 

Whey protein is excellent for its amino acid balance (contains essential amino acids plus higher BCAA – branch chain amino acids that kick starts protein synthesis). I have never heard of any reputed brand mixing steroid in it! That could be suicidal for their business.

 

Also try to drink whey as a shake during or just after workout (or may be as soon as possible). Damn ‘anabolic window’, tour body’s protein synthesis skyrockets during and after heavy lifting. You need a good quality protein with quick absorption and raising insulin to transport all the required amino acid to the working muscles (whey fits all these criteria). Thus whey is a perfect choice as a post workout shake. 

 

Plant proteins are incomplete and slow absorbing. They do not contain the optimum amino acids and their absorption is not lightning fast. Thus they are not good post workout choice.

 

Also ladies, forget about protein making you bulky. It will make you tone, help you lose fat and replenish your body as you break muscles by lifting.

 

This buy a tub of good whey, and drink it from your shaker bottle after workout. Forget everything else, this is the best post workout choice for you.

 

5) Stay in calorie balance:

To build muscles you must stay in calories excess. To lose weight, you must stay in calorie deficit. For maintaining health and preserve muscle, stay neutral in terms of calories.

 

These are dictum of weight loss science. Well, there are exceptions. You can lose fat and gain muscles in certain conditions only. It seems a dream, but occurs only in:

• Newbies, starting out weight training for first time
• Steroid users – anabolic roads with high protein synthesis 24×7
• Genetic freaks
• Teenagers with still time left to grow up
• People regaining lost muscles – muscle memory

If you don’t fall in any of these 5 categories, forget about gaining muscles and losing fat together. Target any of the two. Bodybuilders go through phases of bulking and cutting repetitively. Seems ridiculous but that is the story for you.

 

If you just want general fitness and good health, maintain a standard diet with 300 calories restriction to lose weight fast. As you hit 15 – 17 % body fat, try to maintain calorie intake near your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and carry on weight training with progressive overloading. 

 

Continue this for life for optimal fitness and health. If you gain some weight later, you always have the option of cutting down calories to lose that extra flab.

 

6) Optimize exercise with specific diets:

Let us start with keto diet. Keto diet is great for quick weight loss and you can start it with under proper guidance and monitoring only. Everybody can’t do it, but even if you do it, you can’t avoid weight training.

 

Ketosis and weight training causes large amounts of free fatty acid mobilization and utilization together. Without exercise, if you  staying in ketosis for long, your blood lipid profile will worsen. You will get leaner with undermined health. Remember ketosis have muscle sparing effect and you have little chance of losing muscles at all, if you train heavy.

 

People also do TKD (targeted keto diet) where they take carbs before exercise only. They use them up to rebuild the depleted muscle glycogen during exercise. But always remember ketosis may always be a double-edged sword if not done under proper guidance and monitoring under a great mentor!

 

Do heavy weight training with other diets used in fat loss like low carb diet or low carb high fat diets etc. In these diets too carb is mostly taken around workout. Complex carbs are taken before workout and simple ones after it for best results. Even for those maintenance diets like Mediterranean and Zone diet, strength training has to be a part of your game.

 

7) Learn proper techniques of lifting:

Don’t just grunt and lift randomly without focusing or a proper plan. This won’t work for you and may be a recipe of disaster. Follow these important steps:

 

• Use proper form – Avoid this and go heavy, an injury is just waiting to happen. Injury can hamper your fat loss goal severely.

• Use mind muscle connection – Just feel your muscles and slow down. Studies show that this involves more muscle fiber involvement and yields better results. This can be better utilized in isolation moves.

• Progressively overload – Always have the itch to put more weight on the bar than before. Do not compromise form or volume for this. As you can easily lift for more than 10 reps in good form, it is time to move on. Stay on the same weight and you will definitely hit a plateau.

• Do not stall your routine as you hit wall – Don’t stop your diet and workout. Rather talk to your fitness consultant or mentor regarding how to tweak them. Use forced eccentrics, dropsets, supersets, isometrics, super pumps etc. to overcome your slowdown. Remember the old gym saying, ‘train insane or remain the same’. For detailed information read my post on why I can’t lose weight any more.

 

 

8) Always follow the basics of the nutrition:  

Simply try to follow these important points on nutrition. Avoid them and you can’t reach your goals despite training insane. Always keep them in brain.

 

• Learn to count calories. You can never lose weight in calorie excess. Try to weigh and cook food for best results.
• Avoid all sugar and sweet foods as much a possible.
• Avoid all sweet drinks, colas, fruit juice and alcohol.
• Take complex carbs before workout and simple carbs and good protein (may be whey) after workout.
• Try to avoid all processed and preserved food.
• Minimize eating out for maybe 1 or 2 cheat meals per week. If you Learn to trick and your brain, you will definitely succeed.

 

9) Always try to follow advice of a good mentor or guide:

This is perhaps the most important advice. No need to elaborate this with too much detailing. 

 

For a permanent and scientific weight loss and staying fit and healthy for life is not easy. For this you need to be spot on 1)nutrition, 2)exercise (mainly weight training and also some cardio/calisthenics/yoga etc. if you are interested) and the 3)medical or clinical part.

 

You have to choose a mentor or guide, who is expert in all three of these for best result.

 

Conclusion :

Don’t think further. If you are fat, get enrolled under a good mentor or guide and have a good gym membership. Follow your diet or nutrition pattern meticulously and grind it at the gym. Take care of all your medical and health issues too. That’s all, nothing can stop you from getting leaner and healthier for life.