Ladies, it’s time to get real!
Guys, you aren’t off the hook either, because most of this applies to you as well, so keep reading!
Here’s the bottom line: If you want to lose weight, gain definition and that lean, healthy look – you have to strength train.
Not with pansy pink dumbbells either. You have got to move some serious weight. And then you gotta move some more. Full range of motion, maximum effort repetitions need to be a part of your training program. Settling for 25 lbs when you can use 35 isn’t going to cut it. Grabbing the black band when you can push purple means you are just cutting yourself short.
Not so fast, you say. Won’t all that heavy weight lifting make me bulky?
Well the wise guy in me says “give it a try for a couple months, because getting bulky isn’t your problem”.
But seriously – why is hitting the weights hard so important?
Because resistance exercise, also known as strength training, is the only form of exercise scientifically proven to preserve muscle mass while on a calorie restricted diet, meaning one in which total calorie intake is low enough to elicit fat loss.
We have all heard of “yo-yo” dieting. You go on a “diet”, lose a bunch of weight, feel good about yourself, start to eat more “normally”, and gain at least all the weight back, usually even more.
Why does that happen?
Because the focus was on “losing weight”, not fat. As long as the scale went down, you were happy. What you probably didn’t realize is that along with bodyfat, you were also losing your metabolic engine – the lean tissue we call muscle.
And that’s bad.
One important note is that we also lose lean muscle as we age, on average about 5 lbs per decade between the ages of 25 and 65. Research shows people lose an average of 2-4% in their resting metabolic rate per decade in that same age range. That means if you needed 1500 calories per day at age 25 to maintain base level functioning, by the time you are 55 you would only need 1200. Even if you eat the same amount of calories over that time period, you are going to gain bodyfat. We hear it all the time. “It seemed like when I turned 40 I started packing on the pounds”. But it’s a “chicken or egg” question. Does our RMR go down just because we are getting older, or does it go down as we age because we are inactive and don’t do anything to preserve it? Research suggests the latter is correct.
But there is good news on both fronts – You can maintain lean muscle during “dieting” and the natural process of aging.
Strength training is the key!
There are some very revealing studies that compare the effects of diet, aerobics and weight training on weight loss and body composition.
The one I find most amazing is this one:
Subjects were put in two groups, both on an 800 calorie liquid diet. Note this was medically supervised study – don’t try this at home.
The first group did 4 hours of aerobics per week.
The second performed resistance training. 2-4 sets, 8-15 reps, 10 exercises, 3 times a week.
VO2 Max (the measure of aerobic output) increased equally in both groups.
The resistance training group lost significantly more fat and did not lose any lean body mass (muscle), even eating only 800 calories a day.
The resistance training group actually increased their metabolic rate, while the aerobic group decreased theirs.
Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R. – Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21
I find many things interesting about the study, but a couple really stick out:
- This study shows that you don’t need to do steady state aerobics to increase aerobic capacity.
- The study also revealed that as long as you strength train, you can keep your metabolic engine revved up, even on very low calories.
Here’s another interesting tidbit that I hope will put a final nail in the “you have to do tons of aerobics to lose weight” coffin. While this study was done using male subjects, there is no evidence that the same does not apply to females as well.
Subjects were broken into three groups: Diet Only, Diet Plus Aerobics, Diet Plus Aerobics Plus Resistance Training.
Diet only group lost 14.6 pounds of fat in 12 weeks
Diet plus aerobics group trained 3 times per week, starting at 30 minutes per day and progressing to 50 minutes per day over the 12 weeks). They lost a grand total of one more pound (15.6 lbs) than the Diet Only group!
The Resistance Training group lost 21.1 pounds of fat, which is 44% more than the diet only and 35% more than the diet and aerobics group.
Kramer, Volek et. al. – Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol 31, No. 9, pp.1320-1329, 1999.
Seriously, if I was only going to lose 1 more pound over 12 weeks, does it really make sense to focus on aerobics?
Didn’t think so!
Here is another very important point for the ladies.
It is hard work to gain lean muscle. You must continually challenge the body through progressive strength training. But that doesn’t mean you are going to wind up with arms like Arnold Schwarzenneger. In general women do not have the hormonal makeup to gain large amounts of muscle. That’s why you can see someone like Nancy use relatively heavy weights for her size, have a lean and sculpted look, and still be small. Female genetics allow her to be strong without excess bulk.
She is also a product of the way we train. While it is true that some female strength athletes have larger muscles than some find desirable, the way they train, low reps and low volume for example, are more likely to produce that result. Our training methods enable both men and women to build lean muscle – the guys will gain more size because of their hormonal profile, while the women will achieve the long, lean and toned look most are seeking to achieve because of theirs.
We train the way we do for a reason, because the science backs it up and the empirical evidence is walking around our gyms every day – it works!
Let’s sum it up:
- The optimal result of training for weight loss is to preserve (or gain – a subject for another time) lean muscle mass while losing bodyfat.
- The only proven way for this to happen while in a calorie deficit is to strength train.
- Progressive resistance and proper recovery is necessary for continued progress over time. You must continually challenge the muscles and then allow them to recuperate. Picking up 5 pound dumbbells month after month is not going to cut it!
So don’t be surprised or offended when your coach challenges you to increase your loading. We won’t ask you to do more than you are capable of, and we won’t ask you all the time. Loading is just one of the many training parameters that we can and manipulate in order to ensure progress, but it is an important one.
Ultimately you are in control of the progress you are making. Proper nutrition, hard work in the gym and optimal recovery = maximum results.
Now let’s get after it and Make It Happen!
Because aerobic exercise is how you lose fat, so the more the better, right?
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