After a week of constant moving (for the second time in 2 weeks), unpacking and organizing I’m finally settled into my new place.
You probably noticed I didn’t write to you last week and this is why. Every spare minute I had was spent loading boxes and carrying them up 3 flights of stairs to my new place. I don’t even want to think about how many flights of stairs I did between Monday and Friday last week, but it was a lot. As rough as that was though, I can’t even imagine how I would’ve felt if I didn’t strength train consistently.
That’s one more reason to stay consistent with your training; just in case next time I move I call you to come help.
The Truth About Effective Fat Loss Workouts
Yesterday I was talking to a new client about his training program and he was a little bit confused.
He wants to lose 30 lbs and when he start his training program last week he had a few concerns for me. He wanted me to “crush him” with the workouts, so that he “left feeling dead”. Those were his exact words.
In his mind he thought that for a workout to be effective for fat loss he would have to be pushing to the absolute limit. Possibly on the verge of puking after his workouts. This is what he has been led to believe by media representation of what it takes to lose weight – extremism. Extreme workouts, extreme diets, extreme weight loss.
The reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth.
I could absolutely put together a workout that leaves him feeling destroyed. On the verge of tossing his lunch all over the gym floor. That’s easy. You don’t need a professional to do that. He may even notice some weight loss as he drops water weight for the first couple weeks. But is it necessary? No, absolutely not.
{RELATED: “Getting Started With Interval Training For Fat Loss”}
As we’ve discussed, the fat loss magic of interval training requires your heart rate to come back down after you spike it. This keeps your body in your anaerobic energy system and has been shown to be more effective for long-term fat loss.
This kind of super high intensity training is also not that good for building muscle. In order to build muscle you need to prioritize lifting more weight. But when your heart rate is through the roof you won’t be able to lift as much as if you rested properly. Fatigue also leads to form breakdown which can be dangerous and limits the effectiveness of the exercise.
More Muscle = Higher Metabolism
This is important because more muscle means a higher metabolism. And a higher metabolism leads to more overall calorie burning throughout the day. Without having to do any more work. When your metabolism is higher you can also feed your body properly with more food while continuing to lose body fat.
This is the reason properly designed strength training programs are at the top of the Hierarchy Of Effective Fat Loss Workouts. When we prioritize getting stronger and building muscle, we’re increasing our metabolism and our ability to burn more calories throughout the day.
High intensity training like the kind my new client was expecting can have it’s place in your fat loss training program. But it’s not the priority like proper strength training is. Those kinds of workouts come in second. Either on a separate, shorter workout session, or as a workout finisher at the end of your regular strength training session.
{RELATED: What Does A Properly Designed Training Program Look Like?”}
Designing a proper fat loss training program that leads to consistent progress over time is a lot harder to put together than some soul crushing, vomit inducing workouts.