Weights for Weight Loss The Beauty and Perils

All right let talk about one of the goto options most of us try to use to get in shape. Not only will we talk about weight lifting to build muscle but how to use weights for weight loss.

Nothing quite better than weight lifting exercises to strengthen and build our bodies. There is just no comparison. We are so lucky that lifting weight can be a time machine and a rejuvenator.

We have scientific proof that weight training is one of the best natural medicine of all time but can also be free (cheap) or expensive (exotic). It really up to you to decide how far and where to take it with the exercise equipment gimmicks.

Weightlifting if used properly can transform someone from simple Jane/Joe to a fabulous hotty.

So, to the topic of weight loss, weight lifting is a really good tool for weight loss, but you need to be realistic. We still need to have self-control when inputting calories.

Building muscle is a great way of revving the metabolic engine to burn more calories plus the mere act of also exercising burns calories.

Wight Lifting and Increased Appetite

There is one little caveat to this magical drug. That is that if you exercise intensely and often, you will increase your appetite, yes you will be hungrier. Now if you have the discipline not to take in sweet calories in liquids form or if you can control your snacks you might lose weight and develop muscle.

One of the best workouts that I have found, use and taught is the single set per body part workout.

A single set system is an old approach that has been overshadowed by the new showy systems that tend to require a great deal more time and is in a combination of some exotic diets.

I am looking for results especially long term lasting results. The more recent workouts that are floating around in the fitness world are shown by an individual (models) that are practically professional models that spend their entire day maintaining the beauty of their bodies. We want to have their bodies but not the workload. The amount of time and effort required to keep a body like that is astronomical, and most working people cannot do it.

Professional models spend a geat deal of time and energy getting beautiful, and it might seem impossible to duplicate their results. Difficult but not impossible though, If,  you teach your body to function efficiently with your weight lifting program and have designated workout period so that you have little interruption then there is a good chance you can keep it up for a very long time.

First, learn the single set system which is 1 to 2 set per body parts to failure (till you cannot complete a proper repetition).

The workout is done 3x per week. You start with eight repetitions, and once you can reach 12 reps, then it is time to add a little bit of eight. Each workout day add two repetitions until you reach 12 reps.

I highly recommend keeping notes of the weights and reps this way you are consistent with your increments.

If you feel comfortable and can push hard and not feel hungrier, then you might want to try more isolated movements to improve your muscle mass and aesthetics.

Once you have a thorough understanding of weight training and how our body responds to the exercises you might want to experiment adding more sets and splitting your workouts into different body part during certain days.

I know that just about everybody advocates the “functional” or “compound movements,” and I follow that too but when lifting weights for weight loss it is advantages to create as much muscle as possible but without traumatizing the body the way it can happen with the other more “functional” exercises. You can incorporate more of the multi-joint movements, but the muscle gains are going to be limited unless you are super dynamic and have a lot of time to spend. I also find that there is a greater chance of injury when doing the multiple joint movements that are sometimes more powerful and fast.

We do need to train to move fast, but that does not mean you need to do it with heavy weights, that if not done just right way can tweak your back, shoulders or knees.

After many years of participating in the exercise world, I have changed my way of coaching clients and patients. I have reviewing safety and productivity in all forms of weightlifting and find that slower movement exercises can be less injurious and have a long-lasting positive effect that the more dynamic weight swinging lifts have.

Look at the statistics for the back, shoulder injuries in the more dynamic exercise routines, and you will see that orthopedist love them because that means more clients (patients) for them.

Let me clarify my last point, “functional” exercises are beneficial but to get the most out of them you need to have a good instructor teaching you the technique and correcting it as you keep progressing. One thing to remember is that as soon as you start to get stronger and are throwing more weights around the technique starts to become sloppy and that is when the chances of injury occur.

There are also a lot of “tribe” or “followers” mentality that advocates a certain form of exercise and dismiss everything else, try to not fall into the gimmicks, look at what has worked best for most gym people to see what the best is for you. Group thinking tends to look for more showy stuff in the gyms for the “wow” effect rather than safety, and long-term positive results.