No equipment, no problem: Become a fat-burning machine with this HIIT routine. Are you ready to HIIT that fat for good? You don’t need to sacrifice your life to endless workouts! In fact, you can burn off that jiggle during workouts that last. Fat-burning workouts The bodyweight routine to improve mobility Brian Matthews, C.S.C.S. Keep the iron on the rack and train using just your bodyweight. Fat Burning Workouts – What’s The Best Weight Training Workout For Fat Loss? Fat Burning Workouts - Best Weight Training Workout For Fat Loss. When it comes to losing fat, there are primarily two different categories of workouts a person might consider doing. And while this is all wonderful stuff that I get asked about approximately 3. But I swear, I will cover all kinds of cardio topics eventually. Now in terms of weight training and losing fat, there are primarily two different types of workouts you can do. Weight Loss Workout Routines. 14 Flat Belly Fat Burning Workouts That Will Help You Lose Weight! Get Fitter Right Now! Or, more accurately, two different purposes your workouts can have. The Two Purposes Of Weight Training During Fat Loss. When we’re trying to lose fat, we really have 2 different goals. The first is to actually lose that fat. Obvious, I know. The second however is to avoid losing muscle while we’re losing fat. As I’ve explained before, we may call it weight loss, but it’s body fat we want to lose here. However, your body doesn’t really give a crap about what you want. It’s just going to see that a caloric deficit (the primary requirement of weight loss) is present and a fuel source is needed. So, it will look to burn fat and muscle whether you like it or not. This of course can be prevented (more about that here: How To Lose Fat WITHOUT Losing Muscle). But, due to the improper way most people go about fat loss (e. I don’t recommend it. So with all of this in mind, there are two forms of weight training workouts you’ll be interested in when you’re trying to lose fat. Workouts that cause fat loss. Workouts that prevent muscle loss. Unfortunately, what’s optimal for one is not optimal for the other. So a workout designed specifically for muscle maintenance will mostly suck for burning fat. And workouts designed specifically for burning fat will mostly suck for maintaining muscle. At least comparatively speaking. Such a lovely combination of ironic and annoying, ain’t it? In my opinion though, one of those workouts is extremely important, highly beneficial and really just flat out required. The other, while certainly useful, is purely optional. It’s also potentially detrimental and, if you ask me? Why do I feel that way? Let’s find out. Weight Training To Cause Fat Loss Version 1: The Myth. When the average person thinks of using weight training to burn fat, their first thought will often be one of the worst training myths of all time. In fact, I’ll go right ahead and appoint it THE WORST of them all. Which myth, you ask? The one claiming that you lift heavy weights for low reps when your goal is to build muscle, but then switch to lifting light weights for high reps when you’re trying to lose fat and get lean, toned, defined, ripped, cut and blah blah blah. Not only is this NOT true, but it’s the absolute worst thing you can do if you want to avoid losing muscle while in a deficit. Please allow me to quote myself from a previous article? Well, on a fat loss diet, just maintaining your current levels of strength (aka intensity, aka the weight on the bar) is what now signals your body to maintain muscle. If that signal goes away, your body’s need to keep your pretty muscle tissue around goes away right along with it. That’s why the insanely stupid myth of lifting heavier weights to build muscle but then lifting lighter weights (for higher reps) when you want to lose fat, get lean and get toned is the absolute WORST thing you could possibly believe when you’re trying to avoid losing muscle. In reality, you lift heavy weight to build muscle, and then lift that same heavy weight if you want to actually maintain that muscle. In fact, the typical version of this light weight/high reps nonsense is also borderline useless for actually building muscle in the first place (hi ladies, I’m looking at you. And while we’re on the subject, the answer is no, this form of training won’t make you “toned” either. As you can see, this one myth is single- handedly responsible for quite a lot of crap. It’s 1. 00% free. Get Instant Access. Weight Training To Cause Fat Loss Version 2: Metabolic Training. Now with all of that cleared up, it’s time to get to the type of weight training that is actually, you know. And that is something known as metabolic training. This form of training usually involves higher reps, very short rest periods, lots of supersets, tri- sets and/or circuits, lots of big compound free weight and body weight exercises (ideally ones that don’t involve much sitting but do involve as many muscle groups as possible), barbell complexes, all sorts of kettlebell stuff and other similar components with the primary goal being to promote fat loss and maximize the amount of calories being burned both during and after your workout. Basically, metabolic training sort of aims to turn intelligent weight training into a form of high intensity cardio. And in this regard, it’s definitely a useful fat loss tool. The hormonal response to this type of training is legit. It burns more calories than traditional weight training, and it also burns more calories than traditional cardio (and it’s waaaaay less boring than traditional cardio). So, if you’re interested in using weight training to cause fat loss, metabolic training can certainly be beneficial. The Problem. Remember that tiny problem I mentioned earlier? The one that was both ironic and annoying? Yeah, it’s time to bring that back up. You see, while metabolic training can be great for burning fat, it’s not- so- great for maintaining muscle. As I explained before, the key to maintaining muscle while in a deficit is maintaining that same heavy strength training stimulus that allowed you to actually build that muscle in the first place. But with the way metabolic training is designed, it makes this nearly impossible to do. In order to go higher in reps and very low in rest periods and do all of the other cardio- like stuff that goes along with getting the fat burning benefits of this type of training, you’re just not going to be capable of lifting as heavy as you need to for that muscle maintenance signal to be there (at least not for anyone past the beginner stage, and that may be the one exception here). Or to put it another way, what makes metabolic training “good” for burning fat is also what makes it “bad” for maintaining muscle. On the other hand. And the best name I can think of for it is plain old strength training. Whereas metabolic training was primarily about burning calories/fat, this type of training is primarily about strength. Or more specifically, maintaining (or increasing) your current levels of strength. Why? Because doing so is the primary stimulus that tells your body to keep (or increase) your current levels of muscle. To make that even clearer, if you’re looking to avoid losing muscle while you lose fat, this type of training isn’t just useful and beneficial. It’s required. So what are these types of workouts like? Well, you know the type of weight training that is optimal for building muscle in the first place? That’s also what’s optimal for maintaining it (with one possible adjustment being a small reduction in volume and/or frequency to compensate for the reduced recovery that comes from being in a deficit? Well, this type of training is the complete opposite. It’s great (and required) for maintaining muscle, but it mostly sucks for actually burning fat. Again. But, this type of training isn’t about that at all. This type of training couldn’t care less about calories burned. Metabolic training does, and it’s designed specifically to allow you to burn as many calories as possible in a given period of time. This type of training however is designed solely to allow you to maintain (and/or increase) strength as best as possible. Because maintaining strength is what maintains muscle, and that’s the fundamental purpose of strength training in a deficit. So. For burning fat, it’s clearly metabolic training. For maintaining muscle, it’s clearly strength training. A better one would be? Because of the two, it’s the only form of weight training (or really the only form of exercise in general) that is actually required for this goal. What I mean is, unless you’re significantly overweight (in which case muscle loss is much less of an issue or concern), you will lose muscle and strength in a deficit if the type of strength training described above isn’t there. However, you can VERY easily lose fat without ever doing a second of metabolic training. So, one is required and the other is purely optional. For this reason alone, strength training wins the battle of the workouts. Now that’s not to say metabolic training can’t also be important or highly beneficial. It most definitely can be if it’s your preferred way of creating your caloric deficit. But, if you’re only going to be doing one or the other, the clear choice here would be to skip the metabolic stuff in favor of strength training and use your diet to create your deficit. Fat still gets lost, muscle and strength get maintained? What if you want to do both? The good news is that this is certainly doable and really the ultimate solution for getting the benefits of both forms of weight training (maintaining muscle AND burning fat). In this case, it’s just a matter of having both metabolic and strength training workouts in your overall program over the course of the week. The details of exactly how this should be set up is a good topic for another day. But for right now I want to focus instead on the potential bad news. That’s just one of the things that come with being in the energy deficient state needed for fat loss to take place. Which means, while you always need to be careful not to exceed what your body is capable of recovering from, you need to be a little extra careful during this time because recovery is already lower than it usually is. Plus, if you do exceed your capacity to recover, the first thing that will often start to go is your strength. And if strength isn’t being maintained while you’re in a deficit, that means muscle mass isn’t going to be maintained either. The Best No- Equipment Workouts . But what about the rest of you, who are no less passionate, but are a bit more bogged down with material considerations such as work or family? Luckily, there are a few alternatives that you can perform anywhere and in any time span, as they require no more equipment than your own body and some creativity. The best option for weight management and cardiovascular health would be to perform as many of these exercises as possible in a circuit, resting only once it has been completed. These are exactly as they sound. Instead of squatting under a loaded barbell in the gym, merely position yourself on a flat surface with your legs just wider than shoulder width, lower back tight and upright, and arms outstretched. Bend your knees slowly with your weight on your heels and lower your glutes to the floor, as low as possible. Then push through your quads and glutes to propel yourself upward into the air. Try to jump as high as you can from this position, land in the same stance, and repeat. This exercise is about generating as much power as possible, and gaining as much height as you can without sacrificing form. If performed correctly, these will work the muscles of the leg and core, targeting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and abs. Push- ups warrant little explanation, yet few people manage to complete these with proper form. Use these to work the pectoral muscles, triceps, and deltoids. The key to a push- up is to maintain a rigid posture, with your lower back tight and firm. Lying face down on the ground with palms on the floor and elbows bent, slowly push your body upwards until your elbows are just short of locking out. Slowly lower your weight back to the ground. Like any resistance training exercise, the key to these is the speed and form with which you perform them. The slower you do them, the more muscle fibers are recruited to assist in the work, and thus the more you will gain from the exercise. As an alternative, you can practice performing these for power by pushing up as quickly as you can so that your body and hands lift off the ground, then bracing yourself as it lands and slowly lowering back down. Try to clap your hands underneath your chest as you rise. Pull- ups are another staple of any resistance training used to work the biceps and upper back/ lats. Though these typically require a bar to perform, this is not always true. You can try pull- ups virtually anywhere you can get a grip. This includes a playground, a tree limb, even a door. As with push- ups, the key is to keep your lower back tight and to avoid swinging. Grip the bar, or pseudo bar, just wider than shoulder width with your palms facing forward. Slowly pull your body weight up, focusing on pulling with your upper back, rather than just the arms. At the top, pause and contract your muscles for a second, then slowly lower yourself back down. You should set the pace at a count of 2 seconds up, 1 to pause, and 3 back down. Use a wider grip to stress the lat muscles, or a narrow grip/ underhand to work the biceps more. These are a full body exercise, typically performed for endurance or conditioning, as they work the muscles of the legs, chest and shoulders, and core. Begin in a basic squat position on a flat surface. Kick both feet backwards behind you until you resemble the plank position of a push- up. Pull your legs back in as you return to the squat position and jump upwards as high as you can. You should perform these rapidly and without rest until you complete a full set. Additional body weight exercises you can perform are dips, crunches, stair lunges and vertical push ups.
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