Fat Burning Workouts – What’s The 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… cardio and weight training.

Now in the cardio category, we can break it down even further into stuff like steady state or interval training. And while this is all wonderful stuff that I get asked about approximately 30 billion times a day, we’re going to skip right over it for now and focus on the weight training workouts.

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. 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… not muscle. 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.g. eating and training like idiots), the average person ends up losing plenty of pretty muscle right along with their ugly body fat.

Been there and done that myself, actually. 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.

1. Workouts that cause fat loss.
2. 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… a bit overrated.

So which is which? 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. Why? Please allow me to quote myself from a previous article…

You know how gradually getting stronger (aka the progressive overload principle) is what signals your body to begin the muscle building process? 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… Why Workouts For Women SUCK!). 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.

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… useful. 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…

Weight Training To Prevent Muscle Loss: Strength Training

On the other side of this spectrum, we have workouts aimed at preserving muscle while fat is lost. 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… more on that in a minute).

So lifting fairly heavy, in low-moderate rep ranges, with longer rest periods between sets, with a large focus on big compound exercises and, above all else, working your ass off to (at the very least) maintain your strength on every exercise.

This is the type of training that maintains muscle during fat loss.

The Problem

Remember how metabolic training was great for burning fat but mostly crap for maintaining muscle? 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… ironic and annoying.

Sure, it will still burn some calories and that’s always nice. 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. Why? Because maintaining strength is what maintains muscle, and that’s the fundamental purpose of strength training in a deficit.

Reference: http://tinyurl.com/jc57rmn