Losing Weight Lifting Heavy Weights

Unlike cardio, which stops fighting fat as soon as you get off of the treadmill, serious strength training pulls 24/7 overtime to help you reach your goals. That's because, apart from burning calories in the gym, weight training builds lean muscle. That fat-free tissue is the key to stoking your metabolic fire, hacking your hormones, and helping you slash calories like whoa.

When you’re strapped for time (a.k.a. always), spending five, 10, or 15 minutes on a warm-up feels like an act in weight-loss futility. But a proper warm-up can help you get the most out of every rep and bead of sweat, says certified strength and weightlifting coach Lisa Reed, C.S.C.S.

Apart from increasing your heart rate and literally heating up your muscles, warm-ups prime your neuromuscular system to perform better, your anaerobic system to recover faster, and enable every muscle fiber to contract with force. And, don’t worry, a good warm-up will actually burn calories, too.

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Your perfect pre-strength warm up: Start with a few minutes of light, aerobic activity on the elliptical, stationary bike, or treadmill. From there, you can get into dynamic moves like bodyweight squats, lunges, butt kicks, high knees, incline pushups, or whatever uses the same muscles you are going to hit during your lifting session, she says. Try to spend 15 minutes warming up prior to lifting.

When it comes to fat loss, squats, deadlifts, lunges, hip thrusters, bench press, pullups, and rows are where it’s at. These “big lifts, ” involve large muscle groups across multiple joints for more muscular and hormonal benefits than small, isolation exercises. “Big lifts trigger testosterone and human growth hormone secretion, both of which boost fat metabolism, ” says Gilles.

Make these moves the focus of your lifting sessions by doing them often and early in your routine. “By doing these moves in the beginning of your workout, you maximize the amount of resistance you use without getting tired, ” says Reed.

Lift Weight To Lose Weight

With strength training, more is not always better. Adequate rest between sets, exercises, or entire workouts is clutch for preventing overtraining. Rest also gives you more energy to perform each rep with your best effort for optimal fat-loss results, says Reed. How much rest you need is based on individual factors, like your strength training experience, how much you’re lifting, and even genetics. That's why it’s so important to listen to your body.

That said, try to give yourself 30 to 90 seconds between each set and exercise. The closer you get to your one-rep max (the most you can possibly lift for one repetition), the longer your rest periods will need to be. If you're new to weight training, lift three times per week with one rest day between sessions. Intermediate and more advanced lifters can strength train more frequently. Just divide up your routine by working different muscle groups on different days, she says.

Put down the little dumbbells. One of the best ways to push yourself and get results faster is by dialing up the weights, says Gilles. Heavy lifting with fewer reps builds more lean muscle, which is ideal for boosting your weight-loss hormones. Also, it forces your body to burn extra calories as it recovers

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The beauty of this is that whatever feels heavy to you, works. What's most important is that you choose a weight you can move

For all of those reps, says Reed. If you can’t eek out all of them without breaking form, you need to go down in weight. On the flip side, if you finish all of your sets with more in the tank, slightly increase the weight the next time around.

“To lower fat while increasing lean muscle, you should be consuming more protein, ” says Reed. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests that people who resistance train on the regular need 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body mass daily. Translation: that's 0.5 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weigh 180 pounds, you should be eating between 90 and 144 grams of protein per day. (FYI: A four-ounce serving of chicken breast contains about 30 grams.)

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After all, that nutrient is literally what builds your muscles between every lifting session. “After your workout, your body will pull in the nutrients you consume, much the way a dry sponge soaks up water, ” she says. “A whey protein shake is best for post-workout because it absorbs easier and is used by the body faster.”

To get the most benefits out of your lifting routine, all of your meals should be rich in protein. By spreading your protein intake throughout the day (rather than eating the bulk of it at dinnertime), you increase your rate of all-day muscle growth by about 25 percent—even without consuming extra protein or calories, according to research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Your Guide To Weight Training For Weight Loss Presented by Performance Kitchen by Luvo How Much Weight You Can Safely Lose In A Month The Pros And Cons Of 2-A-Day Workouts A Beginner's Guide To The Mediterranean DietDiet is a crucial step in losing weight and keeping it off, and so is exercise. The eight women ahead had various reasons for starting their weight-loss journeys, but they all had one thing in common: strength training.

They're proof that lifting weights won't make you bulky. Instead, it helped them achieve their fitness goals, feel more confident in their skin, and become more confident at the gym. Continue reading to find out how weightlifting helped them accomplish their goals.

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At first, Jessica Field only did cardio-based at-home workouts to lose weight. When she started her weight-loss journey, she came across Instagram influencer Kelsey Wells's page and began following her strength-based PWR program. I am absolutely in love with this program. It has transformed my body composition, but it's also given me confidence and a sense of empowerment at the gym, Jessica told .

Kristen Calfee's weight-loss journey began as a New Year's resolution. She explained that she never cared about her health until having a superficial moment of panic that led to her researching ways to lose weight. She credits her weight loss to counting calories, strength training, and sprint work. I love lifting heavy weights, and I honestly owe my physique transformation to it, she told .

Lauren Marks joined SWAT Fitness and began doing a combination of HIIT workouts and slower, heavier lifting for a year to transform her body. The key to my success was consistency, she told .

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Ellie Carter described herself as tired and in constant pain due to the weight she had gained. Wanting her children to have fun memories of the things they did together, Ellie decided to make a change. After dealing with a few medical issues, Ellie started back training at Gold's Gym. She told that she lifts weights and targets certain muscle groups on specific days, rotating each week. She also enjoys group exercise classes because the energy and constant encouragement keeps me going the entire hour.

Jamie Glassman was doing a lot of workouts as a group instructor and trainer but still wasn't seeing the results she desired. She decided to cut back on her 15-class workweek and decided to begin strength training. Her goal was never to lose a ton of weight; she just wanted to look and feel stronger.

Laura Micetich's weight-loss journey began with a 30-day challenge with herself. Instead of going through with a weight-loss surgery, she first decided to see if she could abide by the postoperation lifestyle changes. What began as an attempt to implement those necessary changes quickly grew into an intense love of health, fitness, and nutrition. I started going to the gym, lifting weights, and eating a clean diet tailored to my body's needs, she told .

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Shabraya Caldwell was unhappy with how she looked and decided to join the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants weight-loss program. Initially, she just wanted to lose weight, but the SHSP taught her how to eat properly and become fit. To lose the weight, she began working out five to six times a week, lifting weights, and doing HIIT workouts. Losing weight is not what it's all about — it's a plus. Finding out how strong I am, the things my body can do, how far I can push myself is much more important, she told .

Allison Lamay took advantage of a free fitness consultation with a trainer at her gym, which launched her weight-loss journey. She knew that if she didn't change her lifestyle, she was going to be at risk for serious and ultimately fatal conditions, she told . After four months of workouts, she found herself losing