How To Do High Intensity Weights For Weight Loss

By Steve Menzies


While there are various styles of exercise to lose weight, one which consistently gets overlooked is resistance based training.

But body fat is indeed one of the first things to go into overdrive when weight training is used consistently and properly.

In a twist which may surprise many of you out there reading this, it has even been shown to be more effective than cardiovascular exercise! That is, a specific type of resistance training. Today, we will explain exactly what it is and how you can do.

The specific type of resistance training referred to here is H.I.R.T., otherwise known as high intensity resistance training.

However, if you want to burn fat you do not need to do endless reps with light weights. This does go against the gym myths from decades before us, but clinical studies prove that pushing yourself with heavier weights and for fewer reps will yield greater results for you. So dispel any thoughts of fitness classes which encourage you to lift empty barbells and ankle weights. To get the most from resistance training, we must go heavier.

The muscle building process which is kick-started following a weights workout is known as hypertrophy. The key factor here is that a session based around hypertrophy will use carbohydrates as it's main fuel during the workout. Not fat.

Many people blindly reject this style of training when they see carbs as the main fuel because they want to be focusing on burning fat. That is their mistake.

The whole process is known as E.P.O.C. or the after burn effect. By using carbs to fuel our hard gym work, the body then becomes very protective of our few remaining carb stores while we refuel after a workout. But it must burn something in order to help the body continue to function. That's when we switch to losing body fat!

By training so hard we use carbs as our primary fuel in the gym, we allow ourselves the luxury of using fat as our primary fuel for up to sixteen hours after we finish training! That's considerably more fat than we could burn if we stayed at a low intensity and used it as our primary fuel source while training.

But how do you actually do this style of training?



While the fat burning process your body endures may sound complex, the training style is certainly not. Take a look how most people use weights in your local gym and you will see how many people are missing out on potentially incredible results by taking too much rest, talking in groups between sets, and so on. That's normal gym practice.

If fat loss is your goal, though, high intensity training will trump the old bodybuilding approach every single time.

High intensity resistance training involves reducing rest periods but keeping your training hard and heavy. Pair compound lifts together and work through sets of three of four moves in one circuit. You'll get more done in your session than those taking vast rest periods after every set, and you will notice significantly greater fat loss results in the weeks which follow.

Studies confirm that not only is H.I.R.T. great for fat loss, it is even superior to aerobic cardio exercise. Given that this is by far the most popular training method in mainstream gyms today, there are a lot of people reading this article who will have just discovered valuable new training information. Have fun implementing it.




About the Author: