Lifting Weights for Weight Loss

When people are first looking to lose weight of course they consider going on a diet and cutting the amount of calories that they consume. This really is only part of the solution and if you are looking to lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off you should consider doing some form of physical exercise.

For many people they think this really means getting on a treadmill or a cross trainer and yes that can be extremely helpful in increasing your overall fitness and well-being, but for weight loss it’s not the best option. This is because with cardio exercise you only get the calorie burn while you are physically doing the exercise or maybe for a short time after, but if you choose to lift weights not only do you burn calories while working out but the thermogenic burn will continue for some hours after finishing which means you could burn far more calories.

The other added benefit of lifting weights is that you will also create more muscle in the body and by doing this it means your body will need to consume more calories per day to fuel the body. This is because muscle needs more calories in order to fuel them properly. So what this actually means is that the more weight training you do, creates more muscle, burns more calories and then also means your body needs to consume more calories a day which then helps create a larger calorie deficit which then is what leads to weight & fat loss.

This is not to say that you should not do cardio as this will also have a positive effect on your fitness and general health, but to maximise your time in creating that calorie deficit I would suggest lifting weights 3 to 4 times a week and maybe adding cardio 2 to 3 times a week.

When looking to lift weights you want to ensure that you are gaining the maximum muscle activation from the lifts that you are doing which is why I would suggest the following exercises as most of these are compound movements which means you are using various different muscle groups at the same time rather than just doing concentration exercises that just focus on a few specific muscles.

Deadlift

This is one of the best if not the best exercise for activating multiple muscles groups and really getting your fat burning fire going.

Barbell Squat or Sumo Squat

This is another great exercise for using multiple muscle groups and really building strength into the body and burning off those excess calories.

Bent Over Barbell Rows

This exercise is great for toning and shaping your back and arms as well as using several muscles groups and creating a good V shape for the body.

Clean & Press

This exercise is a great all over body workout that uses most of the main muscle groups in the body. It is a good exercise for losing weight and building stamina.

Barbell Lunges

This exercise is mainly a lower body workout, but it does use all of the larger muscle groups in the legs which mean the level of activation is high and the level of calorie burning is also extremely good.

As stated above in order to lose weight you do have to review your eating habits and ensure you are not eating excess calories as well as increasing your level of activity through exercise. What you will need to bear in mind is that if you are doing a lot of weight training you may actually need to increase some of your calories and especially your protein intake in order to maximise the muscle building effect.

If you struggle to do this through your diet in the foods that you eat you could look to use supplements in order to achieve this without having to eat additional calories. Please note that supplements are as they say to supplement your diet not to replace it.

If you find this useful and it has actually helped you to achieve your weight loss goals please feel free to comment any ideas or suggestions for others on how you achieved your own goals.