Strength Training for Weight Loss

When you're in a calorie deficit, your body needs to find energy from within, ideally tapping into your fat stores. However, it may also start using muscle tissue for energy. In a calorie deficit, your body enters a state of self-preservation—it doesn't know you're trying to lose fat; it just senses that resources are limited.

The type of exercise you engage in will significantly impact how well you preserve or build muscle while in a calorie deficit. Resistance training is essential for maintaining muscle mass and altering your body composition. Muscles rely on their ability to break down fat and carbohydrates with the help of oxygen to fuel exercise.

After you finish exercising, your body continues to consume oxygen at an elevated rate to restore your muscles to their resting state, a process known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or the ‘after-burn’ effect.

Resistance training is more effective than low or moderate-intensity cardio at boosting both short-term and long-term after-burn. It’s helpful to think of your workouts as signals you’re sending to your body. When you engage in regular strength training, you’re telling your body that it needs to preserve muscle mass. Conversely, if you neglect strength training, you’re signalling that muscle mass isn’t necessary. Your body is excellent at adapting; you just need to provide the right stimulus.

That said, cardio shouldn’t be completely neglected. Low-intensity activities like walking are excellent for burning fat while preserving muscle mass. However, save the high-intensity efforts for the weight room.

What Does an Effective Weight Loss Training Programme Look Like?

The foundation of a successful weight training programme is data. It’s important to understand your current weight and body composition, your goals, and your dietary habits.

Regular check-ins are crucial, and this means monitoring more than just your weight. Tracking changes in body composition week by week is key. Focusing solely on weight doesn’t provide the full picture, which is why measuring body fat percentage (BF%) is also important.

In the training sessions themselves, strength training is paramount. While any trainer can push you through a gruelling 60-minute session that burns 1,000 calories, this approach won’t necessarily help you achieve your goals. Your body prefers to maintain homeostasis (stability) and will resist changes. An overly intense session may reduce your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) for the rest of the day as your body tries to compensate for the energy expenditure. Additionally, such intense workouts might increase your cortisol levels—the stress hormone—which can lead to fat gain.

By focusing on increasing muscle mass through strength training, you’ll boost your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the number of calories your body burns at rest. This sets you up for sustainable, long-term success and improves your body composition.

However, the real changes occur in the 23 hours outside of your training sessions. This is where your trainer's guidance is crucial to keep you on track.

During this time, you should focus on:

1. Calorie Consumption: Your trainer can recommend an appropriate daily calorie intake and offer advice on healthy swaps or strategies to avoid overeating.

2. Daily Activity: One of the most effective weight loss strategies is to increase your daily activity outside the gym. This doesn’t mean adding a daily jog but rather increasing your overall movement, such as walking more or taking the stairs. This will help you burn more calories without adding stress that could counteract your efforts.

3. Sleep: As mentioned, even if you do everything right during the day, getting only five hours of sleep can create a significant obstacle to your progress. Prioritising good sleep is essential for your weight loss journey.