Should I Strength Train For Fat Loss?

I can answer that question in 27 words.

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

For some reason there’s this nasty stigma that strength training is only for the big lifters, bodybuilders, and only for men. In my opinion, strength training solves all. You need it for weight-loss, muscle building, endurance, recovery, strength, injury rehab, energy, and almost any activity you want to make easier.

“But Jared, I don’t want to get ‘big’ or ‘bulky!’”

If strength training was one of those things where you touch a dumbbell and you magically inflate and look like Phil Heath, there would be a lot more people that look like him.

Building quality, lean muscle tissue is actually a very slow process. For fat loss strength training speeds up the process. When you start strength training and become stronger you start to put on a little bit of lean muscle. Don’t freak out, at this point you probably can’t physically tell a difference. But what’s happening is your body now requires more calories to do anything. So when you do your cardio, you are burning more; when you are in the shower, you are burning more; when you are sleeping, you are burning more. See where I’m going with this? Muscle is much more dense than fat.

Notice the title of this post is not ‘Should I Strength Train For WEIGHT Loss’, it’s for FAT Loss. Big difference. I personally think no one should own a bathroom scale; sure technically it’s a measurement of your progress but all to often it does more harm than good.

Too many people focus on that scale number instead of their body composition. There are some people that are just heavy but look amazing. The fact is that when you start strength training and losing body fat, your scale weight might not move that much. I’ve even had clients get stronger and leaner while their scale number went up, but they look amazing.

“Okay Jared, so what kind of exercises should I do?”

Stick to compound/multi-joint exercises. They require more energy and movement to perform. So your heart rate raises, your lungs will be working harder, your body will burning more calories, and you will be building bigger areas of lean muscle tissue. (Which burns more fat.)

Let me give you on examples:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Chest press overhead presses
• Back rows
• Step-ups
• Etc

The ultimate take away: Lift weights, and throw away your freaking scale!

Yours truly,

Jared