Weight Loss & Strength Training Programs

Strength training programs provide an excellent stimulus for building muscle and burning fat, according to "Xtreme Lean" by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman. Resistance training burns calories while you work out, but it also speeds up your metabolism for up to 48 hours or more afterward. Moreover, building even a small amount of lean muscle elevates your resting metabolic rate. Strength training programs are an effective way to enhance and accelerate your weight loss results.

Fat-Burning Super-Sets

Doing a super-set means performing one set of an exercise, resting briefly and then immediately doing a set of another exercise. For this program you workout five days per week, training arms, shoulders, legs, chest and back on separate days. At each workout you may choose one to three super-sets for the target muscle group. The number you choose depends on personal preference and can be used to specialize your training. For example, for legs you might do a set of leg extensions for 12 reps and then do a set of leg curls for 12 reps, completing one cycle of the super-set. Do three cycles for each super-set, pyramiding or increasing the weight on each. The repetitions will naturally drop with more weight, from 12 reps, to 10 and then to eight for example. The second week, you can add an extra set of eight for four cycles of each super-set. The third week, add one more cycle with a high 15-rep set to finish off the target muscle. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between exercises and super-set cycles.

Lactic Acid Training

For this program you will train four days per week, alternating two workouts. The unique part is that you will do only the top range of motion of the exercise, rest 20 seconds and then do only the bottom portion of the exercise. For example, for the chest you would do bench presses, lowering the bar 6 to 8 inches and pressing it back to the top position for 20 to 30 reps. Rest 20 seconds and do another set, focusing on the bottom 6 to 8 inches of the range of motion. After completing the prescribed number of sets--in this case four of each--you do two more full-range sets for 40 to 50 reps with very light weight. The first workout you do four cycles of the chest super-set, four for back, three for biceps and three for calves. The second workout you do three cycles for shoulders, three for triceps, three for hamstrings and four for quadriceps.

Time Variable Training

This program alternates two workouts, preferably with a day of rest before repeating them. For each training module, you do one exercise for the target muscle group, timing your training duration. For the back for example, you would do 15 minutes of lat pull-downs, using a weight that you could do for six repetitions maximum. Instead do only three reps, rest 10 seconds and do three more reps, alternating between three-rep sets and short rest periods for the entire 15-minute duration. If you reach the point of total muscular failure, increase your rest time to 20 or 30 seconds. The first workout do 15 minutes of back, 15 minutes of chest, 10 minutes alternating between calf muscles and abs and then finish with 10 minutes of biceps. At the second workout do 15 minutes of a thigh exercise, 10 minutes of a hamstring, 10 minutes of a shoulder and 10 minutes of a triceps exercise.