Working out with weights has the capacity to significantly change your body. But not all weight workouts are created equal. Performing low repetitions of heavy weight tends to increase muscle mass and your weight. Performing high reps with low weight helps tone your muscles while burning a greater amount of fat to help you lose weight.
Work Aerobically
Aerobic exercise "not only elevates your metabolism while you're exercising, it can also keep it elevated even after you're done," according to the American Council on Exercise. In general, you exercise aerobically when your heart rate ranges between 50 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, according to the American Heart Association. If you do not have a heart rate monitor, use the "conversational pace" test by checking to see if you can carry on a conversation without losing breath. The AHA offers the following test: "If you can talk and walk at the same time, you aren't working too hard. If you can sing and maintain your level of effort, you're probably not working hard enough. If you get out of breath quickly, you're probably working too hard--especially if you have to stop and catch your breath."
Aerobic Circuit Training
For those who want to lose weight and increase their muscle mass, exercise scientist Dr. Len Kravitz touts aerobic circuit training as an effective means of increasing a person's fitness level. When you circuit train, you hop from exercise to exercise performing frequent repetitions while using moderate weights. There can be anywhere from three to 15 exercises in a circuit, and you perform each exercise for between 15 and 45 seconds. For maximum calorie burning, insert an aerobic station after every weightlifting exercise.
Sample Circuit
Begin by doing a general warmup of walking, light jogging or biking for 10 minutes.
Complete three sets of the following circuit, performing each weight exercise with a moderate weight for 30 seconds: high knees, quadriceps extensions, jumping jacks, bench press, jump rope, and hamstring curls.
Cool down by walking for 5 minutes.
Stretch.
Interval Training
The American Council on Exercise defines interval training as "alternating short bursts of intense activity with what is called active recovery, which is typically a less-intense form of the original activity." When interval training with weights, you do not change exercises. Rather, you perform the same exercise for a set amount of time but vary the rate at which you perform repetitions.
Sample Interval
Begin by doing a general warmup of walking, light jogging or biking for 10 minutes. Use a moderate to light weight and align your posture to perform a squat. Do the following exercises for 3 minutes each, alternating a moderate to slow pace for 30 seconds, with a moderate to fast pace for 30 seconds: quad extension, biceps curl, hamstring curl and triceps extension. Cool down by walking for 5 minutes. Stretch.
No Rest
Circuit training targets different muscle groups at different times in the routine, which means you rest one set of while working another. Interval training's lessening of intensity builds in rest. Taking no rest breaks between exercises enhances the effectiveness of the circuit or interval. However, if you feel dizzy, become short of breath or experience blurred vision, stop exercising immediately.
Vary Your Routine
Change your routine every four to six weeks. According to Northwestern Health Sciences University, when you do the same exercises over and over, "your body becomes so efficient that this same exercise no longer has an effect on your weight." The body thrives on variation. Varying your workouts pushes the body into the "training effect" and helps you avoid plateaus.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Successful Weight Control
- University of New Mexico: New Insights into Circuit Training
- Northwestern Health Sciences University: What to Do When You've Hit a Weight Loss Plateau
- American Heart Association: Target Heart Rates
- American Council on Exercise: Interval Training
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