Weight training can help you fulfill your weight loss goals in two ways. First, it can raise your basal metabolic rate so that your body will burn more calories every day performing basic life-support functions. Second, weight training will increase your body's ratio of muscle to fat, giving you a leaner appearance.
Exercises
Choose your exercises based on two criteria -- each one should exercise a large muscle group, and taken together, they should exercise every major muscle group of your body. Dead lifts, for example, are effective for training your back, while bench presses are effective for exercising your chest. Select eight to ten exercises per workout, advises the National Strength and Conditioning Association, including at least one exercise each for your arms, shoulders, chest, legs, abdomen and back.
Weight
To ensure continued muscle growth, you need to lift to "failure" -- until you can't perform another repetition. MayoClinic.com advises selecting a weight that will allow you to complete between eight and 12 repetitions, while the National Strength an Conditioning Association recommends a weight that will allow five to 12 repetitions. After you complete a 13th repetition, increase your weight by five to 10 percent.
Sets
Every time you lift to failure you complete one set of an exercise. Aim for two or three sets of each exercise before you move on to the next exercise. After a few months, you may work out one or two parts of your body each workout, and increase your number of sets to as many as five. This will allow you to work out up to six days per week, known as "circuit training", increasing your muscle growth and your basal metabolic rate.
Rest
Rest for one to two minutes between sets, and between two and three minutes between exercises. Never work out two days in a row unless you have several months of experience and are doing circuit training. Even in circuit training, avoid working out the same muscle group two days in a row. Get plenty of sleep, so that your body will have an opportunity to rebuild your muscles.
Nutrition
Normally, bodybuilders are advised to add 500 to 1,000 calories per day to their diet to fuel muscle growth. If you are aiming for a net weight loss, however, you should cut calories from your diet rather than adding them, even though this will slow muscle growth. You can minimize this slowdown by eating more protein, especially immediately after your workout -- the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends 0.65 to 0.80 g per lb. of body weight every day.
References
- National Strength and Conditioning Association: Sports Nutrition and Supplementation Muscle Building Strategies; Jose Antonio; September 2006
- National Strength and Conditioning Association: Strength Training for Muscle Building; Joseph A. Chromiak; 2005
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
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