Using weight machines is a great way to burn fat. This form of resistance training builds muscle, which is metabolically active, meaning that it burns more calories at rest. Not to mention that you burn calories while you are using weight machines and for up to 48 hours after your workout is over. In addition, resistance training stimulates the release of potent fat-burning hormones, such as human growth hormone (HGH). Weight machines simply cannot be beat for their safety and convenience.
Step 1
Do circuit training workouts by using several weight machines in a row, back-to-back, with little rest. For example, one circuit may be comprised of eight different exercises, done one after the other. After a full circuit, rest one or two minutes. Complete another circuit or two. Circuit training engages both aerobic and anaerobic components for building muscle and burning fat, according to "The Abs Diet."
Step 2
Use 15 to 20 repetitions to stimulate a HGH release. Use a weight that is challenging for this rep range. Train to positive muscle failure, meaning the point where you can no longer perform a controlled rep. The burn you feel during these high-rep sets is a natural side effect of lactic acid building up in muscle cells, which triggers a release of growth hormone, according to "Xtreme Lean," written by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
Step 3
Add negative-accentuated (NA) sets to your workout program. Accentuating the negative or lowering stroke of the lift means counting a slow six-second cadence while lowering the weight. This technique causes micro-tears in muscle tissue that can take up to 72 hours to repair, burning more calories at rest. Add only one NA set per exercise to avoid excessive soreness.
Step 4
Use drop sets to exhaust the muscles being trained fully. Drop sets are perfect for weight machines, due to the ease of adjusting the weight load. Simply perform one set of an exercise to exhaustion, then lower or drop the weight and immediately do another set to exhaustion. This technique provides a potent stimulus for burning fat because of the extended tension that it puts on working muscles.
Step 5
Add "x-reps" to the last set of any exercise. According to Holman and Lawson in "Xtreme Lean," x-reps are performed by doing partial repetitions just below the mid-point of the range of motion for any exercise. For example, after a full set of bench presses on the weight machine, do eight 6-to-8 inch mini-reps at the mid-point of the exercise range of motion.
References
- "Xtreme Lean;" Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Abs Diet;" David Zinczenko; 2004
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