Most people believe that weight training has nothing to do with weight loss and it's only for those who wants big muscles. This is Completely Wrong! Weight training accelerates your weight loss. Weight training increases your lean body mass which boosts your metabolism, so you can easily burn more calories even at rest, and if you burn more calories you will burn more fat. So if you want to lose weight fast, its very crucial to add weight training to your program. There is a lot of questions when it comes to weight training, so I will answer few questions that you really needs to know.
Will weight training makes me a muscle freak? What if I don't want to build huge muscles?
Building muscle is a long and difficult process. You will not see popping muscles overnight, or you cannot be like a pro bodybuilder in the magazines unless you are a genetic freak and injecting steroids or taking other muscle enhancement products. Women are most afraid about this. Its very difficult for women to build muscle who have less testosterone, the muscle building hormone. If you have seen a female professional bodybuilder, her huge muscle mass is because of the steroids and other anabolic hormones and moreover the dedication to that sport.
How many hours should I do weight training?
There is no need to train more than 60 minutes. Even a 45 minutes session is optimal. Long workout sessions lasting more than 60 minutes increases the level of cortisol, a catabolic hormone that breaks down muscles. If you lose muscle, you slow down your metabolism which makes your weight loss even more difficult.
How many exercises and sets should I do?
There are no ideal number of exercises or sets. This is another big debatable topic! As a general guideline, do 3-4 exercises for big muscle group such as chest,back,shoulders and thighs with a total 6-8 working sets per workout.
Do 2-3 exercises for smaller muscle groups such as biceps, triceps, calves, trapezius, forearms, hamstrings and abdominal with a total 4-6 working sets per workout.
How many reps should I do?
Do 6-12 reps for every set taken to failure. You can even do 12-15 reps for your warm ups without taking it to failure. See the sample training routines for more information.
Will the muscles turn to fat when I stop weight training?
This is another common myth that "muscles turn to fat". Muscles never turn to fat and fat never turns to muscles. You may see some people getting bulky when they stop training . This happens because, they do not recalculate the calories when they stop training and takes the same number of calories. When they were training with weights, there is a caloric surplus and these extra calories will turn to fat.You have to train with weights as long as you want to lose weight and stay in shape.
What is the training difference between men and women?
There's no training difference between men and women. Both have to do the same exercises, sets and reps to be in shape. There are no special workouts for men and women. All have to concentrate on the basic lifts.
For more information on structuring an effective weight training workouts refer the Sample Weight Training Routines.
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