Many of us would like to lose a few kilos or two. Lose weight. The way to get there regularly takes us not only through changes to our diet, but also through physical activity. Sports experts have been assuming for a long time that endurance training alone does not produce satisfactory results.
Strength training to lose weight with a training plan and, above all, regularly is also essential. How can you put together a regular exercise plan for yourself? Does strength training work at home ? What do you need to pay particular attention to when it comes to your diet? We have put together the most important aspects about losing weight and training plans for you.
What principles apply when losing weight?
There is hardly any health topic that concerns as many people as weight loss. Quite a few people are looking for a method that can quickly and convincingly make the pointer on the scale go down. Most of us then experience that this one method does not exist.
For most of us, losing weight turns out to be a result of changing our diet and increasing our physical activity. Current studies show that strength training is essential for losing weight . For example, a study from 2018 convincingly demonstrated that targeted strength training could reduce body fat percentage in overweight women within 12 weeks.
The scientists demonstrated how important regular strength training is for losing weight . The training plan with 2-3 weekly sessions therefore seems to be a must. Losing weight with strength training is not only possible, but very likely. You can understand why this is the case if you understand some of the principles of metabolism in the human body.
Build muscle & lose weight
You've probably heard the following advice many times when it comes to weight loss. " You have to make sure that you burn more calories than you take in ." That sounds easy, right? Why do many of us find it so difficult to achieve real and, above all, sustainable success when losing weight?
Why do our efforts fail even with one training plan or another ? It is not uncommon for some of us to even report gaining weight despite exercising. How is all this possible?
The basal metabolic rate is of great importance for the metabolic activities in our body. These are the calories we burn at rest. Without exerting ourselves or being active, we expend energy in the form of calories. The proportion of muscle in our body is an important element for this basal metabolic rate.
A large part of energy is used in the muscles. Against this background, we can simply say: the more muscles, the higher the basal metabolic rate. The reason strength training and losing weight are connected is because we build muscle . This means we can increase the amount of muscle we have and lose weight more easily through strength training.
What initially sounds logical can fail due to the wrong training plan and a diet that is not tailored to building muscle. Even if we succeed in increasing muscle mass, we still need to remain careful. Let's get to know the key role of amino acids in weight loss .
How does muscle mass grow?
Some of us still imagine that muscle building occurs during the exercise phase. You want to lose weight through strength training and therefore set yourself an ambitious training plan. In fact , the muscles grow during the regeneration phases .
From this we derive an important principle for strength training to lose weight: periods of intensive training and recovery phases must alternate. Otherwise, we don't have to be surprised about weight gain despite exercise . It is less interesting whether we do strength training at home, in the gym, or even strength training without equipment .
Muscle growth as adaptation to stimuli
It is important that we push ourselves to the limits of our performance for a short period of time. The muscle needs to be challenged. Muscle growth is an adaptive effort. By increasing muscle mass, the muscles respond to an intense stimulus. This is the case with strength training for the legs and also in other areas.
Muscle soreness is a sign that small micro-injuries have occurred in the muscle. They are the result of intense stress. We take this insight with us into our training plan: In order to build more muscle mass and lose weight, we have to provide intensive training stimuli , followed by regeneration phases.
What bodybuilders know about nutrition
Ambitious amateur strength athletes and professionals are well versed in the requirements needed to build muscle. They know that the best training plan and targeted strength training for their legs, arms, back and stomach won't help them if their diet isn't right. There is an almost paradoxical phenomenon here: losing weight with strength training is not possible if we do not eat enough during the growth phase.
The main thing is to provide you with protein, but also sufficient carbohydrates. The smallest protein building blocks, the amino acids, are essential for weight loss. Our body uses them to form the building material for the muscles. They are also the basis for various messenger substances, including thyroid hormones, which also influence metabolic activity
What professional strength athletes do differently during diet phases
Professional bodybuilders also often undergo phases of intense calorie restriction, especially before competitions. However, this is not the phase in which you work on building muscles. Losing weight and gaining mass at the same time - these two processes take place in different phases. The professional strength athletes know another connection.
In the end, it's not just about building muscle . We also have to maintain these muscles. This is exactly where many of us make various mistakes. Strength training to lose weight with a training plan does not bring the desired results if we do not eat properly or even make nutritional mistakes.
This is especially true during phases in which we are reducing calories. Bodybuilders therefore pay more than just attention to their training plan during times of calorie reduction . They put together their nutrition plan as well as their training plan very carefully. They know that they must avoid muscle loss at all costs.
They know the importance of amino acids in losing weight and how to avoid the adverse effects of low-calorie diets. Whether strength training in the gym or strength training without equipment , we have to pay attention to our diet, especially during diet phases.
Diets and the yo-yo effect
Most of us have experienced this before. With a lot of discipline they were able to lose a few kilos. Maybe a training plan helped. Above all, we reduced the calories during these phases. First, the pointer on the scale went down. When we started eating more calories again, the training plan couldn't help us either.
We learned about the yo-yo effect. It is a direct result of not supplying our bodies with enough protein while restricting calories. He therefore resorted to protein in our muscles.
We lost muscle, not built it up. As a result, the basal metabolic rate has fallen. Our metabolism has slowed further and our body is now using energy on the back burner. This is immediately noticeable on the scales. Even with a training plan and a lot of commitment, we weigh more than we did before our diet. This is frustrating and causes some of us to give up on our weight loss efforts.
Boost fat metabolism
We already know that we need amino acids to lose weight . For example, the essential amino acid methionine has a fat-dissolving effect and can have a positive effect on fat storage in the liver. This is possible, among other things, because methionine is involved in the formation of the hormone-like substance carnitine. Carnitine plays a crucial role in fat metabolism .
Essential amino acids cannot be produced by the body itself; we have to continually get them from our diet. When we use amino acids to lose weight, we must pay particular attention to the supply of these essential aminos.
Higher protein requirements for fat loss?
There are many unanswered questions about the daily protein requirement. We often talk about 0.8 g/kg of body weight. The need values can vary from person to person and, according to many experts, can be significantly higher in special life situations. There is often talk of 1.6-2.5 g/kg of body weight.
Nutrition experts recommend consuming at least 1.5 - 2.2 g/kg of body weight when we do strength training. With these values in protein intake we can support muscle building.
This means that we are well advised to draw up a nutrition plan in addition to the training plan . Here we should combine many natural protein sources of animal and plant origin. Meat, cheese and eggs provide us with protein, as do nuts, legumes and various grains.
The secret to a good protein supply lies in the combination of animal and vegetable protein sources. This increases the value of the protein consumed. Let's create a positive calorie balance in order to successfully build muscle with strength training for the legs, arms, stomach and back .
Does a dietary supplement with amino acids make sense?
Since we need amino acids to lose weight, an additional intake of the valuable protein building blocks may be recommended on a case-by-case basis. It always depends on the individual circumstances. We don't always stick to the nutrition plan and training plan consistently. Additional aminos can therefore support our efforts to build and maintain muscle.
Lose weight training plan: How do you plan your training?
There is no one perfect training plan for losing weight. However, strength training to lose weight requires a training plan. Without a plan, our training efforts can quickly go nowhere. The training then does not bring the desired result. The training plan also ensures that we exercise regularly.
How to lose weight with an efficient workout plan
Most personal trainers and sports experts recommend a training plan with 2-3 units of strength training per week.
It doesn't matter whether we do strength training at home or in the gym . It is important that all muscle groups are used to lose weight. We shouldn't just focus on our leg or stomach strength training. Experts see the greatest effects on fat metabolism from a combination of strength and endurance.
So-called HIIT units can also be integrated . The abbreviation stands for high-intensity interval training. With these combinations we attack the topic of losing weight in the training plan from different angles. We build muscle and combat existing body fat by stimulating metabolism.
For example, a training plan for beginners in the gym might look like this:
For strength training at home and for strength training without equipment, HIIT sessions are also particularly effective with a training plan like this :
It may be worthwhile to develop an individual training plan for losing weight together with a personal trainer. He can then always make adjustments to the plan together with you. The trainer can also set particular priorities over time, for example with strength training for the legs or buttocks.
Online trainers now also offer strength training to lose weight . Strength training at home, like strength training without equipment, can be just as effective as training in the gym. Losing weight isn't magic - a workout plan tailored to your needs makes losing weight easier. A nutrition plan is also included.