2009 Studies & Research Blog

Most people who are consistent with their weight lifting efforts understand the concept that the more lean body mass they have on their body the higher their basal metabolic rate will be.  Because of this fact when you regularly perform your weight lifting workouts and work towards gaining additional body fat, you are successful in boosting the metabolic rate higher and having an easier time with the process of weight loss altogether.

But what about the during workout calorie burn?  Since fat loss does come down to how many calories you’re taking in on a daily basis versus how many calories you’re expending, it’s also important that you factor that into the equation.

For many years most people have been under the impression that you’ll burn far more calories during a cardio workout than a weight workout, which is many cases is true.  Intense cardio does tend to burn more calories minute per minute after the workout compared with weights due to the all the rest time that’s taken during a traditional weight lifting workout.

What many people fail to consider however is that weight lifting workouts can also cause you to expend more calories in the post-workout period than you otherwise would have, which is another significant factor in the game of fat loss.

But, with this point, not all weight lifting workouts are created equally.

Recently researchers published a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that looked at the different effects of various strength training methods on post-exercise energy expenditure. What this particular study wanted to look at was whether the order that the exercises were performed had any impact on the overall post-exercise energy expenditure.

They had subjects either perform a circuit style strength training program or a pre-exhaustion style strength training program using seven different exercises where the loads varied between 50 and 55% of the total one rep max.

The oxygen uptake of the eight subjects was measured between the sessions to determine how many calories they were burning after each particular workout protocol.  They found that there was no significant difference in the EPOC levels or the post-exercise energy expenditure between the two methods of training.  

However the researchers also noted that in sessions where rest periods were very short between the sets the energy expenditure from those sessions very closely matched the workouts that were utilizing a higher percentage of one rep max, therefore providing indication of ways to boost your calorie burn depending on the nature of the workout you’re doing.

In conclusion then, if you are looking to maximize strength development, lifting with a higher percentage of your one rep max will be the best bet which does tend to produce a good post-calorie workout burn.  But if you aren’t looking to develop maximum strength and would prefer to utilize a slightly lighter weight, higher rep protocol, in order to get the same fat burning benefits from the former workout, you should really focus on reducing the total rest period that is used throughout the workout program.

So next workout, keep these points in mind.  Weight training workouts can be very effective for overall fat loss when performed correctly.

Reference:
Brentano, MA. Et al. (2009) Effects of Different Strength Training Methods on Post-Exercise Energetic Expenditure. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.  Oct. 22.