John Is Fit

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 01:48 PM PST

This is a guest post by Aaron McCloud.

Why lift weights for weight loss? And if you are lifting, how can you maximize your fat burning?

In two words: Work Hard!

Aside from the general rule that hard work produces better results that easy work, here's why you should seriously consider weight training for fat loss. And real weight training, with big multi-joint lifts!

Big Lifts Build More Muscle

You can do bicep curls when you go to the gym. And calf raises, and shoulder shrugs. But you're stressing your body to put on muscle in the most inefficient way possible.

You can stress your arms by doing bicep curls, tricep extensions, wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and some dumbbell flies for your chest. Or you can just save yourself a ton of time and do a bench press or standing barbell shoulder press.

Big, multi-joint lifts place a massive amount of stress on your whole body. And these lifts build both your primary muscles (biceps, triceps, and pectorals in the example above), but also strengthen your little stabilizer muscles and all the connective tissue in between. You strengthen your whole body as a unit, rather than just one little piece at a time.

Big Lifts Take More Effort and Do More Work

Doing a heavy barbell squat takes effort. Doing a bicep curl, even a heavy one, doesn't take as much effort. And doesn't do as much work.

If you do 10 squats with a barbell that has even a light weight, say 135 pounds, you're moving that 135 pounds four or five feet up and down with each squat. With a one arm bicep curl, you might move 30 pounds (if you're strong) a foot and a half or two feet.

You do much more work with the heavier weight and big lifts. And more work means more calories burned. In 10 minutes of heavy lifting you can easily do more work than your friends do in an hour on the treadmill. So think about doing some big lifts next time you go to the gym.

Big Lifts Are Efficient

Doing a workout comprised of just a few big lifts doesn't take that long. Heck, you can't lift that intensely for that long.

When you start a beginner weight training program, you can make progress with just two or even one workout each week. For 45 minutes a workout, you can actually make a ton of progress for less than two hours a week!

Think of that contrasted against the conventional wisdom of jogging for weight loss for four or five hours a week. Or even more. You're not building significant muscle mass, and you're just pouring a lot of your time down the drain.

Lifting weights makes excellent use of your time, and actually makes a significant difference by actually changing your body composition. You put on more muscle which helps you change how you look, feel, and how much fat you have long term.

It takes time, but it works really well for completely changing your body composition. In a year of lifting you can put on a good 15 or 20 pounds of muscle even if you're small and/or pretty bad genetics (like me), which will make a huge change in how you look, how much fat you have, and how much you weigh.

Aaron McCloud is a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine, has practiced martial arts for the last 10 years, and writes and runs www.Complete-Strength-Training.com. Check out Complete Strength Training for information about strength training, diet, exercise, and how to start your own beginner weight training program.

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