When you’re trying to lose fat, strength training should be used as a way to prevent muscle loss or even stimulate muscle gain; it shouldn’t be used to stimulate fat loss.
Don’t get me wrong, the adaptations to strength training and increased energy expenditure will contribute somewhat to your fat loss effort. However, you shouldn’t design lifting programs aimed solely at burning fat. Performing high rep exercise with light weights will do nothing to help preserve muscle mass while on a diet and might even lead to muscle wasting if the volume is excessive.[/quote]
Some coaches think that your program should be changed for fat loss (ie: using higher reps, shorter rest periods etc). They claim that although you’ll only burn a little more calories during a session with this method, that EPOC will be much greater and that’s when the bulk of the fat loss occurs.
Perhaps that’s how those old school “high rep for cuts” programs worked to?
[quote]PHGN wrote:
You really should check out his last article.[/quote]
I did which leads me to this question.
While I’ve always thought that lifting should remain the same (heavy) with only diet changing, other authors are suggesting that EPOC plays a huge role.
Unless if I’ve misread CT’s last article, he doesn’t take EPOC into consideration when evaluation the various methods.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
How do you guys think complexes fit?[/quote]
I think complexes are a useful tool, I switched to them when my calories started to get really low towards the end of my cut and my strength finally started to drop.
Complexes work and they HURT, but up until that point my training didn’t change at all (low reps) just my diet and cardio.
I used around 5 or 6 exercises with around 5-8 reps per exercise for each complex.
[quote]Jillybop wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
XxMAGxX wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
How do you guys think complexes fit?
In terms of what? How many exercises in the complex? What rep range? Types of exercises?
In terms of fat loss. Say six sets of six different exercises, rows, presses squats etc with the same barbell.
I would think that would be considered lactic acid type training, assuming higher reps and little rest.
[/quote]
I would agree.
I believe that this type of training (lactic acid) would promote higher EPOC, but not sure if it would help promote muscle retention as much as low volume, heavy lifting.
Then again, I’ve stayed away from lactic acid training ever since meltdown I. Those workouts were short, but they ruined the rest of my mornings because I felt ill. Needless to say I didn’t stay on that program very long. Although its not to say it would have been ineffective had I continued.