Metabolic Weight Training is one of the training concepts used in Cathe’s new AfterBurn workout. We all probably know that weight training helps to build strength and lean body mass if you lift weight that’s challenging enough to breakdown muscle fibers and cause your body to adapt and grow. But there’s another kind of weight training that not only builds strength but challenges your cardiovascular system while forcing you to burn more fat – all at the same time. It’s called metabolic weight training and you will see this technique used in many of the workouts in Cathe’s new Low Impact series, including AfterBurn.
Metabolic Weight Training Burns More Fat
Many people think you have to spend an hour doing an aerobic activity like running on a treadmill or working out on a stair-stepper or elliptical machine to burn fat. Aerobic activity and endurance training that requires you to work out at a moderate intensity for a sustained period of time burns significant calories and fat while you’re doing it and does offer many advantages- but once you step off the treadmill or elliptical and start to cool down – so does your metabolism.
Running on a treadmill burns lots of calories, but it won’t give you much of an after-burn effect. Want to know how many extra calories you burn on average after you step off of a treadmill or elliptical machine? A measly 30 calories. Not a lot to speak of.
If you’re trying to build muscle mass, you probably rest several minutes between sets to allow your muscles to recover, so you can “max out” on the next set. Weight training can burn significant calories, especially if you focus on the larger muscles in the lower body and use heavy weights. If you’re doing lower body strength training, you can burn up to 10 calories per minute. You’ll also get a little after-burn effect since your muscles use energy to repair and adapt after your workout. But there’s a better option.
Do a Metabolic Workout Instead
There’s another way to build strength while boosting fat-burning. It’s called metabolic weight training. Metabolic weight training involves doing strength training with minimal rest between sets. Because you’re rapidly moving from set-to-set, your heart rate stays up, and you get more of a hormonal response. This means fat-burning hormones such as growth hormones, norepinephrine and adrenalin are released in greater quantities, which is the key to fat loss.
When you do metabolic weight training, you won’t max out the amount of weight you lift, so it’s not the best strategy for building muscle size, but it is one of the best ways to get “cut” and blast away stubborn body fat.
One way to do metabolic weight training is to pick a dumbbell that’s about 60 to70% of what you’re capable of lifting 10 to 16 times. Do as many repetitions with this weight as you can for one minute, then rest for 30 seconds and move on to the next exercise. If you’re a beginner, start with 30 seconds of weight training with one minute of rest in between, and gradually increase the weight training interval while decreasing the rest period between sets. You don’t have to use dumbbells for every set; body weight exercises such as push-ups are good too. In AfterBurn we use bodyweight and dumbbells for our metabolic intervals and then alternate them with low impact high intensity cardio intervals for the ultimate fat burning workout. AfterBurn is unlike any other Low Impact workout you have ever seen and utilizes both low impact HiiT cardio and Metabolic Weight Training in the same workout!
The Bottom Line?
Metabolic weight training burns more calories – and keeps your metabolism elevated even after you’ve finished your workout. It’s a great way to blast away stubborn fat that’s hiding those beautiful muscles – so you’ll look more ripped and defined. By combing Metabolic Weight Training with high intensity interval training, like Cathe does in AfterBurn, you will get the results you’re looking in the shortest amount of time possible!
References:
Exercise Physiology. Fifth Edition. McArdle, Katch and Katch
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