New Study: Lifting Weights Enhances Abdominal Fat Loss!

Written by Shoshana Pritzker Monday, 17 May 2010 20:40

By Thomas Fahey, EdD and Steve Blechman

"Weight training is like Cinderella— overlooked, but stunningly beautiful. It is the best kind of exercise for some people."


The average woman wants a sexy body with low body fat, shapely abs and toned muscles. Women want to be athletic and move with strength, grace and speed. Most don’t care about building gigantic muscles like the women competing in the bodybuilding shows, but they want a nice physique that will turn heads and make people take notice.
If you’re like most American women, you’re a tad overweight and could use some toning up. You want to look fit and cut, but have some belly fat around the middle and your muscles are flabby and loose. It doesn’t have to be this way. Any woman can have a better-looking body and shapelier abdominal muscles with the right program and a little desire. Weight training is the key.
Lifting weights can give you the body you want, but until recently, most experts didn’t think it was valuable for cutting body fat. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, health experts pushed aerobics and didn’t think resistance exercise promoted health or prevented weight gain. Studies during the past 10 years found that weight training builds muscle, improves cellular health and promotes fat loss. Add in an aerobic training program and a healthy diet and you can build fitness and cut fat in record time.
This article explains a whole-body, calorie-burning, muscle-building workout that will trim your abdomen and increase strength and power. If you’ve been a couch potato for a couple of years, this workout will turn your life around and start you on the road to fat-burning fitness. If you’ve been working out consistently, the whole-body functional training exercises described in this article will put the finishing touches on an already fit body.

Weight Training Turns You Into a Fat-Burning Machine
Most fitness experts recommend aerobic exercise to boost caloric expenditure and place less emphasis on weight training. Weight training has been like the forgotten stepsister, who was almost distained by health experts and professional organizations. They used slogans like, “You can survive without an attractive body, but you can’t live without a healthy heart.”
What these experts forgot was that the heart is part of a metabolic system that includes cell energy systems, blood vessels, lungs, fat and muscle— all of which affect the function and health of the heart. It turns out that weight training is like Cinderella— overlooked, but stunningly beautiful. It is the best kind of exercise for some people. Studies during the past 10 years found that weight training builds muscle, improves cellular health and promotes fat loss.
Researchers from East Carolina University found that weight training increased fat use in abdominal fat during and for at least 40 minutes after exercise. Weight training increased subcutaneous (under the skin) abdominal fat oxidation and promoted whole-body fat burning during and after exercise. Strength training increases fat metabolism by stimulating beta-adrenergic receptors— cell structures that make adrenaline increase metabolism and fat use. They concluded that weight training prevents fat gain and improves body composition by increasing caloric consumption, promoting abdominal fat breakdown and boosting whole-body fat use.
Weight training takes effort and is a tremendous fat burner. Large-muscle exercises are particularly effective. Researchers from the University of New Mexico, led by Robert Robergs, found that the energy costs of doing bench presses and squats were higher than previously thought. They measured oxygen consumption in people doing these exercises at different intensities and developed mathematical equations to estimate the caloric costs of weight training. Training at 65 percent of maximum effort, for example, burned approximately 15 calories per minute. At that rate, weight training for only 2 hours per week would cause an energy expenditure of 1,800 calories. Weight training causes healthy changes in cellular metabolism, such as improved blood sugar control, and can be an important source of energy expenditure in people trying to lose or maintain weight.
Spot reducing abdominal fat (spot reducing is fat loss in a target area of the body) may also be possible. University of Copenhagen researchers found that fat breakdown was higher in adipose tissue near exercising muscles than in adipose adjacent to resting muscles. Ten people did one-leg knee extension exercises at 25 percent of maximal capacity for 30 minutes followed by exercise at 55 percent of maximum effort for 120 minutes with the other leg and finally, exercised at 85 percent of maximum for 30 minutes with the first leg. Subjects rested for 30 minutes between exercise periods. Blood flow and fat breakdown was higher in the fat next to the exercising muscles than fat adjacent to resting muscles. This study used radioactive tracers to precisely measure fat metabolism rather than indirect measures used by other studies. They concluded that exercising specific muscles increases fat blood flow and fat breakdown in nearby adipose tissue and could cause spot reduction of fat. Spot reducing ab fat may be possible— if you work hard enough.
Weight training also stimulates growth hormone (GH), which is a potent fat-fighter. GH is produced mainly in the pituitary gland in the brain and is critical for growth, movement of amino acids into cells (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins) and protein synthesis. GH is an anti-fat hormone that stimulates the release and breakdown of fat from the fat cells and helps maintain blood sugar. GH is really a family of hormones, with over 100 varieties circulating in the bloodstream. Chronic weight training increases the activity of several GH types, particularly the biologically active variety. Weight training improves the capacity of biologically active GH to promote protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism at rest and during exercise and recovery.

Weight training is a great fat-fighter, particularly if you follow some basic principles:
• Include whole-body, multi-joint exercises in your program.
• Move quickly between sets and exercises.
• Do aerobic exercise three to five days per week.
• Do cardio first and then lift weights if the goal is to maximize caloric expenditure.
• Train intensely.


Key to Weight Loss: Weight Training, Aerobics and Diet
The best fat-loss plan includes a calorie-restricted diet, aerobics and weight training. Exercise works best if you train hard. Going through the motions with a low-intensity weight-training routine and half-hearted aerobics program is little more than a waste of time.
Research from sports medicine laboratories in Korea and Japan showed that the best approach for losing abdominal fat is to combine a general three-day-per-week weight-training program with a 60-minute-per-session aerobics program. Fat loss was greater for a group that did aerobics plus weight training than for a group that did aerobics six days per week for 60 minutes per session or control group. The combined group (weight training and aerobics) gained more lean mass (muscle mass; 12 pounds vs. 1 pound for aerobics) and lost more subcutaneous fat (surface fat; 62 cc versus 21 cc) and visceral fat (fat inside the abdomen; 93 cc vs. 86 cc).
A study from the University of Connecticut by Bill Kraemer and colleagues found that people who combined caloric restriction with a weight-training and aerobic exercise program maintained muscle mass, while making sizable improvements in strength, body composition and aerobic capacity. The study included three groups: subjects who dieted but didn’t exercise, those who dieted and did aerobic exercise and those who dieted and did aerobics and weight training. In 12 weeks, each group lost the same amount of weight— about 20 pounds. The big difference between groups was the amount of muscle lost. People who dieted without exercising lost nearly 7 pounds of muscle. Interestingly, those who dieted and did aerobics lost over 4 pounds of muscle. Only the group who dieted while also lifting weights and doing aerobics maintained their muscle mass. They lost only about 1/2 pound of muscle, even though they lost a substantial amount of bodyweight. The bottom line from this study: when you add weight training and aerobics to your weight-loss program, you lose more fat and less muscle— if you train intensely.
Look around in any health club. Some people spend more time socializing than working hard. You can’t build muscle and lose fat by looking at yourself in the mirror or talking to your friend on the next machine. Push yourself when you do resistive or aerobic exercises. You don’t have to exercise for hours and hours, but you do need to be serious about your program.

Whole-Body Training Routine that Cuts Fat and Builds Ab Muscles
This weight-training program includes mainly whole-body, large-muscle exercises designed to increase metabolism, burn more calories and build the major muscle groups in the body.
You will notice a significant difference in your body after only four weeks on this program. We can’t do the work for you. We are reminded of an old Danish toast (English version): “Cheers to you all; the best of luck; but you must do something for yourself.” Get serious and build the kind of body you want!


Bench Presses: Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Have the spotter help you move the bar from the rack to a point over your chest. Lower the bar in a straight line slightly below your nipples (end of the breastbone). Push the weight straight up to the starting position.

Barbell Squats: You need a barbell and squat rack for this exercise.
Place the bar so it rests on the fleshy part of your upper back. Grasp the bar with your hands for support. Some people like to put a pad on the bar to increase comfort. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with toes pointed slightly outward. Keep your head up and back straight during the lift. Squat down until your thighs are approximately parallel (slightly below) with the floor. Drive upward toward the starting position, keeping your back in a fixed position throughout the lift. Never “bounce” at the bottom of the squat— this could injure the ligaments of your knee.

Dumbbell Lunges: The dumbbell lunge is a great exercise for isolating lower body muscles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms extended. Lunge forward with one leg, bending it until the thigh is parallel to the floor. The heel of the lead leg should stay on the ground. Don’t shift your weight too far forward and let the knee move past the toes. Repeat the exercise using the other leg. Keep your back and head as straight as possible and maintain control while performing the exercise. Do 30 reps on each side.

One-Leg Squats (with rear foot support): Stand about 3 feet in front of a bench (back to the bench). Place the instep of your left foot on the bench and put most of your weight on your right leg (left leg bent), with hands at your side. Squat on your right leg until your thigh is parallel with the floor. Keep your back straight, chest up, shoulders back and head neutral. Return to the starting position and repeat for a total of 10 repetitions using both legs (right leg for 10 reps and then the left leg).

Lat Pulls: From a seated or kneeling position (depending on the machine), grasp the bar of the lat machine. Use a wide grip and fully extend your arms. Pull the weight down until it reaches your chest; return to the starting position.

Seated Rows: This exercise requires a rowing or T-bar machine. For the machine, sit in the chair and grasp the bar in front of you at arms length. Pull the bar toward you as you pull your shoulder blades together. For the T-bar machine, lay supine with your chest firmly on the pad and grasp the T-bar with your arms fully extended. Pull the T-bar toward your chest, and then return the bar slowly to the starting position.

Step-Ups (on a high bench): A dusty, nearly defunct activity, step training may now experience a revival. Stand in front of a step or stair that is no more than eight inches in height. Using a slow and even pace, step up with the right foot, up with the left, down with the right and down with the left. For each step taken, place your entire foot solidly on the step and squeeze through the glutes of the lead leg to come to a standing position on top of the step. Avoid bouncing and pushing off with your back leg to assist you with the motion. Complete all repetitions on one leg before switching to the other side.

Crunches: Lie on the floor on your back and bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Some experts say to bend only one knee and leave the other leg extended. Place your hands across your chest. Contract your front abdominal muscles, drawing your breastbone downward. Try not to lift your neck or shoulders; let the abdominals do the work.

Bicycle Exercises: Lie on your back with legs extended with your hands placed across your chest. Pull your right knee in toward your chest while twisting the left shoulder toward your right knee. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other knee and elbow.

Captain’s Chair Leg Raises: Grip the handles and support your body by your forearms on the pads of the Captain’s chair with your legs dangling below. Flex your hips and bring your knees toward your midsection, then return slowly to the starting position.

Bench Dips: Place two benches (or chairs) aligned parallel slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Stand between the benches and place your hands in the middle of each bench, with legs extended in front of you, elbows extended and back facing the ground. Keeping your legs straight, bend your elbows to 90°, lowering your body between the benches. Straighten your elbows and return to the starting position. You can also do this exercise by placing both hands on a bench placed behind you and lowering your body in front of it.

Side-Bridges: This is a great exercise for the obliques (side ab muscles) and a deep spinal stabilizing muscle called the quadratus lumborum. Lie on your side and support your body between your forearm and knees. As you increase fitness, first move your nonsupport arm across your body as you hold the side-bridge; later, support your weight between your forearm and feet. Do this exercise on your left and right side and try to hold your spine straight— don’t let your midsection sag during the exercise. Hold the position on each side for 10 to 15 seconds.

 

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