Rest: Essential for fat loss? Intense or moderate training?
June 4, 2009 by OCstrength
Filed under Diet
Since my last workout over the weekend for the 31 day challenge, I promised my body I would take a weeks worth of rest. So far it’s been 4 days. I also rewarded myself by not being so strict on my diet for this week. I still haven’t had any diet soda, but I did have some cookies and a couple bowls of cereal yesterday. Today will be my last day of ‘cheating’ which will include a super cheat meal from Costco I’m thinking. Then it’s BACK TO WORK!
I did weight myself yesterday and I havent gained anything back yet, but I am sure that’ll change by Monday’s weigh in. That’s the tough part that holds true for everyone, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR HARD WORK FAST IF YOU DO NOT PROTECT IT!
By now you know I lost 14lbs last month. I will probably gain 4 back before Monday, then I will set a new goal for the remainder of June. I will weigh in again on Monday.
The big question, is rest needed for a fat loss program? Since there is no goal to bulk up or add any muscle mass, do we really need the rest to grow? The short, unscientific answer, is No- we do not need rest to grow during a fat loss program, BUT we do need rest to repair muscles, refuel our bodies, and be prepared for the next intense workout. You have to listen to your body.
With a fat loss program, you’ll most likely be working mostly slow twitch muscles. These have the ability to endure a long duration of training. These muscles usually adapt pretty fast and there typically isnt much lactate build up in them after a workout.
So, doing heavy sets of bench presses for a 3 set 90% max lift, is useless for fat loss. You will be sore the next day and not want to train. For fat loss, you can’t take many days off- just enough to repair. Instead, your sets will be in the 10-15 rep range and usually a light to moderate weight size.
The key to fat loss is moderate weights, more reps, and an intense workout. There has been much talk about ‘longer duration’ workouts for fat loss, and long moderate jogs, blah blah, BS!!!
Here is the old comparison; Just take a look at the marathon runner, then look at the sprinter. (nothing against marathon runners) Now, which look are you going for??
-Mike
Related posts:
