When it comes to training for weight loss, the most common perception I see is that you need to train every day, this is something that we at K1 disagree with. Utilising a focused training plan like our Small Group Personal Training and a simple yet structured nutrition protocol, you can achieve fantastic results.
To explain further, let us look at weight-loss in more depth.
There are two sides to the weight-loss equation. Energy in and energy out. Energy in is food, put simply, it’s everything you eat or drink, that isn’t water. The energy out component is the energy you burn each day, this is known as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE. When you look at each different component of TDEE, you’ll notice that exercise activity accounts for only 5% of the total amount. So focusing on this as the main part of losing weight, doesn’t make much sense. (I’ll explain why training is important below).
Looking at the bigger picture, you’ll see that your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) amounts to the largest portion of your TDEE and the best way to increase your RMR is to add muscle to your frame. Muscle needs more energy to maintain than fat tissue, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. This is why the focus of your sessions, if your goal is to lose fat, should be to build muscle, by following a structured weight training plan, that follows the principles of progressive overload; adding more weight or more reps to increase the total volume of work done, week by week.
The next biggest portion of energy is spent on Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). This is the amount of energy you expend doing stuff every day, things like walking, fidgeting, cleaning the house, picking the kids up from school etc. It all counts, and the more you move throughout the day, the more energy you use.
If you’re looking at training regularly then you want to include a mixture of sessions, from more intense weight training workouts to less intense cardio and mobility sessions that will help aid recovery.
In a nutshell, if your goal is fat loss, train to build muscle 2-4 times a week, make sure to add in some lighter recovery sessions and keep track of your activity levels outside of the gym. Be consistent. Be patient.