Lifting with weights provides some of the best muscle building exercises!
Weight lifting provides some of the most effective muscle building exercises. Throughout my years in fitness and nutrition, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve spoken to people who were afraid of lifting with weights because they only wanted to lose fat and didn’t want to get “bulky”. It’s hard to break through to people to convince them that the opposite is actually true. We were sold a lie from the early days of fitness that told us that to lose weight and get “toned” all we had to do was steady state cardio like running, swimming, cycling, etc.
While those activities are good in their own right, none of them come even close to burning calories and building solid/lean muscle mass while shredding fat like strength training. The issue is most people simply don’t know how to lift weights properly, have poor technique, or have poor strategy. In this article we will go over 5 ways to gain lean and toned muscles while shredding fat as well as some common misconceptions of lifting weights.
1. For the best muscle building exercises, keep it simple
So often we hear this grifters talking about the “New easy program that’s the fastest way to lose fat” to try to sell you some pipe dream. These people are dishonest and are trying to play on your emotions to make money. I remember growing up in the 80’s and 90’s watching infomercials of some insane new contraptions that had people doing all sorts of crazy movements that never even worked the targeted muscles they were advertising. Some things never change.
With the prevalence of social media and “influencers” this phenomena has been supercharged. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. (I could go on and on) are chock full of these people trying to sell you some new program or supplement that will “melt fat away easy” and give you the “body of your dreams in 90 days with the best muscle building exercises”. These people are peddling products and programs to make money and most could care less if it doesn’t work or you wind up hurting yourself.
“I don’t want to lift weights cause I just want to lose fat and not get too bulky or have huge bodybuilder muscles.”
Common misconceptions on weight training
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Men and women have drastically different natural hormones flowing through their body. Testosterone is the single biggest factor to build muscle and unless you are injecting massive amounts of testosterone into your system legally or illegally (man or woman) it’s extremely difficult to naturally build muscle to get to a “bodybuilder” type body.
The reality is a proper weight lifting program will build muscle and give you a toned and lean body while burning fat… period. As long as you’re eating and supplementing accordingly, a vigorous strength training routine is necessary for you to perform at your optimum levels and have the body of your dreams.
2. Time under tension (TUT) to build muscle
The whole point of strength training is to break down muscle fibers in targeted primary and secondary muscles in order that they build muscle back up stronger and leaner while breaking down fat cells. Simple and functional movements with weights (that have been proven for decades) are the key to build muscle and the body you desire. Slow, methodical movements with the proper technique are the best muscle building exercises and a the key to a solid foundation with strength training. You want to keep the primary muscles you are working on engaged through expansion, contraction, and isolation at all times during your sets. The more time under tension the better for breaking down the muscle fibers. When your muscle fibers heal with the protein in your body they will build muscle stronger, leaner, and larger than before.
Start with a comfortable weight that you can get 10-12 reps at about 80% of failure. A good way to go is move slow and methodical counting to 3 seconds on expansion and 3 seconds on the contraction. You can hold for 2 seconds in isolation in between reps. This increases the time under tension (TUT) and is better at breaking down the muscle fibers than herky-jerky movements. As you advance in your training you increase the weight as needed to take each set to failure. Shoot for 3-4 sets per workout with 8-12 reps per set using the time under tension (TUT) principle.
3. For the best muscle building exercises, take your muscles to failure with each set
If you are just beginning do not do this unless you are working with a personal trainer or have a spotter. You don’t want to choke yourself out with a barbell or drop a weight on your face. LOL. Go to 80% of failure until you feel comfortable and confident with your body and the weights you’re using. Eventually, you want to get to the point of failure on each set without hurting yourself.
Personally, I like to workout alone so I can get in and out of the gym in less than an hour, so it took me a while before I felt comfortable with my body enough to go to failure on each set. Take it slow and use your discretion to advance as needed. If you try to progress too fast without fortifying a solid foundation to build muscle you will either injure yourself or deviate away from proper training.
4. Decrease rest time in between sets for the best muscle building exercises
For this lean muscle and fat burning style of training, try to keep your rest time under 1 minute in between sets. This will increase (TUT) while elevating your heart rate dramatically. As you progress in your training, try to decrease the rest time accordingly. This is the same concept that BodyPump and Crossfit use as well as thousands of training facilities around the world. Keep track of your heart rate and don’t overwork yourself or you’ll stroke out on the gym floor and it will be a bad time for everybody.
5. Rest easy and let your body recover
After an intense weight training session you should be whooped but feel great. Your endorphins and dopamine were blasting off so you should feel calm and collected the rest of the day. You should feel the pump and be slightly sore the next day. When you begin a weight training regiment you will be very sore the next few days for the first couple weeks to a month but you simply just have to keep pushing through the soreness. The second day is always the worst. Leg day will have you trust falling onto the toilet. LOL.
You should grow accustomed to the soreness as that is your muscle fibers that you broke down through weight training that are being built back up stronger and leaner from the protein in your body. Be sure to know the difference between muscle soreness and physical injury. You can work with a personal trainer if you are concerned that you may injure yourself. It’s important to fuel your body with the proper nutrients with the right foods and supplementation it needs to complement your training as well as getting a good night’s sleep.
To build muscle, keep it up and don’t stop!
Look, I’m gonna be honest with you, starting and keeping up with a strength training routine is not going to be easy. You are going to be sore and tired when you first start and it will take all of your willpower to motivate yourself in the beginning. To start, I would recommend working out with a personal trainer or a buddy to spot you and help motivate you, but you cannot let that be a crutch in maintaining a weight lifting program. You have to have the personal fortitude and motivation to want the body of your dreams more than anything. Like anything in life, you get what you put into it, so conquer your fears of weight lifting and get started today. I will link my go-to Lean-Mass Bodybuilding Workout #1 that works for both men and women alike. Stay swole my friends. Peace.
