How Long To Rest Between Sets For Weight Loss

You slap on the plates, sit down on the bench, and pound out your 10 repetitions before waiting. And you’re sitting there wondering, “How long do I have to wait until I start my next set?”

Some of you may have heard that if you want to gain muscle, you should rest for around one minute, and if you want to get stronger, you should rest for three minutes. A new research, however, calls this view into question.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, fitness specialist Brad Schoenfeld, commonly known as the “Hypertrophy Specialist” for his significant work in muscle growth research, explored this very subject alongside his colleagues.

They chose 23 well-trained male subjects and divided them into two groups based on equal strength levels. For eight weeks, three times a week, each participant completed seven typical weight training exercises for three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. The only variation is that one group takes one minute between sets while the other takes three.

They discovered that the 1-minute group had some nice results but not many meaningful improvements after eight weeks. The three-minute group, on the other hand, improved in all seven tests, including four that assessed muscle development, two that measured strength increases, and one that measured muscular endurance.

The researchers weren’t surprised by the stronger strength improvements with 3 minutes rest; in fact, that’s what they predicted. What surprised them was the bigger increase in muscle growth.

So, what’s going on here? Why is it that more rest is better than less rest, especially since it was once thought that less rest was better for muscular growth?

According to the experts, if you have longer rest, you’ll be able to finish more reps, increasing your overall work volume. A greater overall labour volume allows for a greater dose-response impact on muscle and training adaptations. They do warn, however, that further study may be required to validate this notion. However, assuming you’re training with the right weight, the extra rest should allow you to lift more and get better results. So perhaps lying around and checking your phone in between sets isn’t such a horrible idea. But, especially in the squat rack, don’t do it.

 

 

Effects Of Caffeine And Weight Loss | How Does Caffeine Help You Lose Weight

Effects Of Caffeine And Weight Loss

Caffeine is the most commonly used stimulant on the planet. 90 percent of Americans drink two cups of coffee every day, which equals 350 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine’s effects on one’s energy level are well known, as is its capacity to wake us up in the morning and keep us alert during long days at work.

But what about when it comes to workouts and caffeine?

Caffeine has an ergogenic, performance-enhancing impact in addition to being a well-known brain stimulant. Caffeine enhances the release of hormones during exertion, particularly epinephrine, often known as adrenaline. More stored fat is broken down into fatty acids when adrenaline levels rise in the circulation. This permits the body to use more fat as an energy source while also reducing the use of other energy sources like glycogen.

Individuals may operate physically for extended periods of time before becoming fatigued by reserving glycogen for future usage. This is fantastic news for long-distance runners and bikers who workout for lengthy periods of time. In fact, studies have shown that cyclists who had 330 mg of caffeine an hour later were able to travel 20% farther than those who consumed no caffeine at all. Unfortunately, an ordinary person’s performance in short-term, high-intensity workouts like weightlifting and running has shown little to no gain.

This is not the case for elite athletes, especially those who do not drink caffeine frequently, since studies have shown that caffeine improves performance in high-intensity sports. Caffeine is best utilized for activities with extended durations and low to moderate intensity if you want to increase your performance. If you’re looking to gain muscle with weight training, it might not be the best option. Additionally, remaining under 500 mg of caffeine is optimal for avoiding some adverse effects including increased urination, high blood pressure, and even building a physical dependence on caffeine. Because a cup of coffee contains 100 to 150 milligrams of caffeine, taking no more than three to four cups of coffee per day will protect you from these negative effects.

 

Exercise vs Diet For Fat Loss

Weight reduction is the most popular fitness goal in today’s globe. Obesity is on the rise, bringing a bevy of health challenges with it, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and weight-based prejudices.

Regardless of why you or anybody else wants to lose weight, finding the ideal technique is undoubtedly just as difficult as achieving it. The general consensus is that you should exercise regularly and eat well. But, if you have to choose between exercise and dieting, which one would help you lose the most weight?

Let’s start with the physiological side of weight loss.

When net energy expenditure exceeds net energy consumption, weight loss usually happens. Simply said, you’ll burn more calories if you exercise more.

Three elements are mostly responsible for energy expenditure.

1. Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the one that uses the most energy. This takes into consideration all of your biological activities when you’re sleeping, such as your heartbeat and brain functioning.
2. Thermic impact of food, or the energy expended during digestion, is the second component.
3. Physical activity is the third component, which is determined by any sort of movement you undertake, such as cleaning, walking the dog, and, of course, exercising.

Physical exercise is the only one of the three elements that you can control in any meaningful way. You simply need to increase your physical activity. However, you have total control over your energy use. You are in charge of what you eat and how much you eat. Some may disagree, but evidence shows that reducing weight is largely a matter of eating less than you burn.

As a result, exercise burns more energy while dieting reduces the amount of energy consumed. Now, all we have to do is see who executes their job better. Dieting, on the other hand, appears to be the simpler option.

Let’s look at a hundred calories:

When it comes to dieting, this means only eating half of that chocolate bar or taking one mouthful less of that burger. Burning 100 calories with exercise entails jogging a mile or walking the dog for half an hour. Increase it to 250 calories, and you’ve saved yourself an hour of weightlifting by foregoing the full chocolate bar or a handful of fries.

Unless you’re a fitness freak, it’ll virtually always be simpler to eat less than to exercise more. Even more so if you concentrate on eating low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods that make you feel full rather than high-calorie junk food that makes you want to go for seconds.

Is that the end of the discussion? Is it enough to just eat right and not exercise at all? Well, not quite. The entire concentration on seeing the number on the scale go down should not be the objective of weight loss. Exercise, while not as successful as diets for weight loss in and of itself, provides a slew of additional health advantages that everyone should take advantage of. Simply decreasing weight is now a big health improvement for persons who are excessively overweight. If dieting is the only thing that works for them, that’s OK. Exercise should undoubtedly be included in the plan for those who are physically capable. The apparent benefit is that you will burn more calories, allowing you to finish that chocolate bar.

Exercise will also help you enhance your overall heart and lung health. Some people even get a therapeutic high from specific activities, as well as the fantastic benefit of burning more fat for energy if they eat enough protein. And if you’re merely dieting to lose weight, your body will gradually adjust to the alterations. Your BMR decreases as you diet longer, and your body becomes a clinging fat lover. Muscle protein is frequently broken down, stress hormones rise, and your hunger becomes unstable. Because less energy is used, you will need to consume even less to maintain your weight loss. Adding exercise, on the other hand, improves life significantly. BMR may still decrease, although it does so at a far slower rate with activity than without. It will also reduce muscle breakdown while increasing fat breakdown to supply energy to the muscles. It also means appearing leaner and stronger as you lose weight, which is very important for beginners. Simply dieting will result in you becoming a smaller version of your chubby self. Keep in mind, though, that losing weight still necessitates a calorie deficit overall.

“You can’t work your way out of a lousy diet,” as the phrase goes. When all the advantages of nutrition and exercise are taken into account, exercise may be the preferable option. Sure, you’ll lose weight more slowly, but you won’t have to starve yourself to get healthier, stronger, and more muscular, and, most importantly, happy. It’s generally better to do both at the same time.

5 Things to Know Before Trying to Lose Weight

Weight loss is undoubtedly the most popular fitness goal of all time but making an actual weight loss plan isn’t simply eating less and moving more, no matter what some basic personal trainer might tell you.

Yes, calories do matter and the foundation for losing weight is to eat fewer calories while burning more.

The approach to achieving this is what matters most. Subtle differences in your approach can be what separates success from failure. To help with this, let’s break down five key weight loss points that you should know before you do anything.

Number 1

The first thing to get down before anything else is to have the mindset of changing habits. Pretty straightforward, you got to make new habits rather than just simply looking for an endpoint. 

Lifestyle changes baby, that’s what you need. Thing is, the first step to weight loss is to reach your actual weight goal. But what’s more important is what you do next to maintain it.

What this ultimately boils down to is creating habits. Regularly moderate your foods. Create more of a habit for whole foods, but you can also have the occasional treat.

That’s the beauty of habitual moderation. Feel inclined to reach for some of your favorite sweets now and then but with a solid dose of mindfulness. Of course, keep those calories in mind. If you’re not already, make exercise a regular part of your day. Of all habits, being regularly active can be the x-factor. Again, habits, not short-term changes.

Number 2

your weight will fluctuate and that’s okay. This is where things mess people up. All the fancy media and advertisements would have you thinking that you’re successful only if you continuously lose weight. Reality says that’s hardly the case.

In the beginning, yes, you will sustain weight loss quite linearly. But that’s to be expected. Much of early loss comes from fat, yes, but also a little thing we call water weight. More so if your diet is low on carbs and salt, two elements that retain water in your body. Once this water reduction stops, however, weight loss might stop with it. Worse yet, you might see it go up. This is normal.

Fluctuations can happen by simply ingesting more salt or carbs one day or you just simply ate a little bit too much. Or you’re weighing yourself at different times of the day. Very small changes, whether that’s an increase or decrease, will happen. Again, it’s normal. The best advice I could give here is to not put too much emphasis on these small changes. Instead, look for trends. If weight generally trends down over time, then you’re good to go. One more thing to look at is WHEN to weigh yourself. Do it at the same time each day. Usually, first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom is a good idea.

Number 3

No stranger to my usual advice, but you probably want to GET MORE PROTEIN. Nothing different here. Protein does a body good. Knowing its benefits before you start meal prepping is a sure-fire way of boosting your weight loss. The benefits?

Well one, it can help you burn more calories. The thermic effect of food, aka the calories it takes to process protein, is roughly 30% of its calorie content versus 5 to 15% for carbs and fats.

Two, protein has a strong satiating and satiety effect. It gets you feeling full quicker and keeps you full longer. In other words, you eat fewer calories.

And three, of course, protein helps preserve your muscles and better yet, if you’re a beginner, can help you build muscle as you lose weight. Get your protein.

Number 4

cardio is cool but you might want to tack on resistance training as well. I’m kind of glad that this point is starting to become more mainstream. Previously, whenever exercise and weight loss are uttered in the same sentence, the first thing to come to mind is cardio. Don’t get me wrong, cardio’s dope. Of all exercises, cardio, be it steady-state or high-intensity intervals will burn the most calories. But there’s a risk.

Risk of losing muscle mass if you ONLY do cardio. Luckily, resistance training, be it calisthenics or lifting weights, can help preserve your muscles. Not only that, doing cardio and resistance training can lead to MORE fat loss while keeping your muscles intact. Hell, for beginners, you might even ADD muscle while losing fat at the same time. Best of both worlds! Needless to say, make sure you are resistance training.

Number 5

As you embark on your weight goal, you should start knowing that it takes a long time to see meaningful results. One of the worst things, in my opinion, to have captivated a lot of today’s mindset is the desire for immediate satisfaction.

Lose weight as FAST as you can. If you don’t lose weight fast enough, then you’ve failed. But it’s a crazy mindset if you think about it. It takes years and years to accumulate all that extra weight. How does it make sense then to think it will only take a few months or even weeks to reverse it? Patience.

Long-term rewards over short-term satisfaction. This goes for your food and exercise decisions as well. A little bit less here and there can make a huge difference. You can lose an extra pound a month just by drinking only half a can of soda a day rather than the whole thing. Better yet, lose even more by replacing your soda with water. But to circle back, weight loss will take time. Healthy and safe rates of loss are about a half to a pound of weight loss per week, or about 10% of your current body weight in 6 months.

So, let’s stop thinking of “lose a pound a day” silliness you might have read on the internet. It’s simply not worth it. Patience, my friend. Apply all the previous steps and you should be good to go. I hope these five points will be useful for you before you start. If you started already, that’s fine, you should still apply these if you haven’t already.