There's no one perfect way to transform your body composition, and most experts would agree that it's all about finding what works best for you. Because the fitness and health industries, in general, have become saturated with workouts, diets, and everything else, it can be hard to figure out what's best for you and your goals, especially if you're trying to burn fat and build muscle [1].
To find out if you can lose fat with weightlifting alone, POPSUGAR spoke to Tiffany Chag [2], MS, RD, CSCS, a sports performance specialist and sports dietitian at the Hospital For Special Surgery's Tish Sports Performance Centre.
Is It OK to Only Lift Weights to Lose Body Fat?
"It is absolutely fine to only lift weights to promote fat loss," Tiffany told POPSUGAR. If you despise running, take a moment to celebrate. Now back to burning fat. If you're trying to burn fat faster [4], you won't want to cut out cardio completely. "Adding some cardiovascular work [5] and making small changes to [your] diet will create a more well-balanced routine and may lead to faster results," she said.
If cardio really isn't your thing, "Lifting weights alone is absolutely fine, actually it's great, but adding in cardio and modifying [your] diet will be even better," Tiffany explained.
What Is the Best Workout to Lose Body Fat?
As we mentioned earlier, there's so much information going around, it's hard to differentiate between workouts that will help you achieve your goals and ones that just look cool. According to Tiffany, there's no one best way to lose fat [6]. "In general, the best workout is really one you enjoy doing," she said. "If you don't like something, you're less likely to do it, so find something you enjoy and start there." To lose body fat, Tiffany recommends starting with a combination of strength training, cardio [7], and eating healthy [8].
How Often You Should Work Out Per Week to Lose Body Fat
Now that you have a general idea of what you should do to lose body fat, you're probably wondering what exactly your weekly workout regimen should look like. Ideally, you should do two to three days of strength training and two to three days of cardio, Tiffany said. It's also important to allow your body to recover, which is why Tiffany recommends at least one day of rest per week.
"If time is limited, try sprinkling [in] cardio throughout your strength session," she suggested. For example, if it's leg day and you're squatting, try jumping rope for 60 seconds in between each set or rowing for 300 meters. Let's be honest: if training five to six days a week isn't feasible right now, don't sweat it. Seriously. "Set a goal that works for you. Remember, more is not always better," Tiffany said.
Whether you're strength training three days a week or six, Tiffany recommends doing the following for each workout:
- A loaded carry: for example, a farmer's walk [9]
- A squat variation: for example, a barbell back squat [10] or a split squat [11]
- A hip hinge: for example, a deadlift [12]
- A push exercise: for example, a push-up [13], bench press [14], or shoulder press [15]
- A pull exercise: for example, a pull-up [16], single-arm row [17], or chest fly [18]
For your cardio workouts [19], Tiffany recommends doing both longer low-intensity workouts, 45 minutes or more, and shorter workouts like HIIT [20].
What You Should Eat to Lower Your Body Fat Percentage
As Tiffany mentioned earlier, you can lose fat with weightlifting alone. But if you want quicker results, she recommends doing cardio and eating healthy foods. "When trying to change our body composition, increase lean muscle, and decrease fat mass, taking a moment to look at what we eat is absolutely apart of the equation," she said. Cutting out entire food groups, like carbs, isn't necessary. In fact, you'll probably feel like crap [21] if you do.
"If there's something you feel should be eliminated, try eating a little less of it," Tiffany advised. She also recommends ditching the "good" and "bad" mindset when it comes to food. Instead, she prefers people think of foods as "every day" and "sometimes." Meaning, there are foods you should try to have every day like vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, and whole grains. Sometimes foods are foods you should eat some of the time, she explained. This list consists of things like pastries, fried foods, and candy. "If you can focus on shifting this just a little, you'll be moving in the right direction," Tiffany said.
The good news is, you don't have to do anything crazy to lose body fat. It may not happen overnight, but it's possible. Now that you've got a game plan, it's time to implement it. Here's a clean-eating plan [22] you can follow and a four-week strength training program [23] that will help you burn fat and build muscle.