**5. Resistance training programme design for body recomposition and weight Loss**

The majority of exercise recommendations for weight loss endorse aerobic-type activities with a focus on a significant caloric expenditure during the exercise session [10]. In this regard, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) emphasises diet restriction and aerobic exercise, while not assigning RT a major role in weight maintenance and weight loss, due to insufficient evidence. This is problematic in that RT has a multitude of health benefits and has proven effective in the short-term for modestly decreasing body fat, especially in conjunction with dietary interventions [32]. More importantly, research suggests that RT can also play a vital role in long-term weight management, especially in that it utilises additional mechanisms to that of aerobic exercise [33].

However, for any exercise programme to be effective at weight management, continuous adjustments need to be made to the programme design variables, namely; choice of exercises, order of exercises, frequency, load (weight), volume, rest periods, variation and progression [34].

### **5.1 Resistance training choice and order exercises for weight management**

While almost any RT exercise will have a positive impact on health promotion and weight management, RT exercises for weight management should focus on large muscle groups and those exercises utilising compound movements, such Olympic

### *Resistance Training and Weight Management: Rationale and Efficacy DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101840*

lifts, deadlifts and squats. Since these compound exercises require an elevated oxygen use and hormonal response and result in high-calorie-expenditure. These compound exercises should be prioritised in an effective RT programme for weight management. In addition, training the larger muscle groups will also result in an enhanced hypertrophy and increased basal metabolic rate (BMR) (i.e. minimum number of calories required for basic functions at rest) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) (i.e. the number of calories the body burns while at rest) in the long-term [35].

Further, although many programme designs exist or RT sessions, recommendations for weight loss suggest progressing from multi-joint to single-joint exercises in RT sessions. This may be especially important from a safety standpoint to prevent any undue consequences of muscle fatigue at the end of a workout [35].

## **5.2 Resistance training load (weight) and volume for weight management**

Since the principal determinant of BMR is body mass, and more specifically lean mass [36], RT has important long-term implications for successful weight management. This is because RT is the primary exercise intervention for increasing muscle mass [37]. When it comes to hypertrophy, recent research indicates a dose-response relationship between the total number of weekly sets and increases in muscle growth [38]. In this regard, health professionals should consider all aspects related to increasing training volume, such as the total number of sets, reps or time under tension, and resistance (weight) utilised during a training day, month or other block of training time. Thankfully, this increased volume of training serves a dual purpose as it is also deemed high-caloric expenditure in nature. Specifically, moderate loads for hypertrophy correspond to approximately 8–15 of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) [39] and should be performed for three to five sets per exercise to increase volume [37, 40].

### **5.3 Resistance training frequency for weight management**

As the outcome of RT is the same as for that of aerobic exercise interventions for weight loss, it important to note that research indicates a graded dose-response relationship whereby increases in RT volume (i.e. increased number of weekly sets) produce greater gains in muscle hypertrophy [37]. This increase in RT dose also results in an increased caloric expenditure and improves the prognosis not only for hypertrophy but also for weight loss. As for any exercise intervention (whether RT or aerobic), cognisance should be taken of the training status of the individual, with beginners training less frequently and well-trained individuals training more frequently. RT is especially useful in this area of programme design in that it allows for split routines, whereby upper-body and lower-body can be trained on alternate days to facilitate and enhance recovery.

### **5.4 Resistance training rest periods for weight management**

While 3–5 min rest periods are advocated between RT sets for multiple sets per exercise [40], well-trained individuals can consider exercise sets with minimal rest periods for optimising weight loss [41]. This is because decreasing rest periods or making use of super sets has been demonstrated to increase training intensity [40]. Problematically, while RT with minimal rest periods is considered as most effective for weight and fat loss, it can cause significant central nervous system fatigue and eventual overtraining [42].


### **Table 1.**

*Guidelines for resistance training programme design for body recomposition and weight loss.*

### **5.5 Resistance training progression for weight management**

While it is important to keep the exercises used in a programme fairly consistent for weeks or months in a particular training period to prevent overuse, health professionals must allow for new ways to stimulate muscle growth and fat utilisation. For example; this could be accomplished by manipulating the number of sets, the number or repetitions, the weight utilised during exercises or additional training days could be added as well to increase overall volume. In turn, when training at a specific repetition maximum (RM) load, it is recommended that a 2–10% increase in load be applied when the individual can perform the current workload for one to two repetitions over the desired number [40]. Progressive increases in volume should be observed for a particular training block of weeks or months, followed by a period of decreased volume. This aids in preventing training plateaus, injury and boredom [40]. **Table 1** provides guidelines on the approaches for the implementation of resistance training in weight management.
