Best Training Principles To Lose Weight

Photo by Tony Woodhead on Unsplash. Model Louise Woodhead.

By Marnie Kunz

If you want to lose weight or get toned, some basic training strategies will go a long way. There are so many weight loss claims and workouts out there, it’s hard to know what is legit and actually works. The truth is, as any good coach or athletic trainer will tell you, the principles of training are more important than the brand, workout name or trending workouts.

Here we’ll look at some basic fitness training principles that can help you lose weight and hit higher levels of fitness. You can check for these principles in workout classes or trends you see, and you’ll be better able to decide on the best weight loss workout program to suit your needs.

What separates us running coaches and trainers from everyday fitness enthusiasts is an education in training principles. This helps us determine if the latest workout fads are actually effective and if so, which training principles they employ. You don’t have to be a pro to learn these concepts and incorporate them into your training, however. Here’s an overview of the best training principles to help you in your weight loss journey:

Intensity

Intensity is an important element of changing your fitness level. if you want to decrease fat and boost your metabolism, doing the same low intensity activities won’t help a lot. We’ve all been stuck in workout ruts where we can’t get faster or make any fitness progress, and that’s usually because we aren’t doing any intense workouts.

To add intensity to your running, add one to two speed workouts a week to your training program.

Another great way to add intensity to your workouts and help with weight loss is to do HIIT workouts. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. You can do HIIT workouts by incorporating bursts of high intensity exercises with cardio training. Think boot camp style workouts and circuits.

Our Runstreet Challenge workouts incorporate bodyweight strength training moves with a running program that will help you lose weight, with exercises such as burpees, mountain climbers and lunges.

Consistency

Consistency is an essential part of fitness training to get the best results. It’s easy to get swept up in the beginning of a new weight loss workout program, but can be hard to stick with the program if you start out doing too much too fast. So ease into your training program. And build up your workout intensity and duration over time, also incorporating healthy eating.

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is a training technique that gradually puts more stress on your body during workouts, preparing your body for higher levels of performance. Progressive overload will help you reach new fitness levels. To use the principle of progressive overload in your training, you will need to start out with a program that matches your current fitness level and gradually adds more intensity to your training. This can be a tricky balance and if you add too much too soon, you’ll end up sidelined with injuries.

Hiring a professional coach or trainer to design a workout plan for you will help so you have a personal training program that suits your individual needs and fitness goals.

If you are creating your own running program, follow the 10 percent principle and don’t add more than 10% more miles from your previous week’s training. So for instance, if you run 20 miles in a week, the next week you can add 10 percent, or 2 miles, for a total of 22 miles that week.

As you add intensity to your workouts, only do a hard workout every other day at most so your muscles have time to recover and your body can rebuild. Which brings us to our next fitness training principle.

Variance

Variance, or variety, will help you mix up your workout routine and also challenge your muscles in new ways. Variance can also help you lose weight safely by avoiding too much repetitive motion. If you are a runner, you can add variety to your workouts by doing yoga or cycling on your easy days, for instance. And add variety to your intense workouts by incorporating strength training will help you boost your metabolism and lose weight more readily than if you were just running for every single workout.

Variety can also carry over into your running. If you run the same distance and pace every day, you will make some fitness progress at the start but then get stuck at the same fitness level. By using the hard-easy principle of training and adding variety, you will see better fitness results and improve your performance. So your week of training may include a speed workout, a slow recovery run the next day, a HIIT workout the next day, and an easy-paced run the following day.

Do you recognize these training principles in any of the popular workout programs out today? How can you use these training principles to step up your fitness level?

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Related Posts: Interval Training for Beginners, Improve Your Running with Progressive Overload

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, a dog lover, an Akita mom, and the founder of Runstreet. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.