How the Drop Weight Method Helps You Lose Weight

July 9, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

Wanna build lean muscle as you jump down on the pound-ometer?

Of course you do.

You don’t just wanna lose weight. You wanna lose fat. And you don’t just wanna lose fat. You wanna replace it with a lovely layer of brawn. Bring on the much coveted muscles. The fruit-like fanny. The guns that put Obama’s bae to shame. (Nearly.) Who doesn’t want the stuff that makes us equal parts strong and hot when we pop on a bikini? (Or trunks. Or Speedo. Or nada, if that’s your thang… #NoJudgment) The only problem? Getting there is tough AF. And, for a long time, this was my issue too.

I mean, let’s be honest. There are some days we show up at the gym, and we wanna be there so little that we feel like a gold star is warranted for arriving at all. You’re there, sure, but the struggle shuttle was your Uber ride there and even it’s losing fuel as you drag your lactic acid legs through this uninspired workout. So what do you do? Especially when you’re only on set two out of five?

(And you’re already making this face at rep seven out of thirty?)

Yes, my answer’s generally to quit as well. Give up. Throw in the towel that’s barely acquired any perspiration and wave the white flag. That is, until I heard about the magic that is the “drop set”. It seems so obvious, yet I never thought of it ’til I read about it more recently. And although the name sounds like it’d mean dropping the whole set off the radar and going home, it’s not. (#WishfulThinking) Rather, all you do is drop down the level you’re lifting for the last set or two, to make it more doable. And this is great for three reasons.

The first? That you actually finish. It’s a pretty shizzy feeling – leaving the gym feeling defeated. Worse, though, is what that does for motivating you to go back to doing it a day or two from now. Who wants to repeat feeling deflated? By finishing, you get the sense of self affirmation – the taste of victory – that makes you crave more. The second reason? Lean muscle. If you want to lose weight to look slender, you’re probably going after lean muscle. And a great way to get there is to lift more reps of less weight. The drop set def comes with that perk. And third? Strength gains. Every other form of exercise requires less effort when you’ve been lifting consistently. From running to punching stuff, I feel stronger and far less weary after intense cardio that’s been bordered by brawn building throughout the week. And if you feel stronger and less tired, you not only are more motivated to put in the work, but to go harder and for longer – which loses you oodles of fat.

(Just gonna set this here for any chicks still operating under the myth that muscle bulks ya up.)

And fourth, which piggybacks on that, is calorie eradication. You can read nearly any health article on muscle, and it’ll tell you that muscle is an oven that cooks calories and burns blubber. That’s a widely known fact. However, what’s also known yet ignored is the fact that muscle only does that for you if you have it. And you can’t have it if you don’t build it ’cause ya quit your lift sesh prematurely. (Versus, ya know, just lowering the weight for that ending set or two and completing it like the beast that you are.)

So, next time you wanna quit, simply nix a few pounds for the final round…

And you’ll get rid of ’em from your body sooner, too.