The more time that you spend in the fitness/bodybuilding community, the more you will see two camps form when it comes to the best methods to improve your physique; volume vs. mass. Now, we don’t want to get caught up in that argument right now, but we at DS always prefer to consider science and we can say that we are firm believers that “time under tension” is king (it is well studied if you want to take a look). Recently an interesting study came out that should be of interest to anyone looking to decrease their overall fat mass and increase their fat-free mass (muscle); so basically everyone.
The study in question (Increased weight loading reduces body weight and body fat in obese subjects – A proof of concept randomized clinical trial) took people and essentially put a weight vest on them for eight hours a day for a total of three weeks. They split them into two groups, the high load group added 11% of their bodyweight and the low load group added 1% of their bodyweight. At the end of the three weeks, the high load group reduced their fat mass by just over 4% (1.68% bodyweight drop) and the low group reduced their fat mass by just under 1% (0.31% bodyweight drop). In addition, the high load group improved their fat free mass by 0.39%.
You may look at those numbers and think, “it’s not a big deal, why should I care?” (well first off we are writing about it, so at least pretend to care a little), but you should care if you consider what the study actually shows, but first let’s get into those numbers. Right off the bat, take a look at the low load group. Assuming you weight 200lbs, they added two pounds of weight and lost about the same in body fat, and about half that on the scale. Two pounds isn’t much of a change, we may carry that around that in our pockets, so let’s ignore that and look at the other group. The high load group, for that same 200lb person, added 22lbs of weight and lost 8lbs of fat, over 3lbs on the scale, and added almost a pound of muscle.
Now consider this, would you be happy losing 8lbs of fat over three weeks? We can easily assume that the answer is a resounding yes, losing 2.67lbs of fat a week is an excellent pace for anybody. The beauty of this study though, is the method, they didn’t do cardio, cross fit, HIIT, etc. they wore a weight vest for the day. That is nothing. You can live your normal daily routine, wear a weight vest, and lose weight. So what does the study actually show? It shows that if you put your body under tension, it will react in the exact manner that you would expect. It will expend more calories, engage more muscles, and improve your overall body composition. “Time under tension” is indeed king.