Congratulations! You worked so hard to lose weight, and you’ve finally reached your weight loss goal.

You should be proud of yourself, because losing weight is one of the hardest missions to accomplish, and only a fraction of people who try are successful.

Now that you’ve arrived at this incredible milestone, you’re probably focused on keeping the weight off. That is a feat in itself, as studies show that maintaining weight loss can be even more difficult than losing weight in the first place! Not to worry, though, the team at AFAC’s Thornton gym is here to help you with exercises and other tips to maintain the results you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

The Struggle With Maintaining Weight Loss

Besides losing weight, one of the most difficult parts of your workout journey at the gym is keeping the weight off.

Many experts define “successful weight loss” as a 10% reduction in body weight that’s maintained for at least one year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even a modest weight loss of 5%-10% of your body weight can produce health benefits like improved blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels.

By this standard, only about 20% of people are successful at losing weight and keeping it off, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. However, this study also found that if individuals can maintain their weight loss for two years, they can reduce their chances of regaining weight by 50%.

People who initially lose weight through dieting and exercising at the gym typically gain the weight back slowly over the years that follow. Within 2 years, people tend to gain back over 50% the weight they originally lost, and within 5 years, people tend to gain back about 80% of the weight they originally lost.

The question is, why is it such a struggle to keep weight off? There are many factors that could contribute to gaining weight back, such as not keeping up with healthy habits and not doing the right exercises.

Strength Training Exercises at the Gym That Can Help You Maintain Weight Loss

To assist in your quest to keep weight off, we’ve rounded up a few beneficial exercises you can do at the gym. The key is to select activities that are most effective at building muscle and burning fat. This means you should perform strength training workouts that give you the most bang for your buck.

The best strength training exercises for maintaining weight loss are compound movements that work multiple muscle groups. This allows you to burn more calories in a shorter period of time and build more muscle fibers to rev up your metabolism. Here are a few of those exercises to incorporate into your workout program.

Dumbbell Front Squat

The dumbbell front squat works large muscles like your quadriceps and glutes, making it a fantastic fat-burning exercise. Here’s how to do it:

Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
Hold a pair of light dumbbells up to your shoulders so that one end of each dumbbell rests on the top of each shoulder.
Balance the dumbbells on your shoulders by holding onto the dumbbells with your elbows facing forward. This is your starting position.
Keep your head facing forward, your back straight, and your chest high.
Squat down by bending your hips back, allowing your knees to come forward slightly.
Keep your back straight and knees pointed in the same direction as your feet.
Descend until your thighs are parallel to, or just past parallel to, the floor.
Return to the standing position by pushing through your heels and extending your knees and hips until your legs are straight. Your glutes and core should be clenched.
Repeat until you’ve completed 10 reps.

Kettlebell Deadlift

When you do the kettlebell deadlift correctly, you should be feeling it in your core, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and toes turned out slightly.
Start with your kettlebell lined up in between your ankle bones.
Bend your knees slightly as you hinge at your hips while keeping your back flat.
Your chin should be in a neutral position.
Grab your kettlebell and hold it as if you’re trying to break the kettlebell bar in half.
Squeeze your armpits together and push skyward with your shoulder blades.
Keep your core tight and flex your glutes as you stand straight up. Don’t lean back at the top and overextend your spine.
Reverse the movement to bring the kettlebell back to the ground between your ankles.
Complete 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Dumbbell Rows

Dumbbell rows are a unilateral exercise that will work one arm at a time. Even though you’ll only be using one arm, you’ll be targeting several muscles like your lats, rear delts, rhomboids, biceps, and forearms. Use the heaviest dumbbell you can for this exercise to complete the desired number of reps.

Position yourself parallel to a bench with a dumbbell next to you.
Start with one knee and hand on the bench and the other leg out to the side so that your abdominals are over the floor.
Position the dumbbell under your free hand.
Bend down and grab your dumbbell, using your hand as a hook to raise the dumbbell by lifting your elbow back. Squeezing the dumbbell with your hand works your bicep and forearm more, while using your hand as a hook helps to isolate the lat muscle.
Lift the dumbbell up to your chest and then extend it back down.
During the movement, keep your leg stable with your knee slightly bent, and don’t use your leg to lift the weight. If you feel the need to use your leg to help with the lift, then the dumbbell is too heavy for you.
Complete 3 sets of 8-10 reps on each arm.

Bulgarian Split Squat

The primary muscles you’ll be using for the Bulgarian split squat are your quads, glutes, and thighs. Your hamstrings and calves will be targeted in this exercise, as well, as stabilizers throughout the movement.

Begin the exercise with your front foot flat on the ground and your rear foot on a bench.
Once in position, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand at your sides. If you choose not to use weights, you can keep your arms by your sides or out in front of you to help with balance throughout the movement.
Your front leg is going to be the working leg during the exercise, and your back leg will be used for balance.
You can choose to have your rear foot flat on the bench or on its toes.
Once in position, lower yourself into a deep lunge while keeping your chest up.
Return to the starting position by pushing through the heel of your front foot while maintaining your balance in your rear foot.
As you perform the exercise, the majority of your weight should be shifted to your front leg.
With a closer foot stance, you’ll activate your quads more. If you step forward, you’ll activate your glutes more throughout the exercise.
Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.

Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press is a chest exercise that primarily targets your pecs, with anterior delts and triceps as secondary muscles worked.

Lie down on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
Place your feet flat on the floor.
Pull your navel toward your spine, and your spine toward the bench.
Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and keep your wrists straight as you hold the dumbbells up. This is your starting position.
Exhale and extend your elbows, pressing the dumbbells up toward the ceiling.
Inhale and bend your elbows to return to your starting position.
Don’t drop your elbows beyond the height of your shoulders.
Complete 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Cardiovascular Exercises at the Gym That Can Help You Maintain Weight Loss

Cardiovascular exercises are very effective at burning calories so that you can maintain your weight loss. The best cardio exercises are those that you enjoy because you’re more likely to continue doing them every day, or almost every day, as part of your healthy lifestyle.

With that in mind, here are a few tips for cardio that will keep the weight off.

Try HIIT

High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a popular style of cardiovascular training because it maximizes calorie burn and fat loss. HIIT involves intense bursts of exercise to elevate your heart rate, followed by short periods of rest. Through HIIT, you’re able to complete an intense, strenuous, calorie-burning workout in a shorter length of time.

For example, a HIIT workout on a treadmill or elliptical would involve:

Warming up for 5 minutes
Sprinting at a high-intensity speed for 1 minute
Walking for 30 seconds, then sprinting again at a high-intensity speed for 1 minute
Completing 8-10 sets

Likewise, you can do HIIT on your favorite spin, upright, or recumbent bike. Start with bursts of 15-20 seconds, slow down to rest for 20-40 seconds, and then repeat for 6-10 rounds.

Pick the Right Machines

There are many cardiovascular machines to choose from at AFAC gym. Each machine is effective at burning calories and provides its own secondary benefits depending on what your goals are. Try them all to discover which machines are ideal for you!

Keep Challenging Yourself

One cruel reality about weight loss is, as you lose weight and become more conditioned, your body will actually burn fewer calories during aerobic exercise. That means you need to either increase the amount of time you do cardio, the intensity, or both, to help maintain weight loss. Another way to counteract this reality is by strength training to gain muscle mass which burns more calories at rest than fat tissue. People who have lost weight and kept it off typically engage in 60-90 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week while keeping their diet within their calorie needs.

More Habits for Successful Weight Loss

While it’s easier said than done, the way to keep weight off is to continue with the healthy lifestyle that helped you lose weight in the first place.

Get daily physical activity — Get 60-90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most days of the week. You don’t need to finish those 60-90 minutes all at once. For example, you can split them up into 20-30 minutes of exercise, 2-3 times per day.
Monitor your diet and activity — Keep a food and exercise journal to count calories, which allows you to confirm that you’re not exceeding your calorie needs.
Monitor your weight and measurements — Check your weight and measurements regularly. If you’ve gained a few pounds and your measurements have decreased, that likely means you’ve lost fat and gained muscle. However, if you’ve gained weight and your measurements have increased, you’ll know it’s time to get back on track with your diet.
Monitor your body composition — AFAC is the only gym in Thornton, CO, that has an InBody 770 Body Composition analyzer. In a few minutes, this device can measure your weight, muscle mass, fat mass, and more. By receiving this analysis regularly, you can keep an eye on any fat you’ve regained and adjust your diet and exercise program accordingly.

The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) studied more than 10,000 people who lost 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. Their research found that study participants had these strategies in common:

90% exercised for an average of 1 hour each day.
78% ate breakfast every day.
75% weighed themselves once per week.
62% watched fewer than 10 hours of TV per week.

Stay on Course During Your Weight Loss Journey at AFAC Gym

At AFAC gym, our dedicated staff and personal trainers are focused on supporting all our members as they work toward their fitness goals. Through our vast array of strength training and cardio equipment and our full schedule of group classes, we can help you not only lose fat, but also keep it off. We even offer free monthly bariatric support group meetings for those who are seeking weight loss advice, tips, and support from people going through similar challenges.

To learn more about becoming a member of AFAC gym — the best gym in Thornton, Colorado — please stop by or give us a call anytime. We’ll be happy to assist you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.