The Essentials of Weight Loss and Muscle Building

Creating a Calorie Deficit for Fat Loss

To achieve weight loss and muscle building, a calorie deficit is inevitable. You must consume fewer calories than you burn. The first step is identifying where excess calories come from.

So, for many people, sugar-sweetened beverages are a major calorie trap. On average, adults consume around 150 calories per day from these drinks. The problem? Liquid calories don’t provide satiety, meaning people rarely compensate by eating less.

If you regularly consume high-calorie drinks, cutting back on them is an effective and simple way to reduce overall calorie intake.

Principles of Strength Training and Muscle Growth

If your goal is to build muscle and get stronger, there are key training principles you should follow:

1. Progressive Overload – The Key to Growth

To continue progressing, your body must be forced to adapt. This is achieved through progressive overload, which can be done in several ways:

• Increasing weight on the bar over time.
• Doing more reps with the same weight.
• Adding more hard sets (working sets that challenge your muscles).

However, you can’t increase weight or reps indefinitely. This leads to the next important concept.

2. Understanding “Hard Sets” and Training to Failure

A hard set is one performed close to volitional failure—the point where you can’t complete another rep with good form.

• Training to absolute failure isn’t necessary. Studies show that training within 1-3 reps of failure (keeping 1-3 reps in reserve, or RIR) is just as effective for muscle growth.
• Going to failure too often leads to excessive fatigue, which can negatively impact recovery and increase injury risk.

3. Using RPE and RIR to Gauge Effort

To measure intensity, lifters use:

• RIR (Reps in Reserve): The number of reps you could still perform before failure.
  Example: A set of 8 at 2 RIR means you could have done 10 reps before failure.
• RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): Another way to express effort.
  Example: An RPE 8 set means you’re two reps shy of failure. So, an RPE 10 means you’ve hit failure. (RPE is best used for strength metric or powerlifting. RIR is best used for hypertrophy training).

Beginners Often Underestimate Effort

Research shows that beginners and intermediates underestimate their RIR by 5-6 reps—meaning they might think they’re training hard but could actually perform 5-6 more reps than they realize!

This is why occasionally training to failure can be useful. It also helps you calibrate your intensity and learn what true failure feels like.

Other Key Training Tips

Train each muscle group at least 2x per week – This is likely more effective than once per week.
There are no “must-do” exercises – Muscles respond to tension and stretch (mechanical tension), not specific movements.
Rep ranges don’t matter for growth – Any set taken close to failure, whether 5 reps or 30 reps, can build muscle. (65%-85% 1RM)
There is a per-session anabolic cap – 6-8 hard sets per muscle group per session is likely the max before additional volume provides no extra benefit.
Longer rest periods = more growth per set – Don’t rush your rest; 2-3 minutes between sets is ideal for strength and muscle gains.

Final Thoughts

Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle growth, the fundamentals remain the same:
For weight loss – Create a calorie deficit by reducing high-calorie, low-satiety foods and drinks.
For muscle gain – Apply progressive overload, train close to failure, and use RPE/RIR to track effort.

Master these principles, stay consistent, and you’ll see real progress. So, let’s get to work!

JOHN SANTOS ONLINE COACHING