Being a coach for over 24 years now, I have transformed hundreds of people!
Additionally I have transformed myself for multiple bodybuilding competitions, targeting sub 5% body fat!
Here are my Top 20 Fat Loss Must Do's to see long lasting results.
I have broken these down into:
7 Training tips, 6 Nutrition, 4 Recovery and 3 Measuring Progress tips.
We will start with Training in this initial blog post with 7 key points.
If you have questions, leave them in the comments for help and answers.
Training:
A mix of both strength & conditioning
Based on Fat Loss goals, you want to be on a Training program that has these programmed components: Strength Training days, Focused Cardio days and a combination of both Functional Strength and Conditioning workouts to be all encompassing.
Not relying or overdoing cardio!
I made this mistake when first starting out and lost a lot of lean muscle and kept the same body fat level (this is called skinny fat). Sadly, too much cardio with make you constantly HANGRY all the dam time! This is what cardio does, it burns calories and makes your hunger go up, then you just eat those calories back in! Ever go swimming and when you got out you were super hungry! Cardio is a small tool in the toolbox that must be strategic when added and taken away. It should not be the single main ingredient in your fat loss attempt.
Progressive overload: Get Stronger!
We want to get stronger in our Strength Training and Cardiovascular systems. We must keep track of our weight lifted, reps, sets, speeds, heart rates, distance covered and slowly add more reps, sets, speeds, distances (volume) or weight (volume) over time safely. If we do not use progressive overload, an example is using same weights every workout with the same reps and sets, we will adapt to these and not see a result because of adaptation and low stimulus. Now what was a good stimulus is not enough, thus we then not used food energy for the workout, now eating too much for said stimulus! We must always battle homeostasis and adaptation to see progress through training and fat loss.
Train! Rest more between sets
To actually TRAIN is to use Progressive overload and adequate Rest Periods. Training is the main word here, to Improve at a task we must Train said task. Training has focused intent on building what you want, it has lots of effort that needs specific rest to repeat that same effort. This training effort tells our body we are under stress and need to get stronger, faster, fitter for protection. The body's response with the help of nutrition and recovery is to build on the training stimulus. Now in saying that, the opposite of training is Random Exercise with no plan or intent to improve.
Exercise is great, do not get me wrong, but exercise is how you show off your TRAINING and new Fitness Levels you've been working on! Your training will pay off so much more and you will enjoy exercise from your hard work training! You must Train!
No Ego Lifting! Polish that Technique!
We do not need to get hurt by overdoing your training and or ego lifting. You do not need to always add weight to increase volume or intensity. You can also increase volume and intensity by adding more reps with a specific weight. Additionally adding extra sets with the same weight and reps also these also build volume and intensity. Stay safe, train hard and keep that technique solid! Technique and the focused intent on a specific muscle group are what's needed for sculpting and development. Sloppy technique and ego lifting transfer this energy to multiple muscles groups and you have lowered your individual focused muscle intention.
Tempo and ROM Range Of Motion
Tempo is another fantastic tool to increase intensity and intent on the muscles. Many go to the gym and push the weight up super fast and lower it down really fast. Using specific tempos gives the body more stimulus and battles adaption! Yes that is what we want, plus it also keeps us safe. Now many go fast and change their tempo's on the last 4 reps because they just want to get the set or workout over with. This lack of training focus will not bring a result and can get you inured! Fall in love with lifting the weights, getting stronger and polishing your tempo and technique.
Tracking
Progressive overload needs tracking. You must have a log book or app that you enter in your weights, reps and sets from your previous workout so you know exactly what to do in your following workout. Having this knowledge has multiple benefits to your progress and mental state! Seeing that you are getting stronger weekly by adding more weights and more reps are WINS and very motivating! When we are in a Fat Loss Phase, we want to create WINS all over the place to keep us motivated while we are in a caloric deficit!
Training is a vital component to a successful Fat Loss Phase and building the body that is going to be shown off after that fat is off your body. You want to see, nice arms and shoulders. A V tapered back and waist. Solid legs that are tight and can go for days! Be a Sculptor! Sculpting the body is like and artist who sculpts with clay. They add some clay here and take away some there to create what they see in their minds eye. We do the same thing with training, cardio, nutrition and new supportive habits.
Stay posted for my 6 Nutrition Fat Loss Tips next!
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