Are you confused when it comes to knowing how to train if you want to lose body fat?
Does it feel like everywhere you look you are being bombarded with a million different opinions?
Some people have been trying for months training a certain way with no results.
Some chop and change their training so often they don’t know what works and what doesn’t.
Some just can’t get started or find any consistency to see results.
Not to worry, if you can set aside 5 minutes to read the below article you’ll have a 15-30 minute tried and tested training program you can do to set you on your way.
‘The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing’ – Stephen Covey
Whilst advanced fat loss protocols can be advanced, the majority of the population will get the results they want spending 2-3 months being consistent with simply focusing on their energy intake/expenditure.
Also known as how many calories they take in (nutrition) vs how many calories they burn (daily activity and training).
Truth be told there is no ‘best fat loss program’ or ‘best nutrition plan’. There is however training and nutrition that works for you and your lifestyle/personality and keeping it simple is the best place to start to find out how what they may be.
Nutrition
There are a bazillion articles out there on nutrition. Our advice would be to again focus on the main thing first.
Most people we come across generally eat balanced meals during the week but massively overdo it at the weekend leading to all the consistency of midweek going down the drain. If this is you, put your energy into making your weekend food intake similar to your midweek intake.
If you are someone who feels like they eat balanced meals majority of the time but don’t see results then it may be your overall intake. A week using something like my fitness pal (counts your calories) will educate you on how many calories you are eating and give you an idea if you should be eating more or less to reach your goal.
Majority of folk really under estimate how many calories they have taken in.
If you are someone who knows they eat nonsense 7 days a week. Then put all your energy into making better food choices.
Whatever choice you make, do it consistently before changing things up. It really, really doesn’t have to be complicated for the majority of people.If you don’t fall into any of these categories then we recommend seeing an accredited nutritionist/dietitian who can go into your situation in a lot more detail.
Training Programs
Before I go into the training program I do want to make it clear that if you are someone who currently does absolutely nothing, then start by increasing your daily footsteps. Simple, but very effective. 10,000-14,000 steps should be the goal. Between smartphones and Fitbits you should have the steps monitored easily.
Now the training programs. If your diet is on point and you are hitting some exercise routine a few times per week you will definitely be on the right track.
However, why do something when you can do an effective thing?
Get Results
When training for fat loss it is most effective when focusing on strength training AND doing a training session that will increase the amount of calories you burn even after the training session has finished.
Strength training will of course keep your body strong and healthy but it burns a ton of calories and will also ensure you have some muscle to show off once you lose the body fat which is covering it up.
Training sessions that increase your calorie expenditure post session usually involve more density in the workout i.e. getting more work done in less time.
There are lots or different programs out there but one we keep coming back to time and time again which always gets results is escalating density training (popularised by Charles Staley).
Escalating Density Training
How to do it:
- Pick a pair of exercises that don’t use the same muscles.
This can be upper/lower, anterior/posterior, left side/right side:
e.g Squat/Chin Up, Bench Press/Row, Right Lunge/Left Lunge - Use a weight you can do 10-15 reps maximum on. If you aren’t that experienced this may include going from a weighted squat to a bodyweight squat. Adapt it to suit your ability.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes
- Complete 3-5 reps of each exercise. Repeat this as often as you can in the 15 minutes. Rest as much as you have to, this will probably mean you rest longer towards the end which is fine as we want quality reps.
- Stop after 15 minutes
- Record how many TOTAL reps you completed
- Next time you perform the workout try and beat your total reps - If you beat it by 20% then increase the difficulty by adding weight
- If you are up for it, complete another 15 min block with another two exercises.
Do this workout 2-4x per week whilst keeping your diet in check and you will be well on your way to losing body fat.
Remember, focus on the main thing applicable to you. Keep it simple and be consistent.
If you want some accountability and a personal trainer to guide you through your fat loss sessions then check out our LEANER small group training sessions at our Sydenham gym by clicking HERE!
