When you
goal is losing fat, you should tune your training and nutrition accordingly.
This article focuses on the training part and gives you a workout sample so you
can implement it right away and start shedding fat.
Who is this article for
This
article is for anyone wanting to lose fat, be it for getting from lean to
ripped or from obese to normal. It is also written for men and women, even if
women are usually more interested than men in getting lean (I guess guys are
usually more concerned with getting big and strong, I can relate to that :D).
It doesn’t
matter if you are a beginner or an advance trainee, you can still do this
routine and get results, you just have to adjust the exercises to match your
current level, as in all my training programs.
Why does it work
In these
workouts, you are going to use your whole body, which will make every single
one of your muscles work and burn fat. You will also rest insufficiently, or at
least less than you would like to. Training at a fast pace like this while
doing big basic exercises will raise your metabolism and send a serious signal
to your body, which will also increase some important hormones for fat loss
levels, like growth hormone.
And hey, if
you push the pedal to the metal, you may even puke, which by itself will take
some calories out of your body… but don’t make this an habit!
Workout design
The workout
must be done in a circuit fashion, so you can rest your muscles while
performing other exercises.
Exercise selection
Focus on
full body, multi-joint exercises. This will allow you to hit many muscles at
once, and hit every one of them with 2-3 exercises.
As always,
I like to cover the 3 basics:
·
Upper
body push
·
Upper
body pull
·
Legs
(squat or deadlift)
These
exercises are more than enough, but for fun, variety and balance, I highly
recommend you add to the mix other things like strongman exercises, rope jumps,
all kinds of jumps, easy to perform explosive lifts (like a 1 arm dumbbell
snatch), and every other exercise that makes you tired fast and uses your full
body, like wrestling or pushing a car.
Number of exercises
You don’t
need many exercises. Actually, if you did a workout that consisted just of
sandbag cleans and presses for time, that would make you burn a lot of fat, and
be awesome too! So whenever you are in a rush, or do not want to overcomplicate
things, just pick 1-3 full body exercises and do them for time or rounds.
If you have
the time and means, try to do a pulling (pull up or row variation), a pushing
(push up variations, weights or things presses…) and a leg exercise.
Once you
have this covered, you can also add something like rope jumps, burpees,
sprints, shadow boxing or whatever you like.
It is also
good to have a few different workout so you can alternate between them, and
every time you repeat one of them, try to beat your previous session, be it
more reps, rounds or less time.
Intensity
Intensity
is one of the variables of the training you can adjust. All of these variables
are related to each other, and can’t be studied without the others.
Now, when I
say intensity, I mean the level of difficulty/resistance of a certain exercise
variation/weight for you at that moment in your training life.
For an
advance trainee pull ups are a low intensity exercise, but for an obese
beginner, pull ups are not even an option!
I want you
to choose a variation/weight you could do 10-20 reps with. You will not be
doing as many reps per set, since you will some reps in the bank and you will
finish your workout in a fatigued state without enough rest to recover fully.
Reps
As a good
rule of thumb, do half the reps you can do, and try to maintain that
number of reps for that exercise throughout the session. So, if one of the
exercises you have chosen is the pull up, and you can do 10 straight pull ups
with good technique, try to do 5 reps per set in your first workout. It’s
better to start easy, and then increase the reps when you are ready.
Time per round
Start with
a time which will allow you to complete every rep in every round while resting enough, and as you
progress make it shorter.
Number of rounds
This
depends on how much time you have, how many exercises you are doing and the
others variables. 4 to 8 rounds is okay.
For
example, if you want a 20 minutes workout, and each round takes 4 minutes, it’s
obvious that you will be doing 5 rounds.
Total time
You have to
decide this parameter depending on how much time you have that day. Remember
that you will need around 10 minutes to warm up properly.
One option is
to decide that you will be doing a 10 minutes warm up and a 20 minute workout,
and adjust the rest accordingly.
The other
option, if you have enough time, is to decide which exercises you will be
doing, how many rounds, and much time you will need per round. Then you can
calculate how much time your workout will take. This is a good way to avoid
losing time between sets, and keep the intensity high.
Remember to
bring a stop watch with you, and start every round on time.
Training frequency
This
depends on the intensity you do your exercises with. If you train heavy, it’s
better to take at least a day of rest in between workout days. If you do the exercises
with a medium/low intensity, even if you focus on the overall intensity of the
workout and rest very little, you can train in consecutive days.
Still, I
wouldn’t train in this way more than 5 days a week, but you can still do other
activities on your “rest” days, like playing sports or moving in any way you
like!
Don’t forget to sprint
Sprinting
is one of the best exercises you can do for overall athleticism, fat loss and
awesomeness.
You can do
sprints on your rest days, at the end of your workouts, or include it as an
exercise in your fat loss program. In this case, do it the last exercise before
the round break, so you have a bit more time to come back and recover.
If you want
to start sprinting, I highly recommend you to read this article from Jay
Ferruggia.
Nutrition is key
You need to
understand that the best fat loss training program cannot make it up for a very
bad nutrition/diet in terms of fat loss.
My advice
is that if right now you are not gaining nor losing weight, just start
training, or training more/better, because this will shift the balance towards
fat loss. Then, once the progress comes to a halt, start changing a bit your
nutrition/lifestyle.
I recommend
this for two reasons:
· It
is easier to change one habit at a time. So if you are motivated to lose fat,
just start training a few times a week and nothing else. Just add one new habit at a time, even if it is every two weeks, otherwise, you will be
overwhelmed because of too much change and your chances of success will be
lower.
· If
you are training and dieting as much and hard as you can coming from doing nothing
suddenly, aside from being very difficult to make the change last in time, what
will you do once you reach a plateau? You are already doing everything you can
do!
Think of it
as an investment and its profitability. If you can progress with 1 hour of training a week
and without any change in your nutrition, why change drastically everything? At
least at the beginning, do the minimum you can do to progress, so it is easier
for you to stay on track, and you will be looking for the next workout.
This being
said, you have to avoid sugars! I am not going to elaborate this, but just know
that cutting sugars completely from your diet will make a big difference.
Mindset: the most
important factor
In life,
you are unlikely to achieve your goals without the right mindset, and this
applies also to training.
If your
mindset is set on being lean and healthy, you will automatically make the right
choices during the day, and not only when you are training. This means you will
try to go to bed earlier because you know it’s good for you, since it will help
you shed fat and recover from your workouts. You will train when you are
supposed to even if you do not feel like it, since you are committed to it
and are not going to back down. And when the moment comes to choose your
food, be it at the grocery store or at the restaurant, even if you are not on a
diet, deep inside of you you know what you should be eating, what is good for
you, and since your mindset is right, you know when you have to eat what’s
right and when you can have a cheat meal.
If you keep
thinking that the program or diet you are doing will not work, it won’t work,
since doubts won’t allow you to do your best. Find a program/diet/lifestyle
that you really believe it is going to give you the results you are really
looking for, stick to it, and be 100% sure that you will achieve your goal,
because this is the only way you can put all the sweat and effort into it, and
effort is what bring results.
He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right.
Will Smith
Workout example
Your
workout should look like something like this, but feel free to do play with it,
and add or cut some exercises.
Circuit A
|
Reps
|
Circuit B
|
Reps
|
1A) Australian Pull
Up variation
1B) Push Up variation
1C) Squat variation
1D) Rope jump
variation
|
5-10
5-12
5-12
50-100
|
1A) Pull Up
Variation
1B) Overhead Press /
HSPU variation
1C) Deadlift / Olympic
Lift variation
1D) Carry / Drag
variation / Sprint
|
5-10
5-12
5-12
40-100 m
|
Stick to
the same number of reps per round for each exercise, e.g., try to do 5 push ups
and 8 squats per round, every round. If you are not able to do it at all, lower
the number of reps. If you almost got it, stick to that number and try to do it
on the next workout.
Do 5
rounds, or as many as you like.
Progressing
One exercise
Once you
are able to complete the reps in every round of one of the exercises, you should try to do one more rep per round on the next workout. If you are already doing as many
reps as the higher end of the rep range given in the table above, then it is time to decrease the reps
and up the intensity.
Example for push ups:
Workout
|
Push Up Variation
|
Set 1
|
Set 2
|
Set 3
|
Set 4
|
Set 5
|
1
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
7
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
8
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
5
|
3
|
…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
9
|
8
|
19
|
Inclined (hands on a
bench)
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
20
|
Regular, hands on
the floor
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
21
|
Regular, hands on
the floor
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
22
|
Regular, hands on
the floor
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Whole Circuit
Once you complete every set of every exercise, and want to make it harder for the overall body, heart and lungs,
instead of the muscles, instead of adding reps or upping the intensity, you should decrease the time you have per round.
This means
that if you are doing one round every 5 minutes, you should decrease this time
to something like 4:45. This time decrease can be as big or little as you want.
It should be between 5 and 30 seconds.
Eventually you'll find a sweet spot of reps, intensity and time per round.
Routine Example
For people
with time
Week
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
1
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
Rest
|
Car pushing
|
Workout A
|
2
|
Rest
|
Workout B
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Boxing / Swimming
|
Workout B
|
3
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
Rest
|
Sports / Hiking
|
Workout A
|
4
|
Rest
|
Workout B
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
For the
busy ones, just one workout during the week
Week
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
1
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
2
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
3
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
4
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Workout A
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Hill Sprints
|
Workout B
|
Recap
Follow the
guidelines above, and feel free to use the workout and routine sample I have
given you. But in the end, it comes down to this:
Training
Choose a
few full body exercises, and do them in a certain time per round. Once you are
able to complete the circuit for the determined amount of rounds within the
given time, up the reps or intensity for one of the exercises, for all of them,
or do it in less time.
Nutrition
As long as
you are progressing, just try to eat healthy (lots of vegetables and real whole
foods) and do not overthink it. Once or twice a week have a big cheat meal with lots of carbs and fats and
enjoy it.
Wrap Up
If you want
to be lean, you have to commit to it and do the work. Do not overthink it and
stick to the plan for at least 3 months before changing to another one.
If after
the first 2 weeks you have not lost an ounce, then it’s time to first make sure you are avoiding sugars, and then, check your
diet, skip a meal, and plan your nutrition.
You can ask
me anything on my Facebook page, on the comments, and if you give this program a shot,
please let me know how it worked for you.
If you want
an exact plan to follow regarding diet and programming so you do not have to
worry about anything and just want to do the work, you can hire me as your personal trainer. For more info on this send me an e-mail to gabrielpieren@hotmail.com and we
will talk about it.
Train hard!
Gabri
