ShareHow can you build a lean athletic body and accelerate fat loss, without expensive supplements?
You see, healthy eating for fat loss will only get you so far. A lean, athletic body has to be earned. Your training needs to include high intensity, hardcore workouts that push you to the limits.
There are 5 secrets to workout intensity that you need to know.
So stop for one moment and consider your workouts. How many of the following points apply to you?
- Your rest breaks are longer than one minute between sets, or worse, you don’t even time your rest.
- You have been lifting the same weight for the last month or even longer. Or you skip resistance training altogether.
- You think, “Screw it, I don’t need a workout plan” and often do freestyle workouts.
- Your cardio workout is longer than 30 minutes and you never feel extremely out of breath.
- You do the same strength exercises or cardio for every workout, every month.
Ok what’s the damage? Scoring more points in this test is a bad sign.
Listen, it may not be pretty but you have to start somewhere. First, figure out which one of these mistakes is your biggest roadblock and make one change. I have made all of these mistakes – more than once. That’s right, I actually made all of these mistakes, all at once. I guess I score double points, right? 
It explained my lack of progress and was a major reason I was stuck on a plateau.
Let’s break it down and go through the importance of each point.
Timed Rest
Ideally, your rest break should be 15-45 seconds when you are training for fat loss.
No longer than 45 seconds. No checking emails or Facebook.
The most amazing timing device I invested in was the Gym Boss Timer. I know I was raving about it yesterday, but it’s really awesome. There are so many settings you can adjust and it takes away the cheating option. See how cute it looks? The only thing is, this timer won’t do the hard work for you.
My first interval workout with this baby was wicked. Actually, I won’t sugarcoat it. Every workout is torture. Brutal but brief. This is why fat loss workouts don’t take any longer than 20 minutes.
If you don’t have this timer, you can always use your iPhone with timer intervals. Whatever you go with, the bottom line is to time your rest breaks and no cheating.
Progress
This next point comes down to a couple of factors. You either train inconsistently, lifting the same weights every workout; or you simply don’t challenge yourself.
If you want an athletic look, you must push YOUR limits. I have found over my years of training that an ideal rep range to accelerate fat loss is 5-8 reps. This means you want to be lifting a heavy enough weight to be getting fatigued by the last couple of reps. Your body will adapt and get stronger so it’s really important to keep testing yourself and increasing the amount weight you lift.
No, those three-pound dumbbells that Tracey Anderson suggests you lift are not enough. Do you really want to look skinny fat?
Plan
No plan = no idea.
This is asking for trouble. You have a goal, right? So you need a plan to get you there.
Think of this as you would driving to a new destination. You would get directions and plan where to go, right? (Well, I’d sure hope so!). Planning your journey to your goal is just as important.
When getting your plan together – it has to be specific to YOUR goals and preferably individualized. Grabbing the latest Fit
ness or Men’s Health magazine or copying a random dude at the gym is not going to cut it.
Random workouts are fine if you don’t want to get fast results. Just sayin’.
Get yourself on a program today and stick with it.
The Future of Cardio
To lose body fat, long slow and boring cardio is a proven waste of time. Need more proof?
In a recent study (as in 2012), Canadian researchers tested long cardio against bodyweight cardio workouts. 22 college aged females did 4 workouts/week for 4 weeks in one of the following three groups:
Group A: 30 minutes of treadmill running at 85% max heart rate.
Group B: 8 rounds of 20 seconds single exercise (jumping jacks, squat thrusts, mountain climber or burpees) with 10 seconds rest. Total of 4 minutes exercise.
Group C: Nothing – they were the control group that did no training.
The results? Both training groups increased their aerobic fitness by the SAME amount. Yes, 4 minutes of bodyweight exercise worked just as well as 30 minutes cardio. Shocking.
However, group B also improved muscular endurance and had greater overall enjoyment of the workout.
The researchers concluded “extremely low volume bodyweight interval-style training” will increase cardiovascular fitness equal to regular cardio while giving you GREATER improvements in muscular endurance.
4 minute workouts rock. I know what I prefer.
Change
If nothing changes, nothing changes. Man, I love that saying because it’s so true.
This applies to any type of exercise you do. Yes, spinning and running included. Doing the same class style spinning class will leave you feeling exhausted, and most likely suffering an overuse injury. Hip flexor or IT band injury is so common and avoidable.
After our little makeover, this is how your fat loss workout plan should look:
- You rest 15-45s between sets.
- You regularly progress the amount of weight you lift and feel yourself getting stronger.
- You follow a structured workout plan that you change up every month.
- You do high intensity metabolic training for your cardio and don’t waste time lining up at the gym anymore.
- Your program is varied, with different exercises, metabolic intervals, and strength training.
Looks better now right?
More importantly, it feels amazing when you see results.
Have an awesome day,
KV
References:
1. McRae, G. et al (2012). Extremely low volume, whole-body aerobic-resistance training improves aerobic fitness and muscular endurance in females. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab.
3 Replies