In front me is this plus-sized lady who starts unloading her shopping cart full of crap. Literally, I mean CRAP!! Donuts, boxed cereal, cookies, frozen TV dinners....you name it, she had it.
As I stood there and watched, I couldn't help but wonder if she even had a clue as to why she looked the way she did. I mean, how on earth would she ever expect to keep herself at a respectable weight by eating all of that processed junk? Junk that's packaged in cans, bags & boxes?
In all honesty, getting results that offer an ideal body weight and a lean, muscular physique isn't complicated. In fact, the 3 things that I'm going to explain to help you in your quest for fat loss is easy to comprehend.
However, taking ACTION and sticking with it is the hard part....but I know ANYONE (including YOU) can do it! It all depends on how bad enough you really want it!
So what are these 3 tips you ask?
Well, here they are.
Again, these are 3 things you MUST AVOID if fat loss is your goal:
#1 - YOU MUST AVOID AND/OR ELIMINATE THE JUNK FROM YOUR DIET!
Period! All processed food items don't offer any nutritional value. The only thing you gain by eating junk is excess fat and additional body weight since they're loaded with excess sugar & preservatives.
Most processed foods have a laundry list of ingredients similar to a can of paint. If that's the case, then why would you want to eat it in the first place? I'm talking about ingredients such as: amyl acaetate, butyric acid, diacetyl, ethyl propionate, heliotropin, 4-methylacetophenone, orris butter, vanllin, and solvent.
Looks & sounds delicious, doesn't it? And this is just a small sampling of the 6,000 chemicals used to process foods.
If fat loss is your goal, your nutrition MUST be your #1 priority!
Start eating whole natural foods: chicken, beef, fish, legumes, low-fat dairy, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats - olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocados & fish oil.
As John Berardi, CSCS, founder of Precision Nutrition, says:
5 important things you need to know regarding fat loss is:
- You need to gradually decrease calories (start eating less)
- Increase your protein to support muscle tissue
- Decrease your carbs by eating less sugars and starches - this creates the right environment for fat loss
- Increase your veggies to help you lose weight the healthy way by replacing grains with greens
- Increase your good fats to support metabolism
I know a lot of bodybuilders who use the body-part training approach - Monday - Chest, Tuesday - Legs, Wed. - Shoulders, etc. But are YOU training to be a bodybuilder? My money says that the majority of you aren't. And I've got a crisp twenty to anyone who can prove otherwise!
Multi-joint movements, also known as 'compound exercises', are proven time-efficient muscle builders that deliver more results than single-joint exercises.
I'm not saying nor implying that single-joint exercises are ineffective. However, out in the real-world, virtually every movement and every sport involves more than one moving body part.
Therefore, it makes sense to do mostly multi-joint exercises not only from a time management standpoint, but from a functional perspective outside the gym as well. And if you really want to gain mass for athletics or build beach muscles in the coming months before summer, replace those bicep and leg curls with barbell rows, deadlifts and squats for the next several weeks.
Ignoring the fact that your time is precious and you might not want to spend three hours in the gym hitting each muscle group in turn, and the fact that it's a rare movement in everyday life that truly isolates a muscle group, there's another very compelling reason to stick with compound exercises: they increase strength and size far more effectively than the isolation exercises. In fact, one compound exercise will produce far more bulk and power than an entire series of isolation exercises.
I see this a lot and to be honest, I get sick & tired of seeing people 'waste' their time doing endless minutes, if not, hours of slow, boring cardio! Let's not forget about those individuals who'd rather watch a movie on their iPod touch, read a book/magazine or talk on their cell phone while they go about their so-called 'cardio workout'!
How about kicking up the intensity and as Robert dos Remedios, CSCS, author of 'Cardio Strength Training' says, 'DO WORK!'
This is not a movie theater, a library nor is it a telephone booth - it's a GYM! A place to DO WORK and GET IT DONE! If you want to see real-world results, you must crank it and GO HARD! The beauty about this style of training is that it goes by super fast and it saves you time.
Just a heads up: don't confuse the time saving pitch as being easy. It's not....but you'll see faster and better results by working at a high-intensity vs. a lower one.
All in all, the single most important thing you'll ever have to know about fat loss is the concept of 'Progressive Overload'.
What does that mean exactly? It means that you need to CONSISTENTLY challenge yourself to do a little more or do a little better than your previous workout session.
For example, if you lift 150 lbs. doing a bench press, the next time go for 155-160 lbs. If you performed 20-second interval sprints on a graded treadmill at a 10% incline for 4 rounds, the next time aim for 30-second interval sprints or simply stick with the 20-seconds and increase the incline to 12%.
So there you have it!
Not too hard to understand it is? Now the tough part is putting these 3 ACTION steps to use.
But I know YOU can handle it!
So stop wasting time eating junk food, lifting light weights and doing slow, boring cardio. Start eating for health & performance and for a purpose. Train hard, train smart and stay consistent!
Now....what are you waiting for? Get out there and CRANK IT!
-AR
1 comment:
Amen brother. Great advice.
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