Real People Real Results - Understanding how food, fitness and mental attitude affect weight loss
“Pick the bar up, put it over your head”, pretty simple. Dan John is the Strength Coach and Head Track and Field Coach at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, Utah and aside from holding multiple state champion titles (California and Utah) in discus, hammer, shot, highland games and Olympic lifting, can lift a shitload of weight.
Dan shows us how to lift Olympic style in this 33 minute video. Great stuff!
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Today’s weight loss tips are about exercise and how to best use your time in the gym to get more work done, stimulate more muscle and burn more fat. They say that building muscle while burning fat can’t be done, and that you should focus on one or the other, never both. That said, what if you just wanted to burn fat as efficiently as possible, end workout boredome make your time in the gym as quick as possible. These three weight loss tips are the very thing to take you in that direction.
1 Focus your training on the largest muscle groups:
The largest muscle groups of the body are the legs, back and chest. By working the largest muscle groups, primarily, you end up putting a larger demand on your body for energy and nutrition. Then a larger demand on your body for repair of that muscle tissue. You burn fat twice, first when you’re actually training and secondly when your body is busy rebuilding the muscles.
Arms (tricep and bicep) are smaller muscles, and where training certainly makes them look good and allows you to work harder on pushing and pulling movements, they don’t burn as much fat as the larger muscles.
As my trainer says, even if you don’t specifically train arms, they still get worked when you’re doing chest and back movements.
Chest – Bench press, Incline bench press, decline bench press, flies, pushups etc
Back – Bent over row, one arm dumbbell row, pull downs, pull ups, chins, seated rows
Legs – Squat, hack squat, leg press, lunges
So for maximum fat loss, create workout routines for the largest muscle groups.
I’ve realized that exercise will increase my weight loss and help get my body get into better condition. I finally decided that it was time to step out of my comfort zone
If I was going to be true to this experience, I had to go to the gym.
Remember, I haven’t exercised since 1985 and the hardbodies at the gym became more and more intimidating as I visualized myself in that situation.
I was just talking with my friend, a personal trainer from Toronto and author of The Fit Bastard and The Fit Chic, Scott Tousignant, about his current goals of getting to 5% body fat.
I asked him what method he’s using to reach his goals and he replied “My Fit Bastard Workouts” and Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet. I caught him while he was making a tuna salad meal and asked him how the rest of his program looked and if he was on target to reach his goal. He’s three weeks out and 2% away from achieving it.
I realized that I’ve got my next 6 weeks of cardio and training planned and I’m following my own Reverse Caveman Diet on which Fat Loss Fundamentals is loosely based. I know what I’ll be eating for the next 6 weeks and I have it mapped out on my calendar.
It got me thinking about this poll, asking that very question – about how far ahead you plan your meals. Do you know what you’ll be eating for the day, or tomorrow? If I asked you what you’re having for lunch tomorrow, how would you answer? What about next week on Wednesday? is it a re-feed day? a low carb day? A meat day? a cleansing day?
I’d like to know how far ahead you plan your meals and what sort of reasons or results you get from the format you follow
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As always, leave your comments with your thoughts.
As a side note, Scott and I were talking about the Fit Chic workout program and all it has to offer. It sounds like it’s quite the kick ass program for women wanting to get in shape. I’ll be doing a review of it soon. In the mean time, check out The Fit Chic women’s workout program.
Interesting
Many experts agree that doing cardio first thing in the morning can burn fat 300% faster while others say that interval training with bodyweight exercises is as effective or more effective than cardio.
The never ending question of the best way to burn fat has proponents on both sides of the fence. Then there are those who think that to have the best health, one should do both cardio and weight training. Weight training to build muscle, strength and bone density and then cardio to improve heart and lung health.
What are your thoughts?
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as always, leave a more detailed answer in the comments. It may take 30 to 45 seconds for the poll to record your answer. Thank you for your patience
