8 rules for fat loss training

Here's what you need to know...

1. If you're serious about losing body fat, then you need to make time for proper nutrition. If you don't have that time, then make that time!
2. Far too often people trying to lose body fat use intense metabolic training with weights and HIIT (high intensity interval training). Fat loss programs require you to alternate between different strategies such as metabolic training with weights, strength training, bodybuilding and strength plus conditioning training as needed.
3. When designing a weekly plan for your workout, keep in mind how different training styles affect different physical systems and therefore recovery. You need to plan some distance between different types of stressors such as nervous system stressors, joint stressors, spinal compression and metabolic stressors.
4. If you are trying to burn fat, you should alternate between different types of non-lactate stimulating conditioning workouts, which consist of short, intense efforts, and lactate producing conditioning workouts, which consist of longer duration efforts.

Do you want to lose body fat quickly and stay slim? Then stop using those mainstream fitness workout programs designed for your grandmother. A real fat loss workout should build calluses on your hands. Here are eight rules for effective fat loss training plus a sample workout plan that puts these rules into action.

8 rules for a fat loss workout

1 - Prioritize nutrition

Yes, this is a training article, but nutrition is by far the most important factor in fat loss. If you are serious about losing body fat then you need to make time for shopping for food, preparing meals, doing the washing up and keeping a food diary. If you don't have time for this, then you need to make the time! Reduce time-wasting activities such as social media, surfing the web, playing games on your phone or watching TV.

If you have really eliminated every possible time waster and are still pressed for time, then exercise less to have time to take care of your diet. Yes, that's right, exercise less! In my fat loss programs, for example, I have scheduled Tuesdays and Saturdays as shopping/meal prep days. You can still exercise on these days of course, but if you're really pressed for time, then you should sacrifice your workouts on these days to take care of the top priority for fat loss - your diet.

When it comes to what you eat, there's no rule that says you have to follow a specific diet perfectly. You probably already know yourself which foods will cause you problems. However, there are aspects of certain diets that are worth adopting. For example, you can adopt some aspects of the Paleo diet (natural, single ingredient foods, meat, fish, eggs and vegetables) without unnecessarily sacrificing other foods that are not Paleo but still support your training goals, such as high quality supplements like fish oil, BCAAs, protein, pre-workout nutrition and some starchy carbohydrate sources like rice.

2 - Choose heavy multi-joint exercises

Regardless of your goals, effective training starts with choosing the right exercises. The best exercises for fat loss are the best exercises for almost any goal. The heavy multi-joint exercises are the exercises you should be doing.

3 - Get stronger

While most people understand that getting stronger is important for building muscle and increasing performance, the relevance of this to fat loss is often overlooked. If fat loss is your goal, then you want to burn as much energy as possible. To do this, you want your body to be as energy inefficient as possible. One of the big problems with cardio for fat loss is that the more of it you do, the better you get at it and the more energy efficient you become. The opposite is true with resistance training. The better you get at resistance training, the more weight you can move and the more energy you will use. Dedicating some of your training time to getting stronger will allow you to perform all other forms of your training (e.g. metabolic training with weights, conditioning training) at a higher level and this will make these forms of training even more effective in reducing unwanted fat.

4 - Build muscle

Almost everyone who is trying to lose body fat should build some muscle mass. Most people know this, but it is necessary to repeat it over and over again. Even a few extra pounds of lean muscle mass equals a lot of extra calories burned day after day.

5 - Increase metabolic rate after exercise

Years ago, exercise scientists told us to do long cardio workouts at low intensity to burn fat. However, this was an answer to the wrong question. Fat loss training is not about what burns the greatest amount of fat during a training session, but what burns the greatest amount of fat within 24 hours. Short, high-intensity exercise generates an oxygen debt (also known in nerd-speak as EPOC or excess post-exercise energy consumption) and this results in a metabolic boost that lasts long after the session is over.

6 - Plan your training wisely

When creating a weekly plan for your training, consider how different styles of training affect different systems of the body and therefore recovery. Here are some examples:

1. Stressors to the joints: sprints, jumps, heavy barbell training
2. Compression of the spine: heavy squats, deadlifts, farmer's walk
3. Stressors for the nervous system: speed/power training, heavy training with low repetitions (especially > 90% of 1RM), training to muscle failure
4. Metabolic stressors: lactate training (i.e. doing things that last between 30 seconds and 3 minutes and produce a lot of lactic acid/lactate. Great for fat loss, but takes longer to recover from)

Allow yourself some space between different types of stressors. For example, if you stress something heavily one day, do a lighter workout the next day or choose a different type of stressor. The example plan at the end of the article will show you how to put this into practice.

7 - Rotate the strategies

As with any goal, following an effective fat loss training program will only work for a certain period of time before you reach a plateau. Far too often, people trying to lose body fat only use intense metabolic training with weights and HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Although these types of training are excellent, they won't work forever. Even with a fat loss program, you should alternate between different strategies like the following as needed:

1. Metabolic training with weights: Use moderate weights and moderate repetitions while alternating between upper and lower body exercises or performing full body circuits.
2. Strength training: use more traditional strength training methods that allow you to move more weight as you transition back to metabolic training with weights.
3. Bodybuilding: focus on building lean muscle mass to increase metabolic rate and do some fast walking to burn some extra calories.
4. Strength plus conditioning: focus on getting stronger in the weight room and perform demanding forms of conditioning to increase EPOC (afterburn effect).

The trick is to not only periodize your workouts, but also your diet. When some people do a lower-volume strength training program, they notice that they build fat. This is not because of the training. Obviously, strength training does not cause fat gain. However, if you go from a higher volume workout (the typical metabolic fat loss stuff) to a lower volume workout (such as a powerlifting program) and don't reduce your carbs and calories, then you will build fat.

8 - Get outside

We are made to be outside. While it's not always practical to lug an entire barbell set outside or work out at Muscle Beach, you should still try to do something physical outdoors. Sprint on the cinder track, find a hill and practice sprints, push or pull a weight sled. Grab a sledgehammer and try to smash an old tire to smithereens. You can also consider taking some minimal equipment like kettlebells to the park and do an outdoor training session. Or do what I do - I work out with my barbells in my basement gym and then do farmer's walks on the sidewalk in my neighborhood. Other outdoor athletic activities are also great not only to burn a few extra calories, but also to have some fun, reduce stress, and enjoy the benefits of the perfectly conditioned machine you build in the gym.

The workout plan: Let's put the above into practice

Warm up

Do whatever it takes to get warm and ready for the workout. Foam roller work, dynamic flexibility training and corrective exercises are all suitable, but don't overdo it. Five to ten minutes maximum is plenty unless you have real problems. Doing a few short sprints, jumps or medicine ball throws to stimulate the nervous system is also a good idea

Monday

	Exercise	Sets		Breaks
A	Deadlift (dead-squat™ bar, regular or rack)	2-3	3-5	2-3 min.
B1	Dips or bench press with close grip	5	3-5	1 min.
B2	Pull-ups with additional weight	5	3-5	1 min.
C	Farmers Walk *	2-4	30 meters	2-3 min.

* Farmers Walk - Use a dead-squat™ bar, Farmers Walk equipment or heavy dumbbells.

Alactate conditioning training (Alactate means that you use the ATP-CP energy system, which does not produce lactic acid (lactate). This type of training consists of short, intense efforts that do not cause burning). Do this later the same day after your workout with weights.

Example options (choose one):

• 40 to 50 meter sprint: 5 to 10 sprints, 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest between sprints
• Sprints uphill or up a flight of stairs (short < 40m): 5 to 10 sprints, 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest between sprints
• Sledgehammer (punches on a tire): Maximum number of hits within 10 to 20 seconds, 5 to 10 passes, 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest between passes
• Pushing or pulling a weight sled (walking or running): 5 to 12 sets (20 meter distance, 1 set = once there and back), 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest between sets

Tuesday: Running and shopping/meal preparation day

Tempo runs on the sports field (Do these if your time allows. Prioritize meal prep otherwise).

How to do them: Find a soccer field. Start in one corner, sprint diagonally at 75% of your maximum speed to the corner on the other side. When you get there, walk along the side of the pitch to the corner on the other side. This is one set. Perform a total of 8 to 15 sets. This will help improve your conditioning, while also aiding your recovery so you're ready for the next day's tough workout. Unless you live in Brazil, where there's a soccer field on every street corner, you'll have to improvise. A park works too. Choose two trees instead of the corners of the soccer pitch.

Wednesday

	Exercise	Phrases		Pauses
A1	Dumbbell bench press or push-ups with additional weight	3-5	8-10	45 sec.
A2	Kettlebell swing	3-5	8-10	45 sec.
A3	One-arm dumbbell row	3-5	8-10	45 sec.
A4	Pushing or pulling a heavy weight sled *	3-5	30-40 meters	45-60 sec.

* Push or pull a heavy weight sled - Perform walking lunges over 20 meters if you do not have a weight sled.

Lactate training (Lactate training means that you use an energy system that produces lactate. This training consists of longer exercises that produce a burn). Do this later the same day after your workout with weights.

Example options (choose one):

• 400 meter sprints: 2 to 4 sets, 2 to 5 minutes rest between sprints
• Battle Ropes (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__bv4D7ii_0): 45-75 sec, 4 to 6 rounds, 1 to 2 minutes rest
• Pulling or pushing a weight sled (walking or running): 4 to 6 sets (use a 30 meter route, 1 set = once there and back), 2 to 5 minutes rest between sets

Thursday

Tempo runs (as on Tuesday) or 30 to 60 minutes of brisk walking.

Friday

	Exercise	Sets		Breaks
A1	Front squats or regular squats	4-5	3-5	1 min.
A2	Pull-ups (neutral grip or underhand grip)	4-5	3-5	1 min.
A3	Repositioning and pressing	4-5	3-5	1 min.

Alactat conditioning workout, same idea as what you did on Monday, but you can choose a different option from the last workout. For example, if you did 40 to 60 meter sprints on Monday, pull a weight sled, sprint uphill, or use the sledgehammer.

Saturday: Your choice and shopping/meal prep day

Today you need to pick your poison:

Option 1: Exercise:

A great option is to perform (not just watch) an intense physical sport.

Option 2: Outdoor recreational sports:

Hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc. Make sure the activity is reasonably intense.

Option 3: Lactate training:

Perform lactate training as described in Wednesday's workout. You can do a few more sets as you have not done any training with weights before.

Option 4: Strongman Day

Grab a few friends and load up your cars with whatever training equipment you have: Weight sleds, sledgehammers, tractor tires, kettlebells, Farmers Walk equipment, etc. and head to a park or field. If you only do this occasionally, you can plan things on the fly. If you do this regularly, then put together a program based on the following guidelines:

1. Move from more technically challenging exercises to less challenging ones.
2. Use sets shorter than 10 seconds for an alactate workout and sets lasting from 30 seconds to 2 minutes for a lactate workout.
3. Keep the duration of your training sessions under one hour.
4. Aim for weekly progression in your main exercises.
5. Occasionally try to do something at the end of the workout that falls into the "that was a dumb idea" category. This means that one person in the group comes up with an original idea that the group has to try out. The goal is to come up with something that won't get anyone hurt and will make you throw up your high protein breakfast again or cause rhabdomyolysis. It should simply be something challenging that will make everyone (including the person who came up with the idea) say "that was a stupid idea". This gives you a mental challenge so you can learn that you may be tougher than you think.

Option 5: Beach muscle day

If you've done all the other training on the previous days, you can also enjoy a day of some nice bodybuilding training.

	Exercise	Sets		Breaks
A1	Standing dumbbell press	3	8-10	10 sec.
A2	Side raise with dumbbells	3	12-15	90 sec.
B1	Barbell or dumbbell curls*	3	8-10	10 sec.
B2	Dumbbell hammer curls	3	8-10	10 sec.
B3	Barbell or dumbbell curls	3	8-10	2 min.
C1	Skull crusher with pullovers with a SZ bar *	3	8-10	10 sec.
C2	Push-ups with close grip and additional weight	3	8-10	10 sec.
C3	Skull crusher with pull-ups with a SZ bar	3	8-10	2 min.
D	Standing calf raises	3-5	8-10	90 sec.
E	Suspension strap fallout (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaa75R-2GEs)	3	8-10	60 sec.

* These triple sets are based on Charles Poliquin's method. The third exercise of the triple set is the first exercise again, using less weight than in the first set.

Sunday: light activity

A brisk walk or some easy cycling.

By Andrew Heming | 01/22/16

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/8-rules-for-fat-loss-training