You cannot spot-burn fat!
When I start a nutritional program with a new client one of the first things I ask them is what their goal is. A lot of people say oh I want to lose weight from my stomach/bum/arms etc.
It is important to understand that you cannot spot burn fat - i.e. you cannot chose from where you want to lose fat from - its up to your body! Fat loss is like a sponge drying out - you cannot dry one corner first, it all happens gradually.
As a part of this misconception so many people think that doing sit ups will mean that you can lose fat from this area. Unless you have a relatively low body fat percentage doing sit-ups is not a great way to lose fat for two reasons
The best way to lose fat is to do a combination of:
Compound Exercises
Compound exercises make up the basis of most of my workouts as I do not have a lot of spare time and want to make the most out of my gym visits!
I try and work as many muscles as possible with individual exercises. This style of training is also great for increasing power and endurance, building muscle mass and strengthening the body as a whole! (Gym pigeons put down the dumbbells and do some legs!)
Here are some of the best compound exercises (taken from Muscle and Fitness). They are quite advanced moves so make sure that you know the correct form for all of the individual components before moving to dynamic exercises and start with a low weight and work up!
Exercise 1: Squat Jump into a Lunge
Muscles worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves and Glutes
12-15 reps x 8 sets
Exercise 2: Hanging Clean into a front squat
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, Shoulders, and Calves
12-15 reps x 8 sets
Exercise 3: Deadlift into a Bicept curl
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, Shoulders, Calves, Biceps
10-12 reps x 6 sets
As always make sure you speak to your GP before starting a new workout regime! Speak to a personal trainer about the correct form for performing these exercises before attempting them!
Additional Reading
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/powerful_workout_exercises.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/256699-full-body-compound-exercises-for-women/
http://skinnybulkup.com/compound-exercises/
http://www.criticalbench.com/compound-exercises.htm
http://www.body-building-resource.com/bb37.shtml
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/3-compound-combination-moves-total-body-fitness
When I start a nutritional program with a new client one of the first things I ask them is what their goal is. A lot of people say oh I want to lose weight from my stomach/bum/arms etc.
It is important to understand that you cannot spot burn fat - i.e. you cannot chose from where you want to lose fat from - its up to your body! Fat loss is like a sponge drying out - you cannot dry one corner first, it all happens gradually.
As a part of this misconception so many people think that doing sit ups will mean that you can lose fat from this area. Unless you have a relatively low body fat percentage doing sit-ups is not a great way to lose fat for two reasons
- You cannot see you abdominal muscles under body fat
- The abdominal muscles are some of the smallest muscles in your body so working those versus larger muscle groups burns less calories
The best way to lose fat is to do a combination of:
- HIIT cardio (preferably fasted cardio i.e. before breakfast as your body has not yet had fuel so it will take from fat stores
- Strength (weights) & Resistance training - preferably working a number muscle groups - Compound exercises
- Eat 5 clean meals a day
- One cheat meal a week (if needed)
Compound Exercises
Compound exercises make up the basis of most of my workouts as I do not have a lot of spare time and want to make the most out of my gym visits!
I try and work as many muscles as possible with individual exercises. This style of training is also great for increasing power and endurance, building muscle mass and strengthening the body as a whole! (Gym pigeons put down the dumbbells and do some legs!)
Here are some of the best compound exercises (taken from Muscle and Fitness). They are quite advanced moves so make sure that you know the correct form for all of the individual components before moving to dynamic exercises and start with a low weight and work up!
Exercise 1: Squat Jump into a Lunge
Muscles worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves and Glutes
12-15 reps x 8 sets
Exercise 2: Hanging Clean into a front squat
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, Shoulders, and Calves
12-15 reps x 8 sets
Exercise 3: Deadlift into a Bicept curl
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, Shoulders, Calves, Biceps
10-12 reps x 6 sets
As always make sure you speak to your GP before starting a new workout regime! Speak to a personal trainer about the correct form for performing these exercises before attempting them!
Additional Reading
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/powerful_workout_exercises.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/256699-full-body-compound-exercises-for-women/
http://skinnybulkup.com/compound-exercises/
http://www.criticalbench.com/compound-exercises.htm
http://www.body-building-resource.com/bb37.shtml
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/3-compound-combination-moves-total-body-fitness
Hi Vicci...great post. I was wondering how much weight to use for the exercises you recommend here. I weigh 205 and have been working out for over a year now. Want to reduce overall body fat and 190 lb is my goal currently.
ReplyDeleteHey Joel, Not sure if my first reply got to you so let me try this again :)
ReplyDeleteTo figure out how much weight you should lift for a dynamic movement like the above you would first need to work out how much you can lift on the individual components first. For example - you may be able to Deadlift 80kg but you might not be able to curl that weight (i certainly cant!). An option for this exercise is to swap the curl in exercise 3 to a shrug.
After you know your max for the individual components then try putting the movement together - with a reduced amount of weight. Start very low and work your way up. You should never work out at you max - instead figure out your one rep max and build your sets up to maximum 80% of this.
Example
Set 1: 20% weight
Set 2: 40%
Set 3: 40%
Set 4: 50%
Set 5: 60%
Set 7: 70%
Set 8: 60-80%
That sounds great...Thanks a lot!
ReplyDelete