This article includes a 6 week program that will get you fired up!
After 25,000 hours spend in the gym watching and helping I have had the opportunity to see some of the craziest stuff imaginable. You would not believe some of the workout madness that some people invent in a desperate attempt to get results. From people thinking that wearing more clothes will help them burn more fat to people who think that trying to train like a professional gymnast is the cats meow.
What I have learned is that getting results is actually a simple process. That does not mean easy, in fact usually it is the opposite but I will expand on that more in a bit, but it is simple to understand.
Losing Weight boils down to these two the factors. Consistency and intensity.
You will not burn much fat at all by coming in every now and again. Your body does not work that way. If you are a intermittent exerciser then you need to know that you have not asked the right thing of your body and you DON'T DESERVE RESULTS! There are no short-cuts when it comes to step 1, which is showing up like clock work.
Also, your intensity probably sucks. Nothing personal, but I hope that you aren't reading this article because you are trying to justify your current program. If your are not losing weight even though you go to the gym on a regular basis then you have a mis-guided understanding of what a workout should look like.
A short caveat: If you work out consistently and have the right intensity but eat poorly you still will not lose weight. So make sure that you are dieting properly to get best results!
So now to the nuts and bolts. The science of body composition change tells us that two things have to happen to have a long-term impact.
First, you have to eat less total calories than you burn. If you eat less calories than you burn then your body will fill that deficit from your energy stores, more commonly known as fat. If you have not burned more calories than you burned then your body has no incentive to burn body fat, period. If you workout so hard that your head almost pops off and burn 10,000 calories, but eat 10,001 calories then you will not burn body fat!
Second, you have to tell your body that you are you need more from it moving forward. We call this the overload principle. That means that you either need it to do the same thing longer, faster or with more resistance. If you just do what you are already capable of again you have given your body no incentive to change. Without incentive there is no result, period. You could run a marathon 3 times per week, but if you are used to doing that then your body will not change.
Here is what you should try:
Choose 1 exercise for each of the 9 major body part
Quads, Hams, Calves, Shoulders, Chest, Lats, Abs, Biceps and Triceps
(The exercise matters but not at this point)
Choose a heavier weight then you are used to lifting. If you lift like the average person than make that weight substantially heavier, but if you think that you go pretty hard already then just go up to the next weight.
You are only going to do 1 set per exercise. In this set, knowing that you have no more work or exercise for that muscle to do, you need to go with crazy intensity. Lift it over and over until you could not do another rep even if I gave you a million dollars for that rep. Make sure that you journal your results.
Follow this program for two weeks, trying to do more reps than the last time each time you do each exercise. After 2 full weeks of doing this 3 times per week you need to add a second set and repeat the process for 2 more weeks. Now add a third set for two weeks, the whole time keeping your intensity up at that crazy-high level.
With this 6 week program you will be blown away at how positively your body responds. Have fun.
Make sure that you have clearance from your doctor before you engage in any new exercise program!
After 25,000 hours spend in the gym watching and helping I have had the opportunity to see some of the craziest stuff imaginable. You would not believe some of the workout madness that some people invent in a desperate attempt to get results. From people thinking that wearing more clothes will help them burn more fat to people who think that trying to train like a professional gymnast is the cats meow.
What I have learned is that getting results is actually a simple process. That does not mean easy, in fact usually it is the opposite but I will expand on that more in a bit, but it is simple to understand.
Losing Weight boils down to these two the factors. Consistency and intensity.
You will not burn much fat at all by coming in every now and again. Your body does not work that way. If you are a intermittent exerciser then you need to know that you have not asked the right thing of your body and you DON'T DESERVE RESULTS! There are no short-cuts when it comes to step 1, which is showing up like clock work.
Also, your intensity probably sucks. Nothing personal, but I hope that you aren't reading this article because you are trying to justify your current program. If your are not losing weight even though you go to the gym on a regular basis then you have a mis-guided understanding of what a workout should look like.
A short caveat: If you work out consistently and have the right intensity but eat poorly you still will not lose weight. So make sure that you are dieting properly to get best results!
So now to the nuts and bolts. The science of body composition change tells us that two things have to happen to have a long-term impact.
First, you have to eat less total calories than you burn. If you eat less calories than you burn then your body will fill that deficit from your energy stores, more commonly known as fat. If you have not burned more calories than you burned then your body has no incentive to burn body fat, period. If you workout so hard that your head almost pops off and burn 10,000 calories, but eat 10,001 calories then you will not burn body fat!
Second, you have to tell your body that you are you need more from it moving forward. We call this the overload principle. That means that you either need it to do the same thing longer, faster or with more resistance. If you just do what you are already capable of again you have given your body no incentive to change. Without incentive there is no result, period. You could run a marathon 3 times per week, but if you are used to doing that then your body will not change.
Here is what you should try:
Choose 1 exercise for each of the 9 major body part
Quads, Hams, Calves, Shoulders, Chest, Lats, Abs, Biceps and Triceps
(The exercise matters but not at this point)
Choose a heavier weight then you are used to lifting. If you lift like the average person than make that weight substantially heavier, but if you think that you go pretty hard already then just go up to the next weight.
You are only going to do 1 set per exercise. In this set, knowing that you have no more work or exercise for that muscle to do, you need to go with crazy intensity. Lift it over and over until you could not do another rep even if I gave you a million dollars for that rep. Make sure that you journal your results.
Follow this program for two weeks, trying to do more reps than the last time each time you do each exercise. After 2 full weeks of doing this 3 times per week you need to add a second set and repeat the process for 2 more weeks. Now add a third set for two weeks, the whole time keeping your intensity up at that crazy-high level.
With this 6 week program you will be blown away at how positively your body responds. Have fun.
Make sure that you have clearance from your doctor before you engage in any new exercise program!
