The Real Way to Get in Shape Published in Boomers! Magazine, February 2011 issue
Why is it that the first things people usually seem to do when they decide that they want to lose weight and get in shape is either run or hop on an elliptical? One major problem is the fact that there is way too much misinformation out there. Well I'm going to dispell a few myths and tell you what really needs to be done to lose fat and get in great shape.
The average person always seems to think that steady state, long duration aerobic training is what they need to get in shape. Don't get me wrong, training like this definitely helps and it definitely has its place in a fat loss program; however, it is not enough and it is not the most efficient and effective way to get rid of unwanted fat.
The most important part of the metabolic equation is muscle, and guess what you need to do in order to build this wonderful thing. If you said strength training, then you are correct! Muscle speeds up your metabolism and burns fat, even while at rest; thus, the more muscle that you have, the faster your metabolism will be and the more fat you will get rid of. In order to build muscle, you need to provide a great enough stimulus through the use of high enough intensity. To do this, you need to lift heavy enough weights. So to the ladies, contrary to popular belief, it is okay for you to lift weights that are heavier than five pounds. No you won't get bulky, because females naturally have smaller muscle fibers than men and don't have enough testosterone to get very big (2). So if you want that "tone" that a lot of females always seem to talk about, you need to lift some weights and build some muscle. On top of this, resistance training also builds bone density, which becomes more and more important as you get older.
After a hard lifting session or intense enough anaerobic (“cardio” that is very intense) session, a phenomenon known as excess post exercise oxygen consumption takes place. Basically, your body uses a lot of oxygen and burns a lot of fat while it recovers from a hard workout for up to 38 hours after a workout (1). This means that even while you are sitting on the couch, your body is burning fat as it recovers. With basic steady state cardiovascular workouts such as using an elliptical for an hour, this effect is minimal because your body doesn’t work hard enough to make this happen. You burn some calories while you are moving but as soon as you are done, you stop. This is a big reason why steady state cardio alone is not enough to get that body you have always wanted. Also, performing too much long duration aerobic training like this promotes muscle wasting. Since we know that muscle is oh so important to fat loss, doing this type of training alone can actually contribute to making you fatter! Woops! Better start moving some weight around!
When it comes to designing a workout for fat loss, there a few things that need to be considered. In order to stimulate the largest amount of muscle in the body, the majority of workouts should consist of compound, multi-joint movements including squatting, pulling, pushing, rotation and locomotive variations.. Sets in the range of eight to fifteen repetitions with moderate rest of 30 seconds to one minute should be used in order to stimulate hypertrophy, or muscle growth. (Remember that more muscle means less fat.) Supersetting, or pairing exercises together is very efficient and allows you to keep working while training different body parts. For conditioning, sled dragging intervals, airdyne bike intervals, circuits and ladders are all amazing to finish a great fat loss workout. All of these modalities set up an ideal hormonal environment for fat loss. Some aerobic training is still good to do a few times a week to keep that heart healthy and burn some extra calories. This could come in the form of walking, light sled dragging or moderate circuits.
Here are a couple of sample workouts for a beginner fat loss client:
Workout 1
1a) Dumbbell squat 3sets of 10 reps paired with/
1b) Inclined Pushups 3 sets of 10 reps
45 seconds rest after both
2a) Pull throughs 3 sets of 10 reps
2b) Cable Rows 3 sets of 10 reps
45 seconds rest after both
3a) Face Pulls 3 sets of 12 reps
3b) Side Bridges 3 sets of 8 reps with 5 second holds
4) External Rotations 2 sets of 12 reps
4) Conditioning
Bodyweight squats for 10 reps
Low step-ups for 10 reps
Farmers Walk for 3 trips
45 seconds of rest then repeat 3 times
(These 3 would be done in a row without rest between them so you would be working hard for probably just over a minute before you rest)
Workout 2
1a) Romanian Deadlift 3 sets of 8 reps
1b) Dumbbell bench press 3 sets of 10 reps
45sec rest after both
2a) Split Squat 3 sets of 10 reps
2b) (Assisted) Pullups 3 sets of 8 reps
45sec rest after both
3a) Stability Ball Rollouts 2 sets of 10 reps
3b) Glute Bridges 2 sets of 15 reps
3c) ITY 2 sets of 6 reps each way
30 seconds rest after both
4) Conditioning
Airdyne Bike Intervals or Battle Ropes 30 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy, 4 rounds
These two workouts would be alternated and around three workouts would be done per week. In each workout, the first two pairings provide tons of stimulus to the body since you are working multiple muscle groups hard simultaneously for a large number of repetitions. The third pairing is an example of some secondary exercises that would be implemented to work on any muscular imbalances or specific weaknesses of an individual such as weak lumbar stability or weak scapular muscles, but still provide a good stimulus also. Examples of very efficient and effective cardiovascular circuits/intervals are at the end of the workouts and work great as “finishers.”
Hopefully this gives you a pretty good idea of how to effectively workout to lose some fat and transform your body. You can find examples of most of the exercises mentioned on my website and youtube page.
Nick Rosencutter
NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Sources:
1)Mikat, R P, M D Schuenke, and J M McBride. "Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management." European Journal of Applied Physiology 86.5 (2002): 411-7. pubmed.gov. 29 Jan. 2002. 18 May 2009 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11882927?dopt=AbstractPlus>.
2) Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M, and William J Kraemer. Science and Practice of Strength Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2006. 181-84.
3) National Strength and Conditioning Association. NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training. Ed. Roger W Earle and Thomas R Baechle. N.p.: Human Kinetics, 2003.
Why is it that the first things people usually seem to do when they decide that they want to lose weight and get in shape is either run or hop on an elliptical? One major problem is the fact that there is way too much misinformation out there. Well I'm going to dispell a few myths and tell you what really needs to be done to lose fat and get in great shape.
The average person always seems to think that steady state, long duration aerobic training is what they need to get in shape. Don't get me wrong, training like this definitely helps and it definitely has its place in a fat loss program; however, it is not enough and it is not the most efficient and effective way to get rid of unwanted fat.
The most important part of the metabolic equation is muscle, and guess what you need to do in order to build this wonderful thing. If you said strength training, then you are correct! Muscle speeds up your metabolism and burns fat, even while at rest; thus, the more muscle that you have, the faster your metabolism will be and the more fat you will get rid of. In order to build muscle, you need to provide a great enough stimulus through the use of high enough intensity. To do this, you need to lift heavy enough weights. So to the ladies, contrary to popular belief, it is okay for you to lift weights that are heavier than five pounds. No you won't get bulky, because females naturally have smaller muscle fibers than men and don't have enough testosterone to get very big (2). So if you want that "tone" that a lot of females always seem to talk about, you need to lift some weights and build some muscle. On top of this, resistance training also builds bone density, which becomes more and more important as you get older.
After a hard lifting session or intense enough anaerobic (“cardio” that is very intense) session, a phenomenon known as excess post exercise oxygen consumption takes place. Basically, your body uses a lot of oxygen and burns a lot of fat while it recovers from a hard workout for up to 38 hours after a workout (1). This means that even while you are sitting on the couch, your body is burning fat as it recovers. With basic steady state cardiovascular workouts such as using an elliptical for an hour, this effect is minimal because your body doesn’t work hard enough to make this happen. You burn some calories while you are moving but as soon as you are done, you stop. This is a big reason why steady state cardio alone is not enough to get that body you have always wanted. Also, performing too much long duration aerobic training like this promotes muscle wasting. Since we know that muscle is oh so important to fat loss, doing this type of training alone can actually contribute to making you fatter! Woops! Better start moving some weight around!
When it comes to designing a workout for fat loss, there a few things that need to be considered. In order to stimulate the largest amount of muscle in the body, the majority of workouts should consist of compound, multi-joint movements including squatting, pulling, pushing, rotation and locomotive variations.. Sets in the range of eight to fifteen repetitions with moderate rest of 30 seconds to one minute should be used in order to stimulate hypertrophy, or muscle growth. (Remember that more muscle means less fat.) Supersetting, or pairing exercises together is very efficient and allows you to keep working while training different body parts. For conditioning, sled dragging intervals, airdyne bike intervals, circuits and ladders are all amazing to finish a great fat loss workout. All of these modalities set up an ideal hormonal environment for fat loss. Some aerobic training is still good to do a few times a week to keep that heart healthy and burn some extra calories. This could come in the form of walking, light sled dragging or moderate circuits.
Here are a couple of sample workouts for a beginner fat loss client:
Workout 1
1a) Dumbbell squat 3sets of 10 reps paired with/
1b) Inclined Pushups 3 sets of 10 reps
45 seconds rest after both
2a) Pull throughs 3 sets of 10 reps
2b) Cable Rows 3 sets of 10 reps
45 seconds rest after both
3a) Face Pulls 3 sets of 12 reps
3b) Side Bridges 3 sets of 8 reps with 5 second holds
4) External Rotations 2 sets of 12 reps
4) Conditioning
Bodyweight squats for 10 reps
Low step-ups for 10 reps
Farmers Walk for 3 trips
45 seconds of rest then repeat 3 times
(These 3 would be done in a row without rest between them so you would be working hard for probably just over a minute before you rest)
Workout 2
1a) Romanian Deadlift 3 sets of 8 reps
1b) Dumbbell bench press 3 sets of 10 reps
45sec rest after both
2a) Split Squat 3 sets of 10 reps
2b) (Assisted) Pullups 3 sets of 8 reps
45sec rest after both
3a) Stability Ball Rollouts 2 sets of 10 reps
3b) Glute Bridges 2 sets of 15 reps
3c) ITY 2 sets of 6 reps each way
30 seconds rest after both
4) Conditioning
Airdyne Bike Intervals or Battle Ropes 30 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy, 4 rounds
These two workouts would be alternated and around three workouts would be done per week. In each workout, the first two pairings provide tons of stimulus to the body since you are working multiple muscle groups hard simultaneously for a large number of repetitions. The third pairing is an example of some secondary exercises that would be implemented to work on any muscular imbalances or specific weaknesses of an individual such as weak lumbar stability or weak scapular muscles, but still provide a good stimulus also. Examples of very efficient and effective cardiovascular circuits/intervals are at the end of the workouts and work great as “finishers.”
Hopefully this gives you a pretty good idea of how to effectively workout to lose some fat and transform your body. You can find examples of most of the exercises mentioned on my website and youtube page.
Nick Rosencutter
NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Sources:
1)Mikat, R P, M D Schuenke, and J M McBride. "Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management." European Journal of Applied Physiology 86.5 (2002): 411-7. pubmed.gov. 29 Jan. 2002. 18 May 2009 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11882927?dopt=AbstractPlus>.
2) Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M, and William J Kraemer. Science and Practice of Strength Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2006. 181-84.
3) National Strength and Conditioning Association. NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training. Ed. Roger W Earle and Thomas R Baechle. N.p.: Human Kinetics, 2003.
