It’s important to understand that the formula for fat loss isn’t exclusive to one way of training or one way of eating. There is an overlap across the board. Very similar results can be achieved with very different methods.
That said, I don’t like to leave anything to chance; I make sure every possible method that can deliver results is utilized. To get yourself started it’s important to understand that no workout can be done in isolation, so stick to the following set of principles…
1. Create a caloric deficit
If you want to lose weight, without a caloric deficit, you’ll never lose fat. Fact. Put simply, to lose fat, your metabolism needs to burn more calories than you consume every day. You can help achieve this by eating frequently, ensuring your meals include plenty of protein, healthy fats and vegetables.
You also need to be exercising to allow your body to burn those calories off via a metabolic disturbance, aka some incredibly beneficial resistance training that will boost your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The energy intake from your food and drink needs to be less than the energy you expend, also known as your metabolic rate. When planning your calorie deficit, you need to make it sustainable. These kind of results don’t happen overnight.
2. Make every exercise count
Now we’ve sorted the calorific deficits you need, to make the most of the exercises, you need to increase the metabolic spend of each and every one. Every exercise will burn differing amounts of calories based on their execution, muscle groups used and intensity. To really get the optimal benefit, you should be metamorphozing compound movements. For example, don’t just do a dumbbell snatch, add in a deadlift before and a lunge afterwards.
3. Every workout must count
One lunge does not a workout make. There will be more to any workout than just one type of exercise, or at least I hope there is! Once you’ve maximized one workout, then you need to move on to all the others. Effectively, you need to make the metabolic cost of your entire workout the highest it can possibly be. The higher the cost, the quicker you’ll lose fat and find that physique you’ve been looking for.
4. Get your HIITs in
High intensity interval training basically means that your exercises need to stimulate your metabolism much more than any less intense cardio workouts tend to. The obvious benefit of these is that they burn more calories while you’re doing them. Do I really need to tell you to do them?
5. Surround yourself with support
In this world where we’re more connected than ever, working out can still be an isolating experience. It’s often just you, your goals and the equipment, which can be a little lonely, but it doesn’t have to be like that. In order to smash your targets, whether that’s fat loss or muscle gain (or both) you need to surround yourself with those who are as passionate about your success as you are. Whether that’s family, friends, work colleagues or gym buddies. Don’t let anyone close who isn’t helping you get where you need to be. You can even get that online with #TeamKingsbury, so you don’t need to go it alone!
Find weight loss advice and more in every issue of TRAIN magazine.
