Fat Loss & Workout Tips
Nutrition is more important than training when it comes to fat loss as pointed out yesterday with Dr. Chris Mohr. In all honestly, If you don’t eat right you won’t lose fat, no matter how good your training program is.
Today we’ll take a look at some of the best fat loss tips and workout solutions to get you back on the fat loss track.
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Craig Mohr: Craig, what are your top 3 training tips for fat loss?
Craig Ballntyne: Train with Intensity – Yes it takes a lot of effort to do 45 minutes of cardio, but that is low-intensity exercise (since you can do it for 45 minutes straight).
Instead, you have to increase the intensity of your efforts. That means the following…Don’t rely on slow, steady, long workouts of cardio. – Use intervals instead. Interval training is broadly defined as repetitions of high-speed/intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity.
Don’t use high reps for fat loss. Use low reps instead. – You want to increase the intensity of your training to put ‘metabolic turbulence’ on your muscles.So you need to use moderately heavy weights or advanced bodyweight exercises and interval training to apply this metabolic disturbance and elicit a significant increase in post-exercise energy expenditure.
However, no matter how well you adhere to these training tips, you will not succeed without getting serious about your nutrition. Of course, that’s why I had Dr. Chris Mohr design the Turbulence Training Fat Loss Nutrition Guide to go along with my workout.With the right training intensity and nutrition, you will “get your hormones in order”. Eating poorly can decrease testosterone (in males) and increase insulin in both men and women. This will cause fat storage. At the same time, too much cardio and stress can increase cortisol.
If you have high cortisol levels, increased insulin, and lower than normal testosterone, you are in big trouble when it comes to having a good body. This is why Pilates & Yoga can actually help when combined with good nutrition – because they can reduce the stress and bring those hormone levels back to normal. But my fat loss weapon of choice is more intense exercise, especially for men.
While cardio is focused on breaking down the body, strength training, yoga, and Pilates all focus on building the body. Stick with body-builders.
Chris Mohr: What are the 3 biggest training mistakes most folks make when trying to shed fat?
Craig Ballantyne: The First Fat Loss Mistake – Using Only Long Slow Cardio. There is definitely mixed research support for long, slow cardio. Most studies will show you two things:
1) If you don’t include calorie restriction, doing only aerobic training will get you nowhere.
2) If you include calorie restriction, you will lose weight, but you will also lose lean body mass.
Plus, it just takes too much time up from your schedule. Stick to interval training instead. You will get the same, or in my experience, better results in half the time.
The Second Fat Loss Mistake– Sticking with the Same Program Too Long. In most gyms, every day is Groundhog Day (just like the movie). You’ll see the same men and women doing the exact workout that they did 2 days previous. I see men and women using the exact same weight circuit as they did literally the day before, using the same weight, the same crappy form, and showing the same lack of interest.
These people are much better off doing fewer workouts following a structured plan of increased intensity. DON’T TRADE QUALITY FOR QUANTITY.
The Third Fat Loss Mistake – Doing High Rep-low Weight Isolation Exercises. Exercises such as triceps kickbacks, concentration curls, side raises, and ab crunches are almost a complete waste of time. The men and women that use isolation exercises will not make any improvements. Unfortunately, this is the approach taken by a lot of people in the gym.
Let’s take a look at the advantages of interval training and fat loss in part 4. 