If I could pick one main question that gets asked the most(
besides how much I bench….Sigh..) is this:
“I’m want to get lose
weight AND get in shape. What can I do to get the results I want the fastest??”
I tell them a combination of nutrition, weight training and
cardiovascular exercise is the way to go. A few weeks will go by without any
progress and then they will ask me if I can write them a program because they
are not getting any results. Of course, Ill ask them what are they currently
doing and they will say they are doing only 1-2 of the 3 things I mentioned.
Weight training is important because it builds muscle which
increases your resting metabolic rate. The more muscle you have – the faster
your resting metabolic rate is. The faster the metabolic rate, the more
calories are burned and the easier it is to stay relatively lean. This is
especially important for women as I see more women than men focused on
excessive amounts of cardio, no weight training and little to no calories. If
you don’t add weight training to your regimen, you will not achieve the
lean/tone look that you are striving for. Anyone can lose weight, but if you’re
looking to lose exclusively bodyfat when following an exercise program then
weight training is an essential component for getting great results. Don’t worry,
you won’t gain 50lbs of muscle instantly and lose your femininity – you don’t have
the testosterone levels to do so.
Nutrition is the number one reason why most people fail at
achieving their goals in my opinion. They feel that if they exercise and do
cardio they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. Obviously, this is
not the case. If you follow some basic nutritional guidelines then there is no
way of knowing how much you should be eating, but more importantly, how many
calories are you actually eating. It seems like all men think that when they
are trying to put on size they need to take in 5000 calories. In addition, it
seems like all women think they need to follow a 1200 calorie diet and
basically starve themselves. Again, this is not the case. Whether you’re trying
to gain muscle or lose fat – your ultimate goal nutritionally should be to
create a structured meal plan comprised of lean proteins, complex
carbohydrates, and unsaturated fats. Structured meal plans allow you to eat
more frequently throughout the day as opposed to 1-2 times a day. Eating more
frequently will keep that metabolism active.
Cardiovascular exercise is a great tool for losing pounds
and controlling body fat levels. The biggest issue I see with people adding
cardio to their regimen is doing too much of a high-intensity cardio right off
the bat. Most would be surprised that they can get great results sticking to
60-120 minutes a week of low-to-moderate intensity cardio. If the cardio is too
intense and you’re not following a proper nutritional plan, you will be more
prone to lose muscle mass along with body fat. A loss of muscle mass decreases
your metabolic rate which makes it difficult to lose bodyfat when reducing your
caloric intake. In other words, you cut back on calories but fail to look
leaner. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many people I know
fall into this category. Unless you’re extremely obese – your ultimate goal
should be LOOK leaner in addition to actually being leaner. It creates a
positive atmosphere that influences others around you to want to change their
lifestyle as well!
Last but not least – supplementation. Here’s another one of
those top 3 questions people ask me when they see me at the gym. What do you
take for bulking/cutting? And then they hear the list and have the puzzled look
when I didn’t follow with a laundry list of performance-enchancing drugs and
fat burners. NEWS FLASH!!! Supplementation is what it is – to SUPPLEMENT your
nutrition and training. Sure, there are probably some fat burners out there
that work – but if you closely at those labels and testimonies they all say “Use
in conjunction with a proper diet and exercise to achieve maximum results. I
admit – I fell into this trend many years back in the early days as I was
looking for any quick fix to lose a few lbs, but not anymore. There’s only one
pill that’s worth taking – it’s called DISCIPLINE. Try it once and I promise
you will never need another supplement again.
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