Five Training Methods for Fat Loss

“Why is fitness important to you right now?”

“What does success in fitness look like to you?”

“How do you want to see improvement in the gym?”

From the eyes of a Strength and Conditioning Professional, it is important for me to make time to ask questions like the three stated above with each person I meet so we can define what exactly we’re going to work on in the gym. Taking time in the beginning to identify the core reason why making time for the gym is important leads to a greater level of success in fitness. In the eleven years of working with people to improve their fitness, I have seen a common reason across the age and the goal spectrum and the reason is to lose fat.

The goal may be packaged differently in how it is presented to me, but at the core, it’s about losing the fat.  If fat loss is the overall reason in fitness then we need to be clear in how we approach this goal and try not to confuse the goal of losing fat with the goal for losing weight.

Let’s be clear, there is a difference between weight loss and fat loss.

For the purpose of this article let’s look at specific training methods designed to provide the best physiological responses for losing body fat.

1. Metabolic Resistance Training

The goal for this method is to value the use of resistance training as the foundation for fat loss programming. Workouts are designed to incorporate every muscle group with heavy resistance, with little rest, and with an intensity that elicits a metabolic disturbance hormonally and physiologically. If workouts are performed correctly the training effect will leave the metabolism elevated for several hours post-workout or a prolonged EPOC.

To give an example of a broad concept of EPOC, if you trained for one hour on Monday morning, your body’s metabolism will still be elevated and burning more calories at rest until Tuesday evening.

How do you workout using metabolic resistance training?

Each workout should use the entire body in supersets, tri-sets, or quad-set format with non-competing exercises to create the highest metabolic demand. In other words don’t work the same muscles in the same set of exercises. If you pick squats as one exercise, try not to pick another leg exercise in the set.  Rep ranges will fluctuate depending on the conditioning capacity of your body and be performed in a rep range that generates lactic acid. Remember this method of training is not your body building or isolation type of workout

2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training

The second training method for fat loss programming is high intensity interval training (HIIT). This method of training, in my opinion, has saturated the fitness world from the at-home DVD to the online fitness guru taking you through a series of insane exercises. HIIT is an effective method of cardio training for fat loss however most people confuse HIIT with metabolic resistance training.

HIIT cardio burns more calories than steady state endurance cardio and elevates the metabolism significantly more than other forms of aerobic cardio. Anaerobic interval training like sprints or tabata-style workouts are designed to improve the conditioning capacity of the body while at the same time achieving results in less time. A balanced combination of both Metabolic Resistance Training and HIIT creates a demand of the body to maintain muscle mass while reducing body fat.

3. Aerobic Interval Training

The third training method for fat loss programming is Aerobic Interval Training. Before fitness DVDs or the fitness app, there were rogue speed junkies using the treadmill for more than just running and walking.  Aerobic Interval Training is the parent that gave birth to the idea of HIIT.  Even though the metabolic demand is lower than the previous two training methods, Aerobic Interval Training is perfect for someone who is just beginning or getting back into fitness.  Training design for this method is simple and requires minimal equipment too.  In the gym, a treadmill or elliptical is the best for the job. Aerobic intervals require there to be an increase and decrease of speed every 60 to 90 seconds for 45 to 60 minutes.

4. Steady State Aerobic Training

The fourth training method for fat loss programming is just your run-of-the-mill endurance cardio training. Nothing fancy to it, you simply run to burn calories. The thermic effect of activity in aerobic exercise isn't hard enough to increase EPOC significantly to carry over beyond the session itself, but calories do count. Burning a few hundred calories a day will add up.

It is important for me to mention however that this method of training creates the most confusion among my female clients when it comes to achieving the goal for fat loss.  Steady State Aerobic Training is the least efficient form of training to create a metabolic disturbance but the highest in value towards how to train for fat loss. More to come on this controversy…

5. Steady State Low Intensity Activity

Going for a walk in the park or around the neighborhood won't burn a lot of calories but the mental and emotional release is well worth the time to enjoy being outside and away from the stresses of work. Finding time to take a walk can help reduce stress levels which may be producing cortisol and belly fat.

As you are deciding New Year goals and what success looks like to you when working towards new goals, keep in mind your reason for fitness.  Don’t confuse fat loss with weight loss when deciding what’s important to you right now.  If fat loss is the most important, be sure to incorporate all 5 methods of training. If you feel overwhelm with creating a formula for success contact me and together we can design a game plan for training.

Coach Chris Brumley

Build an Early Morning Workout Routine with These Tips

I had this blog post published on Baylor Scott & White's webpage - Scrubbing in

Pretty Cool. Here's the link to read the post:

http://scrubbing.in/build-an-early-morning-workout-routine-with-these-tips/

Let’s be honest, training first thing in the morning is never going to be anyone’s ideal way to begin the day. It’s really easy to hit the snooze button and postpone the workout until after work. But who wants to workout after a long day at the office and then sitting in traffic?

My Mission - How do I Become Strong?

When I have an initial Strategy Sessions with people coming into the gym wanting to get fit, I rarely hear this exact question being asked from the person sitting in front of me.  Maybe it’s because of nerves or the assumption I’m just another meathead trainer who enjoys killing people in the gym or maybe the fear of getting hurt again, whatever the case, underneath all the words spoken I hear this silent question being asked of me.

"How do I become strong?"

This question, “How do I become strong?” drives me to explore how to reveal this underlying need from the person sitting in front of me. Whether we’re eighteen or eighty-five, becoming strong or remaining strong is the very foundation we attempt to live our lives upon. If you’ve ever been injured you know what it feels like to feel useless for yourself and for other people. Weakness in every aspect of its existence within us is debilitating physically, mentally and emotionally.  So when I sit down with someone for the first time and we’re both nervously sitting across from each other, this is what I’m concerned with, it’s what I’m seeking to address because I know what it’s like to feel weak. My mission is to meet you where you’re at and work from where you are and together rebuild the foundation of your strength.

10 Reasons You’re Not Losing The Fat

1) You’re Consuming Too Many Calories

This should be a given without debate, but there are still many fitness tribes out there who still profess that you can eat all you want as long as you avoid the C-word, carbs.

That’s simply not true. At the end of the day you need to eat less then what you are eating right now. It’s really simple.

If everyone was eating the right amount of healthy food right now, it wouldn’t be so hard to lose fat. The problem is most people eat way more than they think they do. I will confess I can find myself in this category from time to time too. I’ve caught myself leaving off certain foods from my online food tracker because I don’t like how it looks. I think many of us have certain foods or drinks that we label “doesn’t count” when it comes to our daily total calories. Fitness markets this crafty thinking as the hidden calorie. But it’s really the hidden calories that keep the dress sizes from shrinking. Eating less is challenging. That’s why most people look for other answers.

2) You’re Not Consuming Enough Calories

This may seem contrary to the previous reason but it is as true as a coin having two sides. One side of the coin, some people eat way too much and on the flip side, some people diet too hard and basically shut down their metabolism.

When we take drastic measures and cut our daily calorie totals, the body’s endocrine system which regulates and maintains normal hormone function reacts in a “survivor-ish” way which disrupts the metabolism - making losing fat very difficult. When our total calorie consumption is drastically reduced, eating even the healthiest foods can still contribute to overall weight gain.

3) You’re Looking for the Quick Fix or the Secret Diet

How long did it take to become over weight or fat? How many years and effort went into eating unhealthy meals day-in and day-out, and how many times did we keep driving past the gym thinking, next Monday?

When we add up the time, we can get an idea of how long it’s going to take to get back into shape and lose that fat.

There are no quick fixes. We know deep down the quick fix doesn’t work. We know when we try another secret diet, we will yo-yo again, and we will spend our money and be right back where we were when the quick ride is done. The only thing that works is consistency and a dedication to a lifestyle change.

Eating healthy has to become habitual. And habits are behaviors repeated over and over again. It’s something you do every day without thinking about it or an unconscious competence. Our lifestyle starts with sitting down and writing out a game plan from the moment you wake up to the moment you close your eyes.

You have to accept that eating a balanced diet of protein, carbs and fat is where it’s at. No single food is solely responsible for fat gain. And there is no food that will magically make the fat fall of your body – sorry paleo tribe.

4) You’re Drinking Too Many of Your Meals

When you want to get lean it’s always better to chew as many of your calories as possible. The very act of chewing and digesting solid food initiates the calorie burning process than drinking shakes or liquid diets ever does. Majority of your daily meals should be solid food choices and having a small shake after a workout is your best bet.

5) You’re Going Nuts With Too Many Nuts

Nuts have a lot of calories that can add up quickly.  The serving size of nuts is in ¼ cups measurements or the fitness world uses the handful as a serving size. On average, depending on the nut, the calorie total to a single serving or a handful is 200 calories. I don’t know about you but a handful for me is the appetizer to my snack meal of nuts. Here again is the “doesn’t count” food for me. I will input 1 serving of nuts into my food tracker when I know I almost finished the entire Blue Diamond almond bag – leaving a handful of course. When eating for fat loss you’re better off filling up on nutritionally dense foods that don’t pack a lot of calories, like green vegetables.

Did you know that 10 almonds are about the most you’d be allowed per day on a fat loss diet? Most people eat ten handfuls of almonds. That can easily put you over your daily calorie and fat limit.

The last tidbit about nuts is that they contain a lot of polyunsaturated fat. You could get into trouble having too much Omega 6 in your diet and not enough Omega 3 as you are making better food choices with nuts.

6) You’re Workouts Have Little Resistance

When people want to lose body fat the first thing that comes to mind is to crank up the reps, lower the weight and cut the rest periods. That can be Insane. It simply doesn’t work, no matter what the DVDs tell you. All that happens is your weights start plummeting on every exercise and you get weaker and smaller – by smaller I ‘m not referring to your body fat.

When we’re focused to lose fat, the primary role of strength training is to maintain muscle mass. That is the single most important thing for both men and women.

If you’re trying to lose 10-20 pounds of body fat without losing muscle in the process you should use strength training as a way to maintain size and strength. Simple truth, muscle burns calories – less muscle burns less calories.

7) You’re Running Way Too Much

Traditional forms of cardio are largely inefficient for fat loss. Steady-state cardio is not the best at burning body fat, for weight loss – yes, but the weight you’re losing is mainly muscle not fat. Excessive amounts of cardio can lead to an overproduction of cortisol which leads to more abdominal fat, the exact area where we want fat to disappear. If you want to do cardio that won’t actually hurt you and could do you some good, go for a long walk.

8) You’re Not Balancing Stress Properly

When you get stressed out your body produces a hormone known as cortisol. This hormone increases body fat storage if it’s not controlled through proper stress management. Most people are stressed out all day long which means their cortisol levels are always high. High stressed jobs, bosses, family engagements, social media updates, fluctuating eating patterns and never sleeping longer than 5 hours will rake havoc on your endocrine system, your body and your mind. This constant state of anxiety leads to an increase in body fat even if your diet and training are perfect.

Make sure to take the time for stress management every single day. It has to be placed into your game plan the same way that brushing your teeth and eating is. It’s that important.

Here are some good ways to manage your stress:

·         Pray or meditate

·         Keep a gratitude journal

·         Learn to say no

·         Don’t feel the need to reply to every text, email, phone call, tweet

·         Cut out the negative people in your life

·         Spend more time outside

·         Make time for laughter every day

·         Volunteer

·         Listen to relaxing music

Stress management is an essential key to fat loss.

9) You’re Skipping Out On Enough Sleep

When we short ourselves on sleep our body’s response to insulin sensitivity decreases and the cortisol levels goes up. Both things lead to less than optimal fat loss. In fact, sleep deprivation, meaning less than 6 straight hours, can actually lead to fat gain. While we sleep this is the time the body begins to heal itself from the damage created by stressors like working out earlier in the day. When we can reduce our stress levels before laying down in bed we can help add to the time of healing while sleeping. Basically, if you want to lose more fat you have to get more sleep.

Some tips to improve your sleep are:

• Work out earlier in the day.
• Don’t have caffeine after 2pm.
• Turn the lights down in your house after dark.
• Don’t look at phone or computer screens two hours before bed.
• Remove electronics from the bedroom.
• Use the bed only for sleep.
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible.
• Invest in a really good bed.

10) You’re Not Sticking to the Plan

In the age of information overload the biggest stumbling block to fat loss is program ADD. One week you’re doing high intensity workouts, the next week you’re doing 30 miles of cardio, then no cardio, followed by a cleansing week, and on and on.

Fat loss is a simple science. There is a proven path that works; it just takes you to stick with it long enough to see results. The most you can lose is about one solid pound a week, two pounds at the most per week.

What to do each week:

·         Eat protein, vegetables, fruit and starch every day

·         Never go too low on carbs

·         Strength train 3-4 times

·         Sprint or high intensity strength interval training 1-3 times

·         Expend more calories than you consume

·         Manage stress

·         Sleep

Don’t sit when you can stand, and build functional movements into your daily routine and remember a sedentary life equals death. Stick with a simple plan, forget the quick fix and make it a lifestyle.

Coach Chris Brumley

Strength & Conditioning Professional

Baylor Tom Landry Health and Wellness Center