Adults and Fat Loss Do this, not That

Brett Klika C.S.C.S.

It has helped us humans stay alive during hard times for thousands of years, but now we have too much of it and it’s hard to get rid of.  I’m talking about the extra “meat” around the middle, the “baggage” on the butt, and the “thunder” on the thighs.  The battle to shed body fat is not one that youngsters need to concern themselves with.  They need only to eat real food and play like kids are supposed to and they should be fine.  Youngsters need fat for the maturation process.  As youngsters reach the end stages of puberty and enter into adulthood, excess body fat can create a decrease in their health and quality of life.  Many adults fight the battle to lose body fat as they age.

For adults, losing body fat is a matter of forcing the body to get rid of something that it perceives as necessary for survival.  For thousands of years, man was err to the cycle of feast and famine.  Sometimes there was plenty of food, other times there was none.  Storing body fat helped man stay alive when there was no food because the stored fat could be broken down and used as energy.  Only recently have we been faced with a situation in which we have an over-abundance of food.  The body still thinks it needs to “save up” for when there is another famine.

Many try in vain to lose this extra “trash pile” of fat.  Unfortunately, these unsuccessful, frustrated masses are basing their program on outdated or inaccurate information.  Considering what we now know about fat loss, it’s surprising that so many still succumb to old, unsuccessful methods.

To replace old, ineffective methods for fat loss with an updated, scientifically proven program try the “Do this, don’t do that” approach to your exercise and nutrition outlined below.

Do This: Resistance training

Not That: Cardio only

To burn more calories and fat, you need more lean muscle.  Resistance training is how you get it.  Lean muscle works like a car’s engine to use fat as fuel.  If you have a small engine, it doesn’t matter how hard you do cardiovascular exercise, you can only burn so many calories.  Doing whole-body, large muscle group resistance training creates a bigger lean muscle engine to burn calories and fat both while exercising and resting.   Add 2-4 days of resistance training to your program every week.

Do This: Whole-Body Metabolic Resistance Training

Not That: Body-Part Splits (chest, shoulders, triceps, etc)

Body part splits became popular with bodybuilders as they allow for focus on certain muscle groups, in addition to ample recovery days in between training.  For the average adult trying to lose maximal body fat in minimal time, this program comes up short. In comes “Metabolic Resistance Training”.

Pair your exercises with opposite movements together into “supersets” .   For example, you can pair a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise,  an upper body exercise with a cardiovascular exercise, or a “pushing” exercise with a “pulling” exercise.  Perform each exercise for 30-50 seconds, then go to the other exercise immediately after.  This type of resistance training not only aids in increasing lean muscle mass, it elevates the heart rate to burn extra fat and calories. Try this 2-3 times per week.

Do This: Focus your time on large muscle groups

Not That:  Focus your time on abs, arms, and other smaller muscle groups

Working smaller muscle groups is not “bad”.  When time and fat burning efficiency is of the essence however, these smaller muscle groups do relatively little to stoke the metabolism to create more lean muscle mass or burn fat and calories.

Focus your work on the legs, chest, and back with movements that incorporate the entire body like squats, lunges deadlifts, push variations (push-ups, bench press), pull variations (pull-ups, 1-arm rows).  As you will see, these exercises are much more taxing to the system and do a lot more for your fat-burning goals.

Do This: High Intensity Cardiovascular Interval Training

Not That: Sustained Intensity “Jogging”

Again, sustained intensity cardiovascular work is not bad.  It is just not as effective and efficient as high intensity work.  Research has found that high intensity intervals burn the same amount of calories and fat as longer sustained bouts of activity, in about half the time!  Try doing a 3 minute extremely hard, 3 minute easy cardiovascular piece for 4 cycles.  In 24 minutes you’ll burn more calories than your 45 minute jog.    Try to add high intensity work 2-3 times per week.

Do This: Eat Real, Whole Food

Not That: “Fat Free” or Other Modified Food

Natural, whole foods exists to give us energy from their combination of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals, and other essential components of nutrition.  When humans start overly processing what we eat, the quality of that food is significantly decreased.  Additionally our body needs various forms of fat to function optimally.  Fats from nuts, fish, avocados, and other natural sources are essential to many metabolic functions.  Eat real food and listen to your body.

Follow the mantra to “work smarter, not harder” and try the modifications to your program above.  For other tips, you can refer to my new book “The Underground Workout Manual- Exercise and Fat Loss in the Real World” released in conjunction with Sean Croxton’s “The Dark Side of Fat loss”.  These books and their accompanying programs offer a wealth of knowledge on practical nutrition and exercise programming to get you lean and mean for life!

Brett Klika C.S.C.S., Director of Athletics at Fitness Quest 10, is a world renowned human performance specialist, motivational speaker, author, and educator. In his 14 year career, Brett has accrued more than 20,000 hours of training with youth, athletes, executives, and every day people.  He uses this knowledge and experience to motivate individuals and audiences around the world through his writing, speaking, DVD’s, and personal correspondence.  For a copy of his new e-book and exercise program “The Underground Workout Manual- Exercise and Fat Loss in the Real World” visit  HYPERLINK “http://www.undergroundworkoutmanual.com” www.undergroundworkoutmanual.com.  To contact Brett, send correspondence to  HYPERLINK “mailto:brett@fitnessquest10.com” brett@fitnessquest10.com.