One of my recent homework assignments was a great article from www.ptonthenet.com, titled "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss" by Alwyn Cosgrove. This gentleman has been a trainer for over 20 years and the number one goal his clients are looking for is fat loss, the more the better.
From personal experience this past year, 80% of my time has been focused on exactly that, getting rid of that nasty stuff that makes us look lumpy and our clothes too tight, causes multiple diseases and conditions when in excess and makes us just blah. While I've been partially successful, getting rid of those last pounds and percentage of body fat is proving to be elusive. What I did in the past is no longer working so I need to find another way. Educating myself on different approaches, then trying them is what I'm doing. And sharing the success and failures with you is all part of it. I've recently started Metabolic Resistance Training, so the jury is still out regarding fat burning, but my strength has increased.
In a nutshell here's the hierarchy:
1. Correct nutrition - you can pretend to be a rock star at the gym, but if you're not eating correctly for your goals it will be just that, pretend. Talking the talk isn't going to do jack if you're putting garbage in. If you want to burn fat, create a caloric deficit while eating enough protein (chicken, fish, eggs) and essential fats (avocado, olive oil). Eliminate processed crap!!!!
2. Activities that burn calories, maintain / promote muscle mass and elevate metabolism - the "holy grail." The majority of calories burned is determined by the resting metabolic rate (RMR), while exercise affects how many calories you burn in a day, they are a smaller percentage. RMR is largely affected by how much muscle is on your body. This is achieved through Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT) or in other words, exercise every muscle group (compound exercises) hard, frequently and with high intensity that creates a long afterburn or period of time that you've stopped exercising but are still burning calories at a higher rate.
3. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism - these are exercises that also create the long afterburn period. The common group of exercises that fall into this category are HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. Remember the wind sprints we did in gym class when we were younger? That's HIIT. During these exercises you increase your heart rate as much as possible, go "all out" during the interval time, anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes. Once the interval is complete, stop and bring your heart rate back to resting. This interval can be anywhere from one to two minutes usually. Then repeat. The duration and intensity is up to your fitness level, but during the exercise interval, it's max effort (a.k.a. balls to the wall). HIIT can be done with almost any exercise, walking, running, kettle bell, pushups, you name it, you can turn it into HIIT.
4. Activities that burn calories but don't usually maintain muscle or increase metabolism - basically you are burning you calories while exercising but there's no afterburn. These are your Steady State Cardio exercises like walking, jogging, and low intensity exercises. If you've never exercised, have been injured or getting back into things, this is a good place to start, get MOVING, but you won't want this to be your only form of exercise long term.
Next question is, "How can I apply this information?" You need to determine how much time you are going to devote to getting healthier, losing fat and feeling better. With that being said, we all have lives and crap, other than exercise, that we need to get done...work comes to mind, LOL. Reality is we have all have limited time and want to get the biggest bang for our buck. Eating correctly is where you need to start, if you can do nothing else, look at the food you put in, where can you easily make changes? Next, focus on Metabolic Resistance Training (three hours a week, note there are 168 hours in a week, three hours a week is about 2% of your entire week, you can find three hours out of 168 ;-). Keep in mind you don't need a gym to do this, there are exercises you can do in your home, that will achieve these results. If you have more time, add HIIT to the MRT (three to five hours a week). Again, there are many HIIT exercises you can do without a gym.
Yes, there's a lot of information here, especially if this is all new to you. Remember, baby steps, do things that make sense and will work for YOU, not anyone else. The goal is to change your lifestyle not simply a quick hit. We all want to get the most out of our time and move forward, how we do that is up to us.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me or add comments for group discussion. I'm sure folks have ideas, suggestions and support to share. Let me know how I can help you.
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