How To Design Exercise Programs To Lose Fat And Get Lean...FastIf you ask me how many times I have heard... I want to: • Lose Weight • Get Lean Body • Have a Firm and toned body I wouldn’t be able to tell you because I lost count. But no doubt, these are the objectives or goals I’ve heard the most frequently from all my clients no matter their age, gender, body shape or situation in life! The workouts you’ll see here are designed to losing weight mainly, and getting lean. You’ll also gain strength along the way but its purpose is mainly to lose as much body weight as possible. Before we continue, let me clear one thing here: whenever I mention the words “weight loss” I always mean losing excess body fat specifically more than muscle tissue. The trick here is to keep the weight loss ratio of fat to muscle 3:1 or better For example, if you lose 3 pound of fat at a certain time you should lose only 1 pound or less of muscle mass otherwise the training effect in the long run can do more damage than benefit to your body composition. Many people when they exercise do less effective ‘burning calorie’ workouts, thus, they experience slower weight loss if any and then frustration takes place which many times leads to failure. The reason behind that can be ignorance or laziness, so I hope this information will enlighten and encourage you to give these workouts a try for a few weeks and then judge for yourself if ‘weight loss’ workouts are working for you or not. The secret recipe of an effective ‘weight loss’ workout, is to exercise as many body parts together at the same time as possible. Take a look at the following single and multiple joints exercises so you know what I’m talking about: More effective exercise: Push ups Less effective exercise: Dumbbell fly More effective exercise: Dips Less effective exercise: Triceps kick back More effective exercise: Squats Less effective exercise: Leg extension More effective exercise: Chin-ups Less effective exercise: Biceps curls More effective exercise: Pull-ins Less effective exercise: Cable rows So, you want to do more of the compound (involves more than one joint) exercises than isolated exercises so the calorie expenditure is greater and this way you total your calorie burning at the end of the workout at a higher number. Performing circuit training is another example, where you do three to four exercise sets continuously with no rest or minimal rest of 5-10 seconds. Even though this method is very effective to burn calories, it can be more effective with certain combined exercises, like compound ones. Another secret recipe of my ‘weight loss’ program is to have less and less rest time between the exercise sets (between 45 or 60 seconds). Here's an example... If you start with 2 minutes rest between each set, gradually decrease the time about 10 seconds every 7 or 10 workout days, until you physically condition yourself to be able to rest 45-60 seconds and jump to the next exercise set. The three above points can lead to increases in your growth hormone production because of the rise of blood lactate levels which are attributable to this type of exercising. One more recommendation that I want to share with you; whenever it’s safe and feasible, perform most of your exercises standing on your legs -- that way you are burning more calories than sitting on your ass. Using your biggest muscles (your leg group muscles) to support your weight while performing the exercise, requires more demand which leads to burning more calories and weight loss. Here are two ‘weight loss’ modules that you can try for yourself, but do make the adjustment to fit your fitness condition level accordingly and become very observant about your body and how it recovers. Don’t rush into following the above guidelines, if you are not ready yet, trust your instinctive judgment after all, you are the best judge of your body. Beginner level 1)Push ups (regular or modified*)
Modified kneeling push up -top position-
Modified kneeling push up -bottom position- • Place your hands wider than shoulder width apart • Keep your legs straight and your toes fixed on the floor • Lower your body until your chest 1-2 inches off the ground or… • Brush the floor with your upper body • Don’t sway your waist or stick the butt up-the whole body should be firm- The modified kneeling push up has the same above rules except… • You use the knees instead of the feet and that can be a good start Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8-12 Rep Speed: 2 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 30-60 seconds 2) Body Squats • Feet straight and hip-width apart or wider, hands behind your head or around your waist. • Squat all the down until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or even lower if there’s no stress on the lower back) then push back upward. • Take about 2-3 seconds going down and 1 second going up. You can start with 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps and increase your sets and reps whenever it gets less challenging. Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 3 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 30-60 seconds 3) Chair Crunches • Place feet on top of elevated object* so your knees are bent 90 degree angle • Put your hands behind your head and elbows flared out -pointing side ways- • Eyes toward the ceiling… • Raise your chest, shoulder, elbows and head up as one unit about 2 inchs • At the top position ‘hold it’ for one count of One-Thousand-One • Then lower yourself until your head touches the ground • Then repeat Reminder: Keep your elbows wide open and don’t tilt your head forward as you’re doing chair crunches. *You can have your feet flat on the wall positioned 90 degree angle, in case if you don’t have the appropriate elevated object, there’s always a way:).
Position 1
Position 2 (if you notice-slight elevation of the shoulder and head is enough to work your abs). Sets: 2-3 Reps: 15-20 Rep Speed: 3 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 30-60 seconds 4) Diagonals* - Stand up straight with a hip-width apart stance (or wider) - Holding an object (ex., medicine ball, dumbbell, a secured grip of half gallon of water, etc) that can weigh 1 to 2 pounds in your hands - Keep your hands straight or semi straight (elbows slightly bent) - Move the object up over your right shoulder(overhead) and down(below your knees) close to your left ankles
Bottom position
Top position Sets: 2-3 Reps: 15-20 each side (total 30 or 40) Rep Speed: fast pace Rest: 30-60 seconds *you can use an 1-2 pounds object (medicine ball, dumbbell or ˝ gallon milk jar or alike) Intermediate level (same exercises as above but different parameters) 1) Push ups*
Position 1
Position 2 Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 2 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds
2) Body Squats Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 3 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds 3) Chair Crunches Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 3 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds 4) Diagonals* Sets: 2-3 Reps: 15 each side (total 30) Rep Speed: fast pace Rest: 90-120 seconds *you can use an 1-2 pounds object (medicine ball, dumbbell, or ˝ gallon milk jar or similar) Advanced level 1) Chin ups • With both hands facing you, have a tight grip on the chin up bar • The grip can be about shoulder width apart or bit narrower • Lift yourself up until the chin is above the bar • Lower yourself all the way down until the arms stretched Things to watch for • The body might swing back and forth during the exercise, try not. • Try not to curl yourself like a shrimp, particularly during the lift.
Sets: 4 Reps: 8-10 Rep Speed: 2 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds 2) Body Squats Sets: 4 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 3 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds 3) Push ups (regular or elevated feet) • Place your hands wider than shoulder width apart • Keep your legs straight and your toes fixed on the elevated object-I'm using a chair this time • Lower your body until your chest 1-2 inches off the ground or… • Brush the floor with your upper body • wiht the 'elevated feet push up' exercise you need to focus on NOT swaying the mid section but keeping the whole body firm and straight
Push up w/elevated feet(ex., chair, bed, bench, sofa, and so on) Sets: 4 Reps: 10-12 Rep Speed: 2 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 0 seconds 4) Diagonals*
Position 1
Position 2 Sets: 4 Reps: 15 each side (total 30) Rep Speed: fast pace Rest: 90-120 seconds *you can use a 2-3 pound object (medicine ball, dumbbell, or gallon milk jar or similar) Here is another workout where you can add an aerobic segment with your resistance training: 1) Dips • Firm grip on the parallel dip bar… • Lower your body slowly and keep it straight-don’t lean forward • When your upper parts of forearms touch or almost touch your biceps… • Lift your body up while, again… maintaining your body vertically straight 1)Tip:Keep your face looking forward or straight ahead so you don’t have the tendency to lean forward. Modified dip exercise-using bench, chair and so on… • Firm grip on the bench or chair • Your legs straight and heels resting on the ground • Lower your body slowly and keep it straight-don’t lean forward • When your upper parts of forearms touch or almost touch your biceps… • Lift your body up while, again… maintaining your body vertically straight 1)Tip: Keep your face looking forward or straight ahead so you don’t have the tendency to lean forward.
Position 1
Position 2 Sets: 4 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 2 seconds up, 1 second down Rest: 10 seconds or none 2) Tube Rowing (Standing preferably) • You can perform this exercise standing or seated (preferred standing)
Position 1 • Hold the handle grips and keep your hands tucked in to your sides • Pull the tube by walking few steps back until you stretch the tube with good tension that will allow you to perform 10-15 repetitions • Keep your feet straight and back (torso) perpendicular to the floor • Pull (1 second) the tube in rowing motion -your palms facing each others- and then extend the arms back (2 seconds) to the starting point.
Position 2 • Remember to pinch your shoulder blades when you perform the pull (rowing motion) Sets: 4 Reps: 10-15 Rep Speed: 2 seconds pulling in, 1 second extending arm Rest: 10 seconds or none 3) Aerobic Exercise of your choice, here are some suggestions:Jump rope, running in place, walking uphill (if you have a treadmill use elevation, Jumping jack (ouch) and so forth. Sets: 4 Time: 1-5 minutes (it depends on which mode of aerobic exercise you choose) Rest: 10 seconds or none 4) Side Bridge (elbow) - Imagine you’re facing a wall, lie down on your side - Your feet should be stacked on top of each other and (your 10 toes should face the wall) and your elbow should be aligned underneath your shoulder. - Lift your body: only your elbow and your bottom foot should be touching the floor - Again, don’t relax your hips or midsection or let them sway. - If you doing it correctly, your bottom side should feel fatigued and/or a burning sensation. - Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds and then switch and perform on the other side.This exercise works your side muscles (external and internal obliques)
Front view
Side view Sets: 4 Time: anywhere from 20 to 60 seconds Rest: 90-120 seconds then repeat twice
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