Want To Lose Some Body Fat and get in shape for Summer? STOP exercising!

STOP exercising, START training!

We’re now 84 days into 2009. How are those ‘resolutions’ holding up?

From what I gather from most people, not very well. Hopefully the sun making its appearance last week might ‘shock’ you into action.

Those comfortable, warm, baggy clothes will have to be put back in the wardrobe for a while. So, how will you feel this year when the sleeveless tops, shorts and dare I say it- bikinis come out this year?

Food for thought eh?

So back to progress. Looking back on your results over the past 8 weeks, how have you got on? Now doubt your fitter? Leaner?
Hopefully.

What’s next in your program?

What? - you don’t have a program?

I have actually touched in this before and for those of you that are’ doing your own thing’ and ‘exercising’- would you put your own dental plan together? Would you do your own filling or root canal?

No. So why on earth are you planning your own exercise? Here in lies the problem.

At my local gym- I see people in there 6 maybe 7 days a week, doing the same thing over and over again. Seriously, some of these guys and girls have been training there for years and have NEVER changed shape and look exactly the same.
Why?

They don’t TRAIN, they WORK OUT or EXERCISE.

Here's the difference- people who TRAIN, have a detailed plan, including, progressions, recorded weights, reps, sets and rest periods. Even down to how fast they need to run on the treadmill.

Sorry but just because your exercising doesn’t give you the devine right to get results.

People that exercise, hop from machine to machine haphazardly, Their program is usually something that looks like 10 mins on the treadmill, 10 mins on the cross trainer, 10 mins rowing and a few sit ups in the useless ab cradle.They do every 'class' going. Or for the guys, chest Monday, back Tuesday. Arms Wednesday etc etc with no timed rest period, the ‘magic 3 sets of 10’ all year round!

The top and bottom of it is- one gets results, the other doesn’t!

You see, people that ‘exercise’ do actually get fitter. When you exercise, your body adapts by getting ‘fitter’. Great right?

There’s a downside though. This makes the exercises easier to perform.

BUT because the exercise is now easier to perform, the body uses less energy to do it, which in turn means fewer calories used each time you do it.

So a challenging workout that once burned 400 calories now only burns 200.To combat this you then start exercising for longer, 2 hours instead of one, 3 classes in a row.

QUICK TIP- training for longer than one hour is counterproductive do dropping bodyfat and is a sure fire sign that what you're doing isn't tough enough.

It doesn’t matter whether its Pilates, spinning, walking, running or a bodypump class, this applies to ALL exercise.

One of the main principles of TRAINING is progression or progressive overload.

The ONLY way for a program to work is to KNOW that you are constantly improving in EVERY session.

Can you do 1 more rep?
Can you work at an extra intensity?
Can you decrease the rest period?
Are you even timing the rest period?

You get my point.

Every session MUST be uncomfortable and intense.

Low intensity exercise DOES NOT WORK. The only thing you can improve then is the amount of time spent doing it. Do you really want to do that?

If you’re serious about getting results, you must have a plan and you must continue to improve with every session.

Here’s my top tips for getting results with a plan

1) You MUST have a program written by a professional. No that doesn’t include your boyfriend- unless he’s a trainer. If you’re a trainer yourself, this is also true. I always have a program created by someone better than me. Us trainers think we’re great but we SHOULD NOT be writing our own programs, there’s ALWAYS someone better then you. What would you say to a client if they wrote their own program?

2) You MUST record what you do- intensity, rest period, weight, reps, sets. How can we progress and improve if we don’t have a record?

3) Set a personal best every session- can you lift 1k heavier? Can you run 1km/hour faster?

4) If you’re looking to lose fat you MUST get uncomfortable. If you don’t get out of you comfort zone nothing will happen.

5) You MUST NOT do the same fat loss program for more than 4 weeks. The body is a master of adaptation.

6) If you can train for longer than 60 mins- the program isn’t hard enough and it will end up being counterproductive

My FAVOURITE fat loss and muscle building plans are created for me by Craig Ballantyne. His website is http://turbulencetraining.com

I really do want to help you. I really feel sorry for the guys in my gym who are slaving away for 2 hours EVERY DAY and not getting results.