In the first lesson, Lose Weight the Smart Way, I talked about the first steps to successful weight loss.In this lesson we will talk about how to correctly perform exercises to lose weight.
And here you need to understand that there are no correct and special exercises that will make you lose weight instantly.They lose weight not from the exercises themselves, but from the rules by which these exercises are performed.Such rules exist.This lesson is about them.
In fact, you can use any exercise available with any equipment available.But apply the rules I've outlined here to them.And you are guaranteed to lose weight.However, later in the lesson I will provide advice on choosing appropriate exercises.
How to correctly perform exercises to lose weight
Before talking about the rules, I want to remind you of the importance of medical checks.Before you get serious about strength training and cardio training, be sure to consult a therapist and talk to him about your plans to take up strength training and cardio training.If you have no health problems, you can safely start exercising.
If there are health problems, it is necessary to undergo all the necessary procedures and treatments and only then, with the permission of the doctor, start training.In any case, the doctor must clearly indicate what can and cannot be done.This is an essential part of any sporting activity.No coach is obliged to take responsibility for your health if you violate your doctor's recommendations.
Rules for performing exercises to lose weight
I will tell you about nine of the most significant ones.
It's important that following each of these rules separately makes your training a little more effective.But your lessons will be more productive if you use ALL of these rules.By the way, they are not that complicated.And all their difficulty lies in the fact that few people remember them.
So, rule one
Frequent changes in training programs
You have already heard more than once that the human body can adapt very quickly to any physical activity.And the result of this adaptation is always a decrease in the body's response to the load.That is, the longer you train according to any program, the lower the performance.This not only applies to building muscle, but also to training for weight loss.
Therefore, you should change your training program every 3-4 weeks so that your progress does not slow down due to adaptation.
Swap exercises, change the way you perform them, include new exercises that you have never done in your training.At the same time, make sure that the new training program is not only different, but that the load in it is correspondingly slightly higher than in the previous one.
Rule two
Optimal duration of each workout
You're probably already used to the advice that strength training shouldn't last more than an hour.Once again, from whom do we hear this news and for what purpose is it proposed?This tip is very helpful when it comes to building muscle mass.And it has a serious scientific basis.During training, the body constantly increases the content of catabolic hormones, which in large quantities can damage muscles, making them smaller.But fat burning training isn't about building muscle!This is a catabolic process and the more catabolic hormones the better (of course within reason).
Therefore, the optimal duration of a fat burning workout is not one, but one and a half or even two hours.
I think you shouldn't stretch your training over a longer period of time, because you risk depleting your body's resources too much.
Rule three
Fairly frequent training
Exercising to lose weight should be done quite frequently.To lose weight effectively, you need to exercise almost every day.This is also due to catabolism processes, which are enhanced by intense daily exercise.
Yes, muscles are unlikely to grow noticeably with daily training.But the fat will disappear very noticeably.
The ideal number of workouts per week is five to six.In the remaining one or two days, try to rest and gain strength - this is important.
Rule four
Combination of strength training and cardio
There are many opinions on the advisability of this combination and much can be argued about the benefits of strength training for weight loss.Some people have lost a lot of weight through strength training alone.Others (there are many more) have achieved good results doing exclusively cardio training (such as running, group aerobics classes, dancing, etc.)
However, it is the combination of strength training and cardio that gives the fastest and most impressive results in practice.And this is a fact proven many times.
Simply alternating strength training days and cardio days is enough.And everything will work!
Rule five
Load progression
This is also called the principle of progressive overload.The essence of progression is simple.To constantly improve the condition of your body you need to prevent it from adapting to the load by increasing the intensity of your training.This can be done most clearly by increasing the working weights with each workout (usually 1 to 5 kg, depending on the exercise).There are other ways to increase intensity: reducing pauses between sets, increasing the number of sets and repetitions, special training principles such as super sets, etc.
Progression should permeate your workout from the first exercise to the last.Cardio training should also be carried out according to this rule.Try to gradually increase your running speed and duration of cardio activity.
Rule six
Optimal weight of strength training equipment
There is an opinion that if the goal of strength training is to lose weight and improve muscle definition, then you need to take a very small weight and lift it many, many times.
I assure you that this is not the case!
Such training will lead to nothing but overwork.You won't lose weight this way.And all because this type of load does not have an effect on the body that causes a response from the body: acceleration of metabolism and growth of E.P.O.C.And this is the most important part of a weight loss program.The essence of this body response is that the body, even between workouts, continues to consume energy at an increased rate, and in particular body fat energy.
The load will be sufficient to stimulate the metabolism only if you are carrying heavy enough objects that you can lift no more than 12-20 times per approach.A higher number of repetitions indicates that the weight is too light and will not lead to a response from the body.And, therefore, there will be no rapid weight loss.
Rule seven
The right set of exercises to lose weight
Well, firstly, there should be a lot of strength training exercises for weight loss (about 10-15).
Secondly, exercises should be selected in such a way that they involve as many muscles as possible.This requirement is best met by so-called basic strength exercises, which are used in bodybuilding to increase strength and muscle volume.This is the bench press, barbell squats, deadlifts, all kinds of pull-ups.
In addition, weight lifting exercises, kettlebell lifting and some special and very effective combinations of exercises will be very useful.
It is important to understand that the body adapts not only to the weight of the equipment, but also to the specific exercises and the form of the movement itself.This means that if you've been working out at the gym for a while, you'll need to get creative to maximize the benefits of exercise.After all, your body is already quite accustomed to standard exercises and cannot react with enough force, no matter what weight you perform them with.
Unfamiliarity with exercise is a very important factor in stimulating catabolic processes controlled by stress hormones.The more bizarre the exercises and their combinations, the stronger the catabolism will be.This is a fact!
Rule eight
Choose the right equipment
I'm sure it's no secret to you that the equipment you use determines the result.
The right equipment must meet some simple requirements:
It should allow you to freely increase the load while increasing resistance.
With its help it should be possible to load large muscle masses and not just individual small muscle areas.In addition, it is extremely important that the load is multiplanar, that is, it does not lie in one plane, as is the case with most simulators.
Equipment must be accessible and convenient.
The most suitable for fat burning strength training are a barbell, folding dumbbells and a set of weights.It is these “devices” that should form the basis of your training equipment.You can get by with any of the above (for example, I know more than 500 exercises with folding dumbbells alone and half of them are perfect for fat burning training).And if you love exercise machines, no more than 10-15% of all exercises should be performed on them.
Rule nine
Load all over your body at once
What does it mean?Muscle training can be organized in at least two different ways.One of them is to divide the body into different areas, which are trained on different days.This is very convenient as the workouts are short and the load on the muscles chosen that day can be very high.This division of training into days per muscle group is called a split.
Splitting, with some stretching, is justified when working on muscle mass, but this approach is not at all suitable for weight loss.
You need to load as many muscles as possible in each workout to evoke the strongest possible response from your body.That is why fat burning training must be structured in such a way that all large muscle groups are involved in the work.This is ensured by selecting appropriate exercises.
So, let's summarize
- Change your training program every 3-4 weeks.
- Your workout should last 1.5-2 hours.
- Train 5-6 times a week.
- Combine strength training and cardio for maximum weight loss.
- Constantly increase the working weights in exercises, the number of repetitions,
- speed in cardio training.
- Use a weight that you can lift 12-20 times.Not inferior.
- Use exercises that involve you in the work
- many muscles.
- Mainly uses dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells.
- Engage your entire body during every workout.
This concludes our lesson, thank you for your attention.I wish you success in weight loss!
I await questions and suggestions!