As a coach/trainer to athletes, bodybuilders, and all divisions of the physique sport, I try to not only have my clients be in great shape for shows, games or photoshoots, but all year round. In other words, I do my best to instill the discipline in all those I work with to continue to eat clean and do their cardio in the “off season,” so as to remain no more than eight to 15 lbs. from “optimal” condition.
However, not everyone can be as dedicated as my clients 365 days per year. Most trainees prefer to bulk up more during the winter months and then begin to trim the fat around the start of spring, hoping to be in top shape when bathing suit season hits.
The following is a list of 10 “tips” and “tricks” that will drop your body fat into the single digits more quickly and efficiently, so that when the summer arrives you will have your six-pack ready to go.
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Carb Cutting
Each week leading up to summer, try pulling about 25 grams of carbs from your diet, while adding in about ten grams of protein. This will help your body use fat for fuel, increase the thermic effect of food, maintain muscle, and assist in shedding excess water.
While research is conflicting as to whether cardio is more effective when done in a fasted state, I firmly believe this is the very best time to burn fat. I’ve seen it work on the hundreds of clients preparing for competition, and on myself as well.
Every morning, the first thing I do when I wake up is take a thermogenic fat burner, or at least 200 mg caffeine, and drink down about 10 grams of BCAA’s. Doing this before fasted cardio will not only increase the fat melting effect by raising the metabolism, but will also help keep muscle mass intact and give you the energy to power through your workout.
When the main goal is dropping body fat it is a great idea to make your weight training sessions more intense via the use of supersets and dropsets. These techniques are not only terrific for stimulating muscle growth, but also will raise your heart rate, increase your metabolism, burn greater calories and push natural growth hormone through the roof.
If your goal is 60 minutes of cardio for the day, for example, you will have better results splitting that time between two or even three sessions than doing it all at once. You may wake up and do 30 minutes of cardio fasted, another 15 minutes post workout, and the final 15 before your final meal. This strategy will keep the metabolism elevated all day long, which turns you into a fat-burning machine.
You’ll burn more calories and stimulate higher levels of natural hormones that destroy body fat if you focus your workouts around compound exercises. Think squats, deadlifts, bent rows, bench presses, pull-ups, etc., instead of machines or isolation movements.
In the morning, our cortisol levels are at their highest point (aside from right after training). Research shows that while cortisol breaks down muscle tissue, it is even more catabolic to fat cells upon rising. The longer you keep carbs out of your system, the more profound the effect of cortisol will be, and it will make fasted cardio an even more powerful tool.
Some studies indicate that HIIT cardio is more effective at burning adipose than steady state, while others show the opposite. The truth is, both types of cardio work and thus both should be a part of your program. What I find most effective is breaking my cardio up, as suggested earlier, into a 30/15/15 scheme (if the goal is one hour daily) with the first session being steady state and the next two shorter ones HIIT.
While the notion of keeping your home a bit chilly is uncomfortable for some, this is actually an effective way to stimulate BAT, or brown adipose thermogenesis. Of course, using this practice is not going to melt away pounds of fat a day, but is just another way to take advantage of how the body works.
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Accept the Hunger Pangs
Let’s face it…being in a calorie deficit, which is necessary for getting lean, is not always a walk in the park. There are times where your blood sugar will drop, your tummy will cave in, and you will be tempted to find relief in a cheat meal. But that’s not a great move when the goal is six-pack abs on a tight timeline. I’ve found the best way to kill off hunger and bring energy back to normal is to drink a huge glass of cold water with 5 five to 10 grams of powdered BCAAs mixed in. Many companies put out flavors that taste almost like Kool-Aid, so this is actually an enjoyable treat.
