Spring is here, and that means summer isn’t far behind. For those of us who spend hours in the gym each week pushing and pulling on barbells, dumbbells, cables, and machines, this also means it’s time to get ripped.
To get into your best shape yet in time for summer, dial in your workouts and nutrition. This quick list of strategies can help you shed body fat as fast as it comes in. They’ll help you get lean so that the muscles you’ve worked to build can stand out by the time the weather warms.
Whether you find yourself at the beach, pool, club, or anywhere else where you can display the product of your winter workouts, you’ll be glad you used these tips.
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Speed Up Training
Most people rest for two to three minutes between sets, which is excellent for restoring muscle ATP—or adenosine triphosphate, a chemical that cells use for energy—in addition to helping recover your breath so that you can lift as heavy as possible. But when the main goal is fat loss, it’s more beneficial to rest only 30 to 45 seconds between sets, even if the weights you lift are a bit lighter. Faster training will force the cardiovascular system to work harder and will help burn more calories through an increased metabolism.
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Utilize Supersets and Dropsets
When looking to drop maximum body fat in minimum time, it’s a good idea to make your weight training sessions more exhausting and intense with supersets and dropsets. These techniques aren’t only amazing for stimulating muscle growth—they also raise the heart rate, enhance the metabolism, burn more calories, and force natural growth hormone levels (which incinerates fat) through the roof.
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Go Compound
You’ll burn off hundreds more calories and stimulate far greater output of fat-incinerating natural hormones if you focus your workouts around basic, multi-joint, compound exercises—like squats, deadlifts, bent rows, bench presses, pull-ups, etc.—than with cables, machines, or isolation-type movements.
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Faster Fat Burning, Fasted Cardio
While researchers continue to debate whether cardio is actually more effective (for melting fat) when done in the fasted state, I firmly believe there’s no doubt about it. In my 30 years of experience as a trainer and coach, I have witnessed the improved results (time and again) that empty-stomach cardio, done first thing in the morning, has given clients preparing for competition.
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The Cardio Switch Up
Some studies indicate that HIIT cardio is more effective at burning fat than steady state, while others show just the opposite. The truth is, both types of cardio have their pros and cons, and thus each should be included in your fat-burning program. This more well-rounded approach will improve results over time by keeping your body guessing and your mind more interested in what can often be a tedious activity.
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Carb Cut Back
Start your fat-loss regimen by taking in about one gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight each training day. Then, with each passing week, cut out about 25 grams of carbs per day from your diet, while adding in approximately 10 grams of protein. This will help the body use stored fat for fuel more efficiently, increase the thermic effect of food, maintain muscle, and assist in shedding excess water from under the skin (increasing muscle definition).
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The Carb-Free Breakfast
First thing in the morning, our natural cortisol levels are at their highest point (aside from right after training). And while cortisol is a hormone that actively breaks down muscle tissue, it is even more catabolic (destructive) to fat cells upon rising. When we eat carbs in the morning, the body responds by decreasing cortisol. Thus, the longer you keep carbs out of your system, the more profound the effect of cortisol will be (on fat burning), helping to make fasted cardio an even more powerful tool. (Note: To protect muscle tissue, it’s a good idea to consume 10 grams of BCAAs before cardio.)
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Smart Supplementation
Every morning the first thing I do when I wake up is take a thermogenic fat burner with some tried and true, fat-burning components like caffeine, synephrine, yohimbe, green tea extract, coffee bean extract, and cayenne, as well as 10 grams of BCAAs. Doing this before fasted cardio will not only increase the fat melting effect by stoking the metabolism, but will also help keep muscle mass intact and give you the energy to power through either a long, steady state or a shorter, more intense HIIT session of cardio. Quite often, I will repeat this intake of supplements 45 minutes before an afternoon weight-training workout.
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Be Cool
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. These brown and beige tissues have been linked to combating diet-induced obesity and metabolic disease, according to one study. 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 the many intricate, fat-metabolizing inner workings of our physiology. Try setting your AC at around 67 degrees or so each night, and shiver off some fat while you sleep.
