Aerobic training is still the best modality for fat loss. Don’t believe the hype. Yes you need to do weights to maintain and possibly build some muscle mass to increase your Resting Metabolic Rate whilst being in a caloric deficit, but aerobics still works better at burning fat than any other modality.
What is best though? Well that depends. You gain aerobic conditioning very quickly and you lose it very quickly too. In as little as 3-4 days you wil start losing your aerobic capacity.
The key is to not work harder than you have to. So here is a simple progression for you on how you can go from completely de conditioned trainee to a certified licensed weapon.
Choose Your Weapon
This would work best for someone wanting to go from walking for fat loss to sprint training. But you can use it on any machine, rope, kettlebell swing, sled push, sled drag, rower, politician toss – whatever..
Phase 1 – 4 Weeks
Phase 2 – Intermediate Interval Training
Ok time to do some interval work. But we are going to gradually build the volume of work. Remember you don’t need to do more than you have to. Every second workout your going to change something. Most of the time its dropping the recovery time to get you more used to clearing lactate better and better but we do build the volume slightly by adding sets to keep the overall time close to the same
Key Point – High intensity means working at 90 – 100% of MAXIMUM effort. Maximum effort represents the effort you would put into a sprint as in – ALL OUT give me some room here people im hauling ass!
I cannot stress this enough. MAXIMUM EFFORT. Basically that 40 seconds needs to be hard enough that you NEED 4 minutes to recover capiche? When done correctly you will experience Einstein’s theory of relativity. The forty seconds will feel like 4 minutes and the 4 minutes will fell like 40 seconds.
Again every second workout we drop rest to keep your lactate high and improve your ability to clear it.
Do no more than 3 of these workouts per week as you will pay a heavy cost on your adrenals. And DO NOT do this carb depleted. You want the slow burning carbs pre workout with protein to enable you to go as hard as possible.
Phase 3 – Advanced Interval Training
By the end of this phase people should be pointing and talking about you in whispers when they see you come into the gym. ” “Psst – watch what this maniac does. Its incredible. Such a weapon”
You should be all over the structure by now. More sets, less rest. Lactate. Greater excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.
Somewhere around workout 7-8 you’ll start to see Jesus in your workout. By workout 17 & 18 he’ll be asking if he can work in.
Again do no more than 3 of these workouts per week as you will pay a heavy cost on your adrenals. And DO NOT do this carb depleted. You want the slow burning carbs pre workout with protein to enable you to go as hard as possible.
Overall if this took you 15 – 21 weeks to complete you would have done it wisely and correctly.
If you want to learn how to set your daily calories and workout exactly how much protein / carbs / fat to eat on a daily basis for fat loss click HERE
See you in the gym!
Brad Stocks