The idea of losing weight and getting the body of your dreams is only a far-off fairy tale for most. You see people on TV getting in great shape, friends losing weight, and hell, even Oprah losing weight for the millionth time with Weight Watchers.
But you, you have tried and tried with no results. You have been ellipticaling your ass off for the past three months with nothing to show for it. Is there something you aren’t doing that others are? Is there a magic protein out there that everyone else is using that you’re not?
Most likely this is the case… NO!
When your goal is to lose weight, you have to have a program that is designed for, wait for it… wait for it… yeah for losing weight. If you have been doing the same thing at the gym for the past month, or worse, several months with the same outcome, for the love of peach trees, stop hitting your proverbial head against the wall already.
Here are my three rules to losing weight.
Rule One: Nutrition, Nutrition, and More Nutrition
Nutrition is 80% of your fat loss and weight loss goal. If you’re not willing to change the way you are eating, that is great, but don’t expect to have a whole lot of change when it comes to weight and body fat.
If you’re ok with that, then move on to rules two and three. But most of you will want to continue reading this rule.
What you eat will directly result in what shows up on the scale. If you want to lose weight and see your scale go down, focus on the amount of food you eat. Most likely you are eating more than you think. If losing body fat is your goal, look at the quality of the food you are eating. For most people they will need to do a little of both (decreasing serving size and increasing the amount of quality foods in their diet). (Side note: I stole most of this from Josh Hillis and his book Fat Loss Happens On Monday. I would highly recommend this book).
When wondering about quality of food think, “does it come from the ground or an animal?” If the answer is yes, then it is most likely a quality food. If it comes from a box or packaging then most likely it is low quality.
If you just follow this rule you will get results. Fact!
Rule Two: Be Inefficient at Moving
This may sound odd but you need to be less efficient when it comes to working out. This means picking inefficient exercises and choosing rep ranges you find difficult.
I am basically saying you need to suck at what you’re doing to get results.
How do you make your exercises inefficient?
- Pick full body exercises (Examples: Squats, Deadlifts, Pull Ups, Thrusters, Forward Lunge)
- Once movements are solid you can add weight. Adding weight is the easiest way to make exercises inefficient. You can also do things off balance. And no, I am not talking about using a BOSU ball, I mean holding a weight on one side of the body. An example is a 1 Arm Kettlebell Front Squat.
Once you have picked your exercises, you really don’t need to change them all too often. What you will want to change every two to four weeks are the sets and rep schemes you are using.
Here is an example of a set and rep scheme I would use over a 10-week (changing every two weeks) or a 20-week (changing every month) program.
3×12
4×8
3×15
4×6
2×20
The point here is not for you to gain strength or size or endurance. The point is for you to be inefficient – making you work harder. If I always stay within 5 to 8 reps, which I do, then I will become good at those reps. I can still gain strength, but I will also become efficient. This won’t help us reach our goal: to lose weight and fat.
There are many different ways to be inefficient, but for now just focus on using full body movements, varying sets and reps, and increasing weight when needed.
Rule Three: Consistently Do Rules One & Two
Consistency is the key to any success when it comes to … well anything.
The Program
A1. Trapbar Deadlift 4×8
A2. DB 1 Arm Bench 4x8e
B1. Cable 1 Arm Row 3x12e
B2. DB Forward Lunge 3x8e
B3. Lateral Lunge to Banded Pallof Press 3x8e
Do as many rounds as possible in 10-15 minutes:
C1. DB Thrusters 10x
C2. Chin Ups 10x
Now go out and do it!
Best
JW
