Metabolic resistance training made popular by Alwyn Cosgrove and Craig Ballantyne is catching on as the new and most effective way to burn fat and to build muscle at the same time. However the training principle itself isn’t new or revolutionary. Many people have been doing resistance training in circuit or superset format with minimal rest or incomplete recovery to keep the heart rate up and to get benefits of both resistance and cardiovascular training from a single training session.

Metabolic resistance training is an umbrella term that incorporates many training modalities such as bodyweight, weights, kettlebells, plyometrics and sprinting, What makes it metabolic is that the exercises are performed one after another with little rest or incomplete recovery in a shorter duration of time than a traditional 1 hour resistance training session. This form of training puts a lot of stress on the anaerobic energy system, the cardiovascular system and the musculoskeletal system. In 20-30 minutes you can get an intense workout that will leave you drenched in sweat, gasping for air and your muscles will be pumped and swollen.

Various exercises can be combined in various ways to yield a virtually unlimited number of metabolic resistance training exercise routines. Some of these routines will be more effective than other routines. The most effective exercise routine will result in the greatest amount of work, which is defined as total oxygen consumption (liters per minute) and total exercise volume (sets x reps). To maximize efficiency and to get the most effective metabolic resistance exercise routine I’ve come up with a method of training I’d like to call condensed circuit training (CCT).

The main principle behind CCT is fitting in as much work (oxygen consumption and total exercise volume) as possible into a 30 minute training session. An analogy can be drawn to making efficient use of storage space. In order to fit as many objects as possible into a finite space those objects have to be compressed or condensed in some way (i.e., chairs are stacked, cardboard boxes are folded). In the same way the exercises have to be condensed. This is accomplished through combining two or more exercises into one. For example, if your metabolic resistance training session consists of a dumbbell bench press, incline leg raise, squat, good morning, and a rowing exercise it would not be very efficient in terms of work done because you might only be able to cycle through these exercises 3x during a 30 minute session which equals 15 sets. However if you combine the dumbbell chest press and the leg raise into one exercise, and the squat and good morning into another exercise you now have three exercises instead of five. Therefore you may be able to cycle through these three exercises 4 to 6x during the 30 minute session which equals up to 30 sets. Therefore you can accomplish up to twice the volume in the same period of time. It follows that total oxygen consumption will also be greater due to increased total volume and because more oxygen is needed when more muscles are active during any given movement; so stroke volume and heart rate will be significantly greater during a CCT training session. It makes intuitive sense to combine 2 or more exercises into one whenever possible because this yields more work per given unit of time.

CCT accomplishes several things: 1) keeps the heart rate at 90% of its maximum for the full 30 minute duration which results in a huge EPOC effect; 2) gives you a full body workout; 3) allows you to do more work per given unit of time and 4) provides a stimulus for size and strength if progressive overload is maintained. CCT also eliminates the need for having to do high intensity interval training (HIIT) separately from resistance training. A single 30 minute CCT workout is roughly equivalent to doing 30 minutes of HIIT and the volume of a typical full body 45 minute resistance training session. Therefore 75 minutes of work become condensed into 30 minutes. Doing a CCT workout 3x per week is like doing 3 resistance training workouts and 3 HIIT workouts. So you really get a lot of bang for your buck (work done per unit of time).

Here is a description of the exercises I used in my CCT workout.

Incline Lying Leg Raise with Dumbbell Chest Press

This exercise combines the lying leg raise and dumbbell chest press into one movement. This exercise works the chest, arms, shoulders, abdominals and hip flexors. To do this, place a 12-16” step under a bench, grab a set of dumbbells and lie down so that the head and upper body are on the incline and the lower body is on the decline. Next do a chest press and a straight leg lift at the same time (this is the concentric phase) then lower to beginning position at the same time (this is the eccentric phase). You can adjust the intensity and which muscles get worked by flexing or extending the knees and changing the position of the arms. To preferentially work the chest move the dumbbells in a more fly or arc like movement while limiting flexion and extension in the elbows. To preferentially work the shoulders increase the torque on the shoulder joints by keeping the elbows close to the sides of the body and hold the dumbbells in a neutral grip while limiting flexion and extension in the elbows. This is similar to a dumbbell front lateral raise but the elbows are bent and there is still some degree of movement in the elbow joint. You can get creative with this exercise and find which ranges of motion and limb positions work best.

Good Morning Back Squat

This exercise combines the good morning and back squat into one movement. It incorporates knee and hip flexion and extension and works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, low back and midsection musculature. Position the bar in the lower back position. Squat down by flexing the knees and hips until the knees are 90 degrees and the hips are maximally flexed (this is the eccentric phase). Next extend the hips and the knees to return to the beginning position (this is the concentric phase). The knees should extend slightly before the hips to ensure that the lower back gets worked.

Tuck Front Lever Pullups

This exercise works the entire upper back musculature, forearms and biceps. For a description of this exercise refer to Coach Sommer’s article on bodyweight conditioning: http://www.dragondoor.com/articles/building-an-olympic-body-through-bodyweight-conditioning/default.aspx

The choice of exercises for a CCT workout is up to you. You can even invent your own or modify existing ones. However, there are two important factors in exercise selection: 1) the exercises must recruit as many muscle groups as possible in the given movement and 2) the exercises must be chosen so that the major agonist/antagonist pairs are worked to yield a full body workout. If you are feeling adventurous enough and really want to push yourself to the limit you can try doing a CCT workout 5x per week for 2 months and see where that gets you. I would certainly appreciate any before and after pictures to post on my blog.

Many novice trainees waste valuable time when doing a workout. When I first started my workout regiment I did what all the other guys in the gym were doing. It seems that everyone is filled with folk training wisdom but no one really knows where this knowledge came from or what scientific foundation it’s based on. The purpose of this article is to examine commonly held beliefs about what constitutes a good workout, to evaluate whether these are actually effective and yield good results, and to suggest smarter and more effective ways to do a workout.

Workout mistake #1: A workout that lasts an hour or longer

I would say that the biggest commonly held belief is that a workout session should be an hour long. I don’t know where this belief came from but it seems that it’s been with us since the dawn of time.  Some reasons why many people spend 1 hour doing a workout are they incorporate too many exercises (especially superfluous isolation exercises), they rest 1 minute or longer between sets and they spend more than 5 minutes stretching either before or after the workout or spend too much time warming up.

With anything in life focus and concentration are required to yield a desired result. In order to split a piece of wood quickly and effortlessly the axe has to be sharp, it has to have the right weight and it has to be applied at the proper angle. In this way the force is applied directly in one spot- it is focused and it is concentrated. If you have a dull axe that doesn’t weigh enough it will take several attempts before you split the piece of wood. A one hour workout that incorporates all the elements I described above is like trying to split a piece of wood with a dull axe: a lot of energy is wasted because it is not focused and concentrated.

Workout mistake #2: A workout that incorporates too many exercises

In order to get stronger and build muscle the exercise selection has to be limited so that the effort can be concentrated on those particular exercises. For example there is no reason why someone should incorporate a flat, incline and decline bench press and then do dumbbell flies for a chest workout. Instead a flat bench press should be done at a higher weight for fewer reps for no more than 5 sets. This ties in to the principle of specificity. In order for the body to adapt to the training stimulus that stimulus has to be constant and the effort must be repeated. So if you want to get better at bench pressing then –ok brace yourself because this is going to be hard to believe–focus more on bench pressing. If done properly, 3-5 sets of a flat barbell bench press are enough to increase your pushing strength in the upper body and to build muscle in the chest, triceps and shoulders. Unless you’re a professional body builder there is no need to do isolation exercises like chest flies and tricep extensions. Of course there are times such as when you hit a plateau that you may want to incorporate more isolation work to strengthen weaker muscles, which act as limiting factors, but overall isolation work is a waste of time and energy that should be focused on compound exercises.

The rule of thumb is that in order to make progress pick one compound exercise like the flat barbell bench press, focus on it, and repeat the effort (do it a maximum of 3x per week). Furthermore to keep making progress there must be progressive overload. Quite simply the exercise intensity, which may depend on weight, range of motion, speed, or rest periods must increase over time so that the body has a new stimulus to adapt to. It is important to note that the main training stimulus hasn’t changed (we are still working the bench press) but certain characteristics of that stimulus like weight, ROM, etc., have changed.

A common fitness fad is muscle confusion. There is no way the body can adapt to a stimulus if that stimulus keeps changing because you’re not giving the body enough time to adapt to anything- it’s common sense.  Doing a bench press for one month, then changing to a dumbbell bench press, then a machine bench press will not yield any results.

Workout mistake #3: A workout that has long rest periods

Rest periods during a workout should be kept to a minimum. There is no reason why someone should rest longer than 2 mins between sets of any exercise done at a 10 rep max intensity. Keeping the rest periods to a minimum also keeps the heart rate up allowing you to reap cardiovascular benefits while doing a resistance training workout. Supersets are a great way to get the most out of your session because you are continuously working, never resting.

Workout mistake #4: A workout that incorporates too much stretching

There are many benefits of stretching that are beyond the scope of this article. The only time I stretch is when my muscles are sore (usually the day after a workout session). Stretching comes naturally and automatically like yawning. The body knows when to stretch and it’s hard to resist the urge. When it comes to stretching just listen to your body and do enough stretching so that it feels satisfied. There is no need to spend more than 10mins stretching after every workout. Static stretching should never be done before a workout as part of a warm up. Stretching cold muscles will dispose them to injury during resistance training.

Workout mistake #5: A workout that incorporates a long non-specific warm up

A warm up should accomplish several things: increase heart rate to around 120 BPM, increase blood flow, increase muscle temperature and lubricate the joints. All of this can be accomplished in 5mins or less. A good warm up routine should incorporate activities that increase heart rate and move many limbs at the same time causing movement in multiple joints, like jumping jacks, as well as activities that work many muscles at the same time, like dumbbell squat presses or zercher squats.

Overall a productive workout should be no more than 45mins in length. An intense 30 minute workout that focuses on no more than 4 different compound exercises to yield a full body workout is best for overall size, strength and conditioning. For my workouts I use the flat barbell bench press, barbell back squat or zercher squat, hanging leg raises, and an inverted row. Rest periods should be eliminated by doing a combination of 2 exercises in supersets or doing all 4 exercises in circuit format. Stretching should be done only when your muscles tell you they need to be stretched. A warm up shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes and should focus on mass movement of the limbs and muscles.

Anyone can be a personal trainer

It doesn’t take much training or education to become certified as a personal trainer. Anyone with a high school education can get a Can Fit Pro or ACE certification in as little as a month. Consequently there are many trainers that may be unqualified but the gym they work for still charges an arm and a leg in order to make good profit. Commercial fitness chains are famous for doing this because people are unaware and they don’t know what to look for when choosing to work with a trainer. This is not to say that all commercial gyms are filled with unqualified trainer (I’ve met some excellent trainers with basic certifications) but a certain percentage of trainers are people that chose to become trainers as a sudden career change and these people have insufficient fitness knowledge and experience to be offering professional services at industry prices. In some cases commercial gyms will hire trainers for their sales experience and people skills rather than their training skills which are vastly more important. After all you are hiring a personal trainer to get you to your fitness goals in the shortest possible time; not to talk to you about your personal life or the latest celebrity gossip.

A certification or degree does not necessarily make a personal trainer great

An advanced certification or a college/university degree does not automatically make someone a great personal trainer. A degree in kinesiology, exercise science or an advanced post graduate fitness certification like NSCA’s certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) gives a person a sound theoretical foundation, however procedural knowledge (knowledge exercised in the performance of some task i.e., like riding a bike) accounts for about 60% of essential knowledge that a personal trainer should have.

So what makes a personal trainer great? A certification or degree isn’t necessary but more often than not great trainers will possess a degree or an advanced certification because it shows that they are committed to and serious about what they do. However, all the essential knowledge and training principles can be learned independently without having to take a course or pass an exam. The best indication if a trainer is great is their physical appearance and how fit they are. A great trainer usually looks the part. Being exceptionally fit is evidence that these trainers can apply what they know. A red flag is a trainer who is overweight or very skinny and out of shape. I’ve encountered a few of them when I worked at a commercial fitness club. Many great trainers are professional body builders and other athletes that have very little or no formal education- much like many great musicians and artists.

A great personal trainer will have his own methods and training principles and contributes new knowledge

Exercise science is an open field where new things are constantly being discovered. A great trainer will have an original approach to training that has been learned through experimentation and experience- not from reading some textbook. Great trainers do not work from the book: they are creative and will invent their own exercises and workout routines and combine existing training principles in novel ways to yield faster results. A great trainer keeps learning, constantly updating their knowledge but also contributes and educates others on things they have discovered independently. This is one of the most important characteristics of a great trainer: they contribute new knowledge either in a publication, in seminars or online.

A summary of what makes a personal trainer great

Here is a summary of the characteristics in order of importance that make a personal trainer great: 1) they are physically fit and have experience training themselves, 2) they contribute new knowledge in the form of articles, books, seminars, web pages or blogs, 3) they have their own unique approach to training that has been learned from practical experience, 4) they have a degree or an advanced certification. So now you know what to look for when hiring a personal trainer and I hope that you will put this knowledge to use.

A lot of guys who are reasonably fit (at around 15% body fat) want six pack abs. In order to get six pack abs you need to be at least at 10% body fat. Unless you have the right genetics and a fast metabolism getting down from 15% to 10% body fat is a goal that is very difficult to achieve. It is possible to achieve this goal in 2 month by following a high intensity exercise program, having the right diet and the discipline to do both things consistently. I’ve seen a lot of guys with an advanced training status train hard for a period of 3-4 months and still not achieve this goal (their lower set of abs was still hidden under a layer of abdominal fat). Indeed I have been there myself recently and that is how I discovered a training method I’d like to call condensed circuit training (CCT) and what prompted me to write this article.

In order to reach this goal you not only have to work hard but you also have to work smart. I’ve let myself go in the last year and gained weight in the form of fat. I’m 5’11” and went from being 175 lbs at 7% body fat to being 190 lbs at %15 in about 6 months. I finally got sick of not being able to see my abs so I started training again in order to reduce my body fat and get my abs back. I did a full body resistance training workout in circuit format 3x/week that I felt was fairly intense but in 3 months I only managed to lose 1% of body fat and my lower set of abs was nowhere in sight. Growing frustrated I swore to accomplish my goal in the next 2 months. I changed my diet and started eating according to John Berardi’s precision nutrition system again (I followed it a few years ago but fell off the wagon). It takes a lot of discipline to eat right and many people fail in this area but if you want to accomplish this goal then you have to put as much effort into your diet and eating habits as you do into your workouts. Your diet will account for roughly 50% of the results. In those 3 months where I only managed to lose 1% I trained hard but I didn’t watch what I ate and how I ate because I was lazy and thought that the exercise itself would be enough. Let this be a lesson to you all that cutting corners and doing this half assed will only result in painfully slow progress and frustration.

In addition to completely changing my diet I also changed my training program. In the past I’ve found that a program that incorporates full body resistance circuit training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) works best to reduce the % of body fat. This is how I got down to 7% body fat some years ago. However I had to train at least 6x per week (3 resistance training sessions and 3 HIIT sessions). I’m lazy by nature and I absolutely hate to run (on a treadmill or otherwise) and there was no way I was going to train 6x per week again. So I came up with a training method that killed these two birds with one stone and allowed me to accomplish the same amount of work in only 3 workouts and less time. I would like to call this training method condensed circuit training (CCT).

My workout consisted of 3 massive compound exercises done in a circuit format as many times as I could within 30 minutes while keeping the rest periods between exercises to a minimum. Each of the first two exercises combined two exercises into one to work many muscle groups in one movement. Adopting this training approach accomplished several things: 1) it kept my heart rate at 90% of its maximum for the full 30 minute duration which resulted in a huge EPOC effect; 2) it gave me a full body workout; 3) allowed me to accomplish a lot of work and hence a lot of volume within the 30 minutes because exercise selection was limited and rest periods were short and 4) provided a sufficient stimulus for size and strength because the volume kept increasing on each subsequent workout thus ensuring progressive overload. In terms of oxygen consumption and volume, a single 30 minute CCT workout is roughly equivalent to doing 30 minutes of HIIT and the volume of a typical full body 45 minute resistance training workout. Therefore 75 minutes of work become condensed into 30 minutes. Doing a CCT workout 3x per week is like doing 3 resistance training workouts and 3 HIIT workouts. Every CCT workout left me drenched in sweat and gasping for air like a fish pulled out of water. Furthermore adopting Charles Staley’s escalated density training (EDT) approach provided a progressive overload stimulus for size and strength gains.

Here is a description of the exercises I used in my CCT workout.

Incline Lying Leg Raise with Dumbbell Chest Press

This exercise combines the lying leg raise and dumbbell chest press into one movement. This exercise works the chest, arms, shoulders, abdominals and hip flexors. To do this, place a 12-16” step under a bench, grab a set of dumbbells and lie down so that the head and upper body are on the incline and the lower body is on the decline. Next do a chest press and a straight leg lift at the same time (this is the concentric phase) then lower to beginning position at the same time (this is the eccentric phase). You can adjust the intensity and which muscles get worked by flexing or extending the knees and changing the position of the arms. To preferentially work the chest move the dumbbells in a more fly or arc like movement while limiting flexion and extension in the elbows. To preferentially work the shoulders increase the torque on the shoulder joints by keeping the elbows close to the sides of the body and hold the dumbbells in a neutral grip while limiting flexion and extension in the elbows. This is similar to a dumbbell front lateral raise but the elbows are bent and there is still some degree of movement in the elbow joint. You can get creative with this exercise and find which ranges of motion and limb positions work best.

Good Morning Back Squat

This exercise combines the good morning and back squat into one movement. It incorporates knee and hip flexion and extension and works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, low back and midsection musculature. Position the bar in the lower back position. Squat down by flexing the knees and hips until the knees are 90 degrees and the hips are maximally flexed (this is the eccentric phase). Next extend the hips and the knees to return to the beginning position (this is the concentric phase). The knees should extend slightly before the hips to ensure that the lower back gets worked.

Tuck Front Lever Pullups

This exercise works the entire upper back musculature, forearms and biceps. For a description of this exercise refer to Coach Sommer’s article on bodyweight conditioning: http://www.dragondoor.com/articles/building-an-olympic-body-through-bodyweight-conditioning/default.aspx

The choice of exercises for a CCT workout is up to you. You can even invent your own or modify existing ones. However, there are two important factors in exercise selection: 1) the exercises must recruit as many muscle groups as possible in the given movement and 2) the exercises must be chosen so that the major agonist/antagonist pairs are worked to yield a full body workout. If you are feeling adventurous enough and really want to push yourself to the limit you can try doing CCT 5x per week for 2 months and see where that gets you. I would certainly appreciate any before and after pictures to post on my blog.

The weight loss industry is a multibillion dollar industry with no accountability or guarantees. These days the media is flooded with diets and weight loss programs promising extraordinary results in a short span of time. I see advertisements like “lose 20-30lbs in 30 days” almost on a daily basis. But just how true are these claims? You would think that if these diets and weight loss programs worked, and since there are so many of them, then the population would be getting skinnier on average as the years pass by. However if you look at the statistics obesity has been on the incline since the 1980s. From years of professional experience I can tell you conclusively that no these promises are false and misleading. It may be theoretically possible to lose 30lbs in 30 days in a laboratory under medical supervision so unless you can hire a team of specialists then it’s unlikely that you will.

People are desperate for weight loss and want a quick fix

Why do so many people fall victim to the hype if these don’t work as advertised? For one thing we are lazy by nature and the prospect of working hard and exercising to get modest results in a longer span of time is very unattractive to many people. Most people cringe at the thought of sweating and breathing hard as they are lifting weights or running on the treadmill. I see people glued in front of TV screens or reading newspapers as they do their low intensity cardio for an hour then crank out a few measly sets on machines without even breaking a sweat. No one likes to be overweight and the possibility that you can lose %10 of body fat in only 30 days without even having to do much attracts many people who just want to get rid of the fat as quickly as possible with as little work or effort. For those hopeless people out there I recommend liposuction because at least you will get your money’s worth.

What is even sadder is that people keep buying in, trying different programs and diets month to month because they may lose some weight initially but once they cease the diet/program they regain the weight very quickly or even gain more and so it becomes a vicious cycle costing people up to thousands of dollars- especially people who are in poor health and are desperate to lose weight. The weight loss industry is opportunistic and takes advantage of this to make a hefty profit and as long as people keep buying in the cycle will continue.

The market is flooded with fad weight loss diets and programs

There are at least 30 different types of diets and programs out there. Most of these are either crash diets which severely limit the caloric intake (i.e., juice or cabbage diet) or low carbohydrate, high protein/fat diets (i.e., Atkins diet, Dukan diet). Other programs make heavy use of dietary supplements to control caloric intake and provide an artificial source of micronutrients (i.e., Herbalife). These programs can be very expensive (up to $400 a month) because they split the nutrients up into many separate products. For example a typical Herbalife program has about 7 different products that you have to purchase (one for vitamins, one for minerals, one for antioxidants, one for calcium and vitamin D, plus meal replacement shakes, protein powders, meal replacement bars and soups). What is even more disturbing is that excessive use of Herbalife products has been associated with liver damage. All of these promise extraordinary results and for some people they work but it is difficult to maintain these results because people will put the weight back on once they resume a regular diet. These diets are not meant to be continued for longer than 2 months and some only last a week or two.

We all hear that carbs are bad. Low carbohydrate diets like the Atkins diet or ketogenic diets may work and deliver initial rapid weight loss but the weight loss is mostly due to glycogen breakdown and water loss and not fat reduction. Staying on a ketogenic diet will eventually lead to fat loss but any diet that restricts caloric intake will do the same. Some of the risks associated with ketogenic diets are dehydration, electrolyte loss, an inadequate intake of calcium and vitamins, gout and kidney problems. Moreover once you discontinue the diet and get back to a regular diet you will gain the weight back as rapidly as you lost it. It’s also interesting to note that the ketogenic diet was originally developed to treat refractory epilepsy in children and not as a weight loss diet. Ketogenic diets are harmful over the long term because they cause the blood to get more acidic – a condition called ketoacidosis.

An evaluation of what these weight loss programs are based on

Restricting carbs does make sense from a physiological perspective because it forces the body to use fats and proteins as a fuel source but the disadvantage is that you will also lose valuable muscle. A person should not avoid eating carbs to lose weight. Carbohydrate is the primary energy source for the body (fats and proteins have to be broken down and converted into intermediates before the body can use them). The reason why carbs get such a bad rep is because the body metabolizes them quickly to provide energy on demand where it is required (such as during or after exercise). However if that energy is not used then it gets stored as fat. Carbs are rated by glycemic index. Those with a high glycemic index like processed sugar, corn starch syrup and white bread break down very quickly and trigger a release of insulin. Insulin is anabolic causing excess calories to be stored as fat and muscle but only if there is a need for more muscle.

Dietary fat can make you fat if you eat too much of it. Fats are easily digested (have a low thermic cost) and are readily absorbed by fat cells. Only about 5% of digested fats are converted into glucose, the rest are stored as fat. Moreover fat has the highest caloric density, at 9 calories per gram (carbs and proteins have 4 calories per gram). If you want to lose weight or maintain your weight then avoid eating too much food that is high in fat for the reasons outlined. The minimum essential amount of fat that a person should eat is %20 of their total daily caloric intake.

Protein is the number one macronutrient that should be used in a weight loss diet/program. Protein has a high thermic effect raising a person’s resting metabolic rate and protein prevents muscle loss while on a calorie reduced diet. Protein is essential to building and maintaining muscle which helps to burn fat by increasing your resting metabolic rate. High protein diets are not recommended for extended periods of time because they put stress on the kidneys, and deplete calcium which may lead to osteoporosis. Another disadvantage of high protein diets is that there is a lack of dietary fiber which can lead to constipation. Some studies indicate that high protein diets may increase the risk of colon cancer due to a lack of dietary fiber but this is debatable.

What an effective weight loss program looks like

A proper weight loss program should have a combination of diet and exercise. I use a slightly calorie reduced diet that is high in protein and fiber, moderate in carbohydrates and low in fat.  Certain foods are eliminated like foods that contain a high level of high GI carbohydrates and saturated fats. High GI carbs are only used during and after exercise to provide fuel and replenish glycogen stores. The ratio of macronutrients for each meal varies depending on time of day and whether there is resistance or cardiovascular exercise on that day. On days where there is no exercise the caloric intake is further reduced. The variety of foods can be somewhat limited in order to precisely and conveniently control daily caloric intake.  The diet is especially limited in fruits because they contain fructose which is converted to fat much easier than glucose. As a result I use a high quality multivitamin/mineral/antioxidant & phytonutrient complex that provides all the vitamins, antioxidants and phytonutrients to ensure that the body gets all of its micronutrients and stays healthy during the weight loss phase. The typical rate of weight loss on my program is 1.5lbs a week so it takes about 3 months to lose 20lbs but there are no health side effects like loss of muscle and strength, low energy, liver and kidney damage etc., and the results are permanent as long as you are active and maintain a healthy diet.

There are many factors that determine the rate of weight loss

The number one goal of 90% of my clients has been weight loss. Some people are obese and need to lose a substantial amount of weight for health reasons and other people with a healthy BMI just want to get rid of a few pounds to look and feel better (we all want six pack abs). weight loss depends on how much energy is used to do work (i.e., to move, digest food, think etc.,) relative to how much energy is consumed and stored (caloric intake). Energy is constant so if the energy output (work done) is greater than the energy input (calories consumed) there will be a negative energy balance which forces the body to tap into fat to make up for that deficit. The energy output consists of a person’s resting or basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the total number of calories a person uses while at rest, and a person’s active metabolic rate (AMR), which is the total number of calories a person uses if they incorporate movement. If you want to lose fat then you have to create a daily negative caloric balance by limiting your caloric intake or increasing your BMR and AMR or a combination of both.

The rate of weight loss is heavily dependent on BMR

There are several factors that influence the BMR, AMR and the rate of weight loss. The BMR is influenced by body composition, age, gender, level of stress, body type (or somatotype), hormones and food intake. The AMR is influenced by the activity level. A negative energy balance is created by controlling the caloric intake. All of these need to be carefully balanced in order to achieve your weight loss goal without compromising your health or losing muscle.

Weight loss and the factors that determine BMR

The higher the percentage of body fat the quicker the rate of weight loss. I’ve trained obese people around 40% body fat who could shed up to 3lbs a week by following a rigorous program. However if you are around 15% body fat then the rate of weight loss is exponentially lower. At %15 you’ll be extremely lucky to lose 1 pound per week (the typical amount is 0.5lbs/week). Having a higher percentage of muscle also contributes to quicker fat loss but not as much as many people claim. The common misconception is that muscle is 20x more metabolically active than fat and therefore having more muscle raises your BMR accordingly. Recent studies found that 1 pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day, not 50 calories as is popularly believed.  This is still higher than fatty tissue which burns 2 calories per pound per day.

A person’s age and gender also influence the rate of weight loss. As you get older your metabolism slows down because your body tends to lose muscle and gain fat which slows down your ability to burn calories. However this can be attenuated by doing regular cardio, strength training and keeping a healthy diet. There is a slight difference between men and women because men have more testosterone which helps to build muscle and so men will have a higher BMR than women on average because they have more muscle.

The level of mental and physical stress affects the rate of fat loss. Cortisol is a hormone released when the body is under stress such as in a fight or flight situation. It serves a biological function of freeing up energy by breaking down fat and muscle tissue during a stressful event so that the body can use it to fight or flee. However, in today’s society we do not use that energy to fight or flee and so it gets deposited back into fat around the abdominal region. Prolonged stress can increase the resting level of cortisol making it very hard to burn fat in the abdominal region.

Humans come in three different body types or somatotypes that are genetically determined: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. These body types represent a continuum of body composition and the ability to gain or lose weight (either muscle or fat). Ectomorphs have the least total body mass (made up of fat, muscle and bone). Ectomorphs tend to be tall and skinny and have difficulty gaining weight because they have a fast metabolism. Weight loss for ectomorphs is not an issue but muscle gain is. Mesomorphs have an average total body mass and can change their body composition very easily. Mesomorphs have an intermediate metabolic rate. Endomorphs have the greatest total body mass and tend to put on weight very easily. Endomorphs have the greatest difficulty in burning fat because they have the slowest metabolism.

The BMR is influenced by the levels of thyroid hormones and the catecholamines epinephrine and nor-epinephrine. Thyroid hormones are thermogenic raising body temperature and BMR. People with hypothyroidism (low level of thyroid hormones) have a very slow metabolism, tend to put on fat very easily and have difficulty losing fat. People with hyperthyroidism (high level of thyroid hormones) have a very fast metabolism, tend to be skinny and have difficulties putting on weight. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for arousal and utilizing energy to be used in times of stress or arousal. The primary hormones that activate the sympathetic nervous system are epinephrine (adrenaline) and nor-epinephrine. Both of these hormones will increase heart rate and force of contraction, increase blood flow to muscles, suppress hunger, and utilize the body to break down fat and glycogen to produce glucose. Most weight loss pills are stimulants that increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Caffeine is often used in over the counter weight loss pills in conjunction with other stimulants because it increases cardiac output, helps the body to utilize fat as a fuel source by increasing epinephrine levels, and suppresses hunger.

Food intake has the greatest effect on basal metabolic rate. The body has to expand energy when digesting and processing food. This is called the thermic effect of food or diet induced thermogensis. The quantity and type of food ingested influences how much energy is required to process the food. Research indicates that proteins are harder to process than fats and so have a much higher thermic effect. Therefore increasing the quantity of protein in your diet will raise your BMR. Foods that are high in fiber such as celery and grapefruit are the hardest to process and have the highest thermic effect. These foods also have what is called a negative caloric balance because they take more energy to digest than the energy they release from digestion.

Weight loss is also dependent on AMR

Increasing the level of physical activity increases the AMR. The more active you are the more calories are needed. The type of activity you engage in as well as the duration and intensity of that activity influences how many extra calories are needed and from what food source these calories come from.

Contrary to popular belief low intensity and long duration cardiovascular activity doesn’t burn more fat than shorter duration high intensity cardio. Numerous studies have demonstrated that high intensity interval training (where the heart rate is between 80-90% of its maximum) is more effective for fat loss than low intensity endurance activity because the body has to make up for the oxygen deficit produced during exercise and it burns calories for up to two hours after you stop exercising. This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Resistance training is also recommended for fat loss because not only is energy needed during the workout but also after the workout because the body has to repair and build new muscle and this takes energy. Activities with a heavier weight or resistance level and a lower rep number per set are recommended over activities with a light weight and a high rep number per set because lifting heavier weights produces more microtrauma in muscles which is a stimulus for repair and synthesis.

Weight loss and proper nutrition

Carbohydrate is the primary source of fuel for the body and it is the only fuel source besides ketones that the brain can use. Whereas fats and proteins must be converted into intermediate forms before they can be used as fuel. Before, during and after higher intensity physical activity the body needs carbohydrates otherwise the blood sugar will get too low and a person will crash, feel nauseous and throw up. Carbohydrates and proteins are needed to build muscle after heavy resistance training. Therefore, when incorporating physical activity into a weight loss program the body will need an adequate supply of proteins and carbohydrates. I found that when incorporating higher intensity cardio and resistance training into a fat loss program a person’s diet should be roughly % 35 carbohydrates, % 45 proteins, and % 20 fats and the maximum daily caloric deficit should not exceed 750 calories.

In order to burn fat a person must maintain a proper caloric intake. Exercise itself is not enough if there isn’t a sufficient daily caloric deficit. Fatty tissue is a medium the body uses to store energy. One pound of fat stores 3500 calories therefore 3500 calories have to be used in order to burn one pound of fat. In order to burn fat a person must eat fewer calories everyday than they eat regularly to maintain their current weight. If a person eats 500 fewer calories per day then they can lose 1 pound of fat in 7 days. This rate of 1 pound per week is widely acknowledged by health and fitness professionals as a safe and healthy rate of weight loss. Starvation diets (anything above a 1000 caloric deficit) are unhealthy because the body burns more muscle than fat (fat is needed as an energy source when food is scarce) and because the body isn’t getting the essential amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytonutrients that keep us healthy.

Now that you have a better idea of the factors involved in metabolism and fat loss you can incorporate some of these into your weight loss program. However a professional weight loss program incorporates many of these factors at the same time and these factors have to be carefully balanced in order to achieve optimum fat loss results without depriving yourself of essential nutrients and losing muscle and strength. I design fat loss programs that are personalized (I take into account your metabolic profile, activity level, and other relevant physical attributes) and comprehensive (I take multiple factors into account attacking fat from every angle).

This is the first day that I’m launching my fitness blog. Stay tuned for training advice and tips on how to make the most out of your workouts.