Do you track every set and rep of your workouts? Do you keep a log? If not, it is time you start.

One way to push yourself is through progressive overload. You can't do this if you are not tracking your workouts. I know some people think it is a waste of time, but I have found it to be an invaluable source of information. I can see what one small change does to my workouts. Go low carb? How did it change your workout? This type of information is extremely helpful.

How do you progressively overload your body? It is actually a very simple concept. Each time you lift you look to do more repetitions or more weight. If your training session requires 4 sets of 10 on a chest press, you pick a weight you think you can handle for that many sets and that many repetitions. If you complete all sets and repetitions you increase the weight. If you cannot, you keep the weight the same on the next workout. You do this over and over. What you will see is that you are lifting heavier and heavier weights. You have progressed.

Progression spurs muscle growth. The added stimulus to the muscles is just what the doctor ordered.

So, if you are not using the progressive overload principle, get to it!

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When you are lifting weights to help you lose weight you want to be very strict. You want your body to work as hard as it can. That will require strict form on each set as well as strict adherence to a rest interval.

Strict Form

Every exercise has the right way to get execute it. Correct form was designed to isolate the correct muscle and work it safely and efficiently. Before you hit the gym plan out your exercises and then hit YouTube to find videos that will show you good form. Bodybuilding.com is a great resource for exercise videos.

As you execute each set pay attention to strict form. Stop your set as soon as your form strays from strict form. Only count repetitions that stick to strict form. This will help you avoid injury and aide in increasing your strength.

Strict Rest Periods

As I have mentioned previously in other articles, you want to get a cardio effect from your weight lifting. In order to do this you need to adhere to strict rest periods. Use a timer like the app Seconds and you can make certain you stick to your rest periods. Set it for 45 seconds and Seconds warns you 3 seconds before that interval is up. Get under the bar and lift

My Conclusion

By being strict with form and rest intervals you can take the intensity of your training to a completely new level. This is going to help you lose the fat even faster.

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As you progress through this challenge I have noted there are many of you who have no idea how to train with weights.  With that in mind I felt it was important to teach you a few things about weight training. Obviously you could easily go to Google and look up advice for weight training, but there is a tremendous amount of misinformation available on the web about weight training (and every other fitness topic). Today I will talk to you about body part splits and full body training and discuss which one I think is most appropriate for which circumstances.

What Is Your Goal?

Most of you have the same goal. You want to lose fat and tone up. Well, I am not a fan of the term “tone up”, but will define it the way I see it. Toning up means you want to look leaner and more cut. I will use that definition going forward.

Since your goal is to lose fat and tone up you are going to want to gain muscle and at the same time, have a cardio effect during weight training. Keep that in mind as we continue this discussion.

What is a Body Part Split?

A body part split involves dividing the body up and training each body part on a different day. A typical body part split would be:

Back
Shoulders
Chest
Off Day
Legs
Arms
Off Day

This approach lowers the frequency with which you train each muscle group. This approach has its own benefits though.

Benefits of a Body Part Split

1. The ability to handle greater loads. There is less body fatigue when doing a body part split, which translates into bigger weights being moved.
2. Greater attention on each muscle group. By training each group separately you can focus on different angles and changing up the repetition scheme used. Many times this results in higher quality training.
3. Less chance of over training. Your central nervous system takes a good hit from weight training. A body part split eases the load on your central nervous system.

What is a Full Body Workout?

A full body workout involves alternating workouts that hit every body part each time you workout. This generally means that you train every other day. In many situations you would simply train with weights 3 days a week (usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and do cardio on the other days. When I prescribe full body workouts I generally give a Workout A and a Workout B and have the client alternate between the two workouts.

Benefits of a Full Body Workout

1. Greater frequency per muscle group. You will hit every muscle group every workout. This means you will train your arms 3 times a week at a minimum, your back 3 times a week at a minimum, etc.
2. Higher energy expenditure per workout. Because you hit more muscles you will also expend more energy. This means you can eat a higher calorie diet, skip the cardio session after your weight training and gain more mass with less fat gain.
3. Greater depletion and super compensation. A full body workout basically leaves your body saying “WTF?” A ton of microtrauma, protein degradation, and glycogen depletion has just occurred, leaving the body in an extremely primed state for nutrient uptake and anabolism to take place. Provided you give the body what it's asking for nutritionally, a superior supercompensatory effect will result.
4. Greater anabolic hormonal stimulation. A full body workout will stimulate more growth hormone release in your body. While the effect is short lived, it is enough to make a difference in your fat burning efforts.

Which Method is Superior?

Both body part splits and full body workouts have their uses. The honest answer is that both are required for the greatest gains to take place. Since you, my current audience, are looking to burn fat I would recommend starting out with a 12 week full body routine. Keep your rest intervals shorter and push as hard as you can during your sets. This will help you to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. Eventually you will need to add a 4 week cycle of body part split training to allow your central nervous system time to recover, but then you will be right back to doing a full body workout. My suggestion is to switch between the two as described in the following table:

This covers an entire year of training. This method works very well. Give it a try and let me know how you do. If you need help programming your workouts contact me via the contact form on this site and I will gladly help you out.

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Using weights for cardio is something not many people think about. Today I want to teach you why this is a great way to get the cardio done that you need in order to lose fat. I am going to offer several ways for you to use weights to get cardio done. I am also going to encourage anyone who wants to lose fat fast to follow each of these plans at least 3 times a week. This will give you better and faster results that last.

Defining Terms: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

In the fitnesss world we hear about HIT and HIIT. What's the difference you might ask? The first one, HIT, stands for High Intensity Training and applies to a style of weight training that can be used by beginners, intermediates and advanced lifters alike. It involves a full body workout that takes your body to its own limits. You can find out more about it by reading these articles.

Monday Madness: Full Body Assault

High Intensity Training for Massive Gains

High Intensity Training

Tabata Uses Weights for Cardio

Tabata training was discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.

Tabata and his team conducted research on two groups of athletes. The first group trained at a moderate intensity level while the second group trained at a high-intensity level. The moderate intensity group worked out five days a week for a total of six weeks; each workout lasted one hour. The high-intensity group worked out four days a week for six weeks; each workout lasted four minutes and 20 seconds (with 10 seconds of rest in between each set). This is quote a difference between the two groups and their total training time.

The results; Group 1 had increased their aerobic system (cardiovascular), but showed little or no results for their anaerobic system (muscle). Group 2 showed much more increase in their aerobic system than Group 1, and increased their anaerobic system by 28 percent.

In conclusion, high-intensity interval training has more impact on both the aerobic and anaerobic systems.

Doing a Tabata workout will be the longest 4 minutes you've ever endured! The basic protocol is as follows:

• Workout hard for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Complete 8 rounds

A typical Tabata workout will look similar to this:

1. Walking Lunges (4 minutes)
2. Dumbell Squat Presses (4 minutes)
3. Front Squats (4 minutes)
4. Bulgarian Split Squats (4 minutes)
5. Goblet Squats (4 minutes)

You rest for 1 minute between each of the above exercises. Your heart will be pounding. For those of you with a smart phone who want to use a Tabata timer, I recommend the app called Seconds.  This app lets you set up intervals and then launch the timer. It will beep or give some other signal that you select when it is time to switch intervals. This app is extremely helpful for fitness minded people. They have a free and a paid version.

Complexes Use Weights for Cardio

What is a complex? A complex is where you pick up a barbell, perform several reps of an exercise with it, then move right into another exercise, then another, and another, and maybe one or two more. Then you see black spots, get all ripped ‘n shit, and bang swimsuit models.

Let me present you with two complexes  you can use to get in your cardio training.

Weight Plate Complex

Use a 45 pound olympic weight plate. Perform 5 cycles and rest 90 seconds between each cycle.

Overhead Squat x 6-8
Swings (like kettlebell swings) x 6-8
Bentover Row x 8-10
Reverse Lunge and Twist x 8-10 total
Diagonal Chops x 6-8 each side

Submission Complex

This complex uses dumbbells.

Reverse Lunges 6 reps on each leg
Romanian Deadlift 12 reps
Good Morning 12 reps
Front Squat 6 reps
Military Press 6 reps
Bentover Row 6 reps
Floor Press 12 reps

Rest 60 seconds and repeat 2-4 more times depending on your testicular fortitude.

Weights for Cardio is Fun

Using weights to get your cardio is fun, but it is also extremely efficient. You are still benefiting from the muscle building capabilities of the weights, but you are burning fat as you go. It is a great go to when you don't have a lot of time.

Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.

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