You might be in between routines or just looking for a change of pace.
It might be that you are on holiday or training at a mate’s house.
That’s where the ‘When In Doubt Workout’ comes into play.
Follow this simple formula for a great, balanced workout that never has to ge boring.
Take one each of the following and do either 5 x 5, 3 x 8 or 2 x 20.
Deadlift or squat variation (do the other movement lightly in the warmup)’
Bench or shoulder press variation
Seated row or chin up variation
Kettlebell or dumbbell swings
Floor based abdominal exercise (Go for higher reps if needed)
Don’t worry too much about the details. Sometimes the back to basic approach will work best.
If you were to do this two to three times a week and make gradual improvements in the weights that you were lifting, you would be doing better than most people.
If you want to throw some metabolic, fat burning intervals on the end, make sure you check out this post.
You know, it really bugs me when people say that they don’t have enough time to train. I can vouch for the fact that time is a very valuable commodity, in fact it is probably one of the most valuable to me at the moment.
But here’s the thing. You don’t need to be spending hours upon hours in the gym. If you are doing nothing, then simply doing something will be better. If you can spare 30 minutes 3-4 times per week then you can still make improvements by increasing your fitness, increasing your strength and burning more fat. Not to mention that by exercising with some intensity you will become more efficient at work, have more energy and decrease your own (and the nations) healthcare costs. Not bad for a few investments of 30 minutes hey?
So what do I do in 30 minutes that will help me to get leaner, stronger, fitter and sexier?
Well I would break it down like this.
If you can only do three days, then one day would be interval sprint session (bike, running, swimming doesn’t matter), day two would be the Killer Upper Body Workout (video below) and day three would be a full body circuit.
If you can get the four days in there I would simply double up on one of the workouts. It doesn’t have to be too complex. Either redo your favourite workout or just restart the cycle above from the sprint session.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This post was supposed to be about my new upper body workout. I sort of went off on a tangent there!! Here’s the video.
1. Eat breakfast everyday no matter what. If you don’t have time in the morning, make something the night before.
2. Aim to get zero calories from liquids. This means you will be drinking water and green tea most of the time. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different teas, both hot and cold, to find one you like. Avoid any pre-made teas that have added sugar, ideally you will brew your own but if not go for an unsweetened variety.
3. Get some quality protein with every meal. Protein can come from a variety of sources as discussed here, so you might just need to try something different.
4. Eat at least one non starchy vegetable (ideally two or more) with each meal. If you find this too much try to substitute some berries instead. Failing this grab a piece of fruit.
5. Don’t eliminate fats altogether, instead make sure you get a serve or two of good fats with each meal. These will add flavor but in moderation will make your fat loss easier.
6. Take your fish oil. If you aren’t allergic to fish oil then you have no excuse for not taking it. Bang for buck, cost versus effectiveness, there is nothing better for your overall health (and fat loss) than 3-5 grams of fish oil per day.
7. Get a food diary, and write in it!! It blows me away the number of people that have a food diary with nothing in it. Makes no sense at all. So just start writing everything down and then make the improvements from there.
8. Eat something at least every 3 hours. Ideally this would be something that has all of the above covered (vegetables, good protein, good fat) but something will be better than nothing in terms of keeping your metabolism kicking over and reducing the risk of overeating later in the day.
9. Aim for 80% or better compliance with your eating. This means of the 6 or so meals you are eating every day (every 3 hours remember) 4.8, lets call it 5, want to be ticking all the boxes. Thats per day, per week it 34/42. So don’t be getting down on yourself if you miss a meal, or don’t get a meal 100% right, just move on and try to improve next time.
10. Last but definitely not least, only eat food that tastes great. There are so many great tasting foods and recipes that are actually good for you that there is little reason to be eating ‘health’ food that doesn’t taste any good. As an added bonus you are way more likely to actually eat these foods if you like them. Not rocket science exactly but often overlooked.
Don’t forget to read my ‘Eating Made Simple‘ series which goes into a bit more detail about points 3, 4 and 5.
For the folks in the south we are coming into winter. For our friends up north they are heading into summer. Which is more important to get the weight off for? Silly question. They both are. Although I do think it is more important to get focused and on track heading into the cooler months because it is so easy to do less activity and tell yourself that it’s OK to put on a winter coat.
But just imagine how happy you would be, coming into spring and you have actually lost weight instead of putting it on. Then you have the power. You can either maintain the status quo and enjoy your summer or you can reset your goal on new heights.
Sure beats the idea of going around in circles, up and down, up and down, with no real losses. Put these 3 secrets for fat loss into action and you will be amazed by the results.
1. Have a specific goal (8 kilos in 4 weeks for example!) and tell at least 5 people about it.
Now when I say 5 people, I mean telling 5 people that take you just a bit out of your comfort zone. Commit yourself by telling 5 people whom will want to see you fail and will remind you every step of the way. This will keep you on track as you will do everything right just to prove them wrong. A couple of people from work, a few from a club or sporting team and someone at the bus stop should do.
2. Keep a food diary.
Your results will be in direct correlation with the effort you put in. If you are weighing and measuring everything you eat you will be able to adjust as necessary and make fantastic improvements to your body. If you take it down a level and concentrate on eating only the foods I talk about then your results will still be good. If you decide to wing it and have no idea really of what you are eating and where to make changes your results will be, at best, average. If you keep a diary, even if it is only for a week, to see exactly what and how much you are eating, your success will be guaranteed.
3. Make sure your ACTIONS match your GOALS.
So you have set a specific goal. Every time you eat, drink and train (or don’t train) you have an opportunity to either work towards your goal or away from it. It kills me to see people talk about wanting to lose weight and then hear that same person talking about how big a weekend they had, or about the all you can eat buffet they are going to. These are the same people who have ‘tried everything but can’t seem to lose weight. Don’t be that person. Actively think each and every time you eat or drink – ‘Do my actions match my goals’.
Put these 3 secrets into action and you will be amazed how powerful they can be. Go against the trend this year and say good bye to the winter coat forever.
