Hobart Personal Trainer | Hobart Fat Loss | Hobart Personal Training

Fat loss workouts don’t need to be fancy to be effective. In fact sometimes the simpler they are the more effective they can be.

If you have to over think what you are doing when you are training, some effort will be lost on the workout and your results will not be as good.

For those of you familiar with any of my circuits, you will know that simple and easy are poles apart. For instance, doing 1000 burpees is a simple concept, but it would be anything but easy to do. (Do not attempt to do 1000 burpees. Ever!!)

One of the most effective ways of pushing yourself to work harder is to race against yourself, the clock or both.

When you have a predetermined number of sets or reps to complete, the only other variable is the time. The shorter it takes you to complete the workout, the more intense it is. Think of it this way. If you were to run 100 metres in 10 seconds it would be more intense than walking 100 metres in 45 seconds. Same workout, different intensity.

In a race against the clock, try the following 500 rep body weight challenge.

50 Push ups
50 Step Ups (each leg)
50 Chin Ups
100 Y Squats
100 Inverted Rows
100 Mountain Climbers

Go as hard as you can, resting as little as possible when needed. This workout will boost both your fat loss and your strength in record time.
You can check out a video of this workout (and my other video’s) here.

Have a go and let me know your times.

When I write a customised gym program I expect that it only represents the starting point for an individual. Your first session of any new program should, relatively, be the easiest of the cycle. You may feel at the time that is has whooped your ass but that should only be because it is different to what you had previously been doing.

Now when I see someone two or three weeks into a new program and they are doing exactly as they were the first session it does my head in. Your body will have adapted to the change in stimulus already so that feeling of being whooped you got first session has gone.

You need to progress your output at every possible stage if you are going to get the maximum possible result.
“How do I do that?” Well I’m glad you asked. There are four simple ways to increase the output and intensity of your workouts to ensure you get better results in less time.

1. Increase Weight

Oh really. Seems obvious enough, but the number of people who do the same weight for the same exercises week in and week out would amaze you. There will be a time when your reach the weight limit for a particular exercise and this is when you can use one of the other techniques.

2. Increase Reps

Another blast from Captain Obvious. This technique is the most common at being implemented and is probably overdone at the expense of number 1. When using this technique try to stay within a certain rep range (say 3-5, 8-12, 15-20) so that you are not just adding more and more reps. When you can get the target reps on any exercise bump up the weight, drop the reps and start the cycle again.

3. Decrease Rest

First of all I have to say that in order to decrease your rest periods, you need to know what they are to start with. If you tell me they are 60 seconds and you don’t have a stopwatch, second hand or any other timing device available to you then I’m calling you out. 60 seconds is exactly that. When you actually time it you might find it is quite a bit shorter than you expected. If all you did was decrease the rest between sets (keeping the weight and reps the same) your workouts will be more intense, not to mention,  finished in less time!

4. Exercise Order

This is probably the most overlooked aspect of a program. It is however one of the easiest ways to change the flow and intensity of your workouts. If you only did three exercises (lets say chin ups, deadlifts and dips) there is a possibility of six different exercise orders, all of which will give you a different intensity because they are essentially different workouts.

So there you have it.  Four easy to implement strategies that will keep your workouts at a high octane level for weeks on end.

James

Looking for a way to spice up your fat loss workouts? Then try this workout on for size!

It’s a full body, fat burning, metabolic blast that will have you shaped up in no time.

Because of the intensity of this workout, you only want to do it twice per week.

Warm Up
Start with some mobility drills (such as leg swings, arm swings etc) and a few minutes of foam rolling. This is the time to target your tight areas and get them loose for the upcoming workout.

Integrated Core Exercises

Chose from mountain climbers, cross body climbers, prone cross toe taps or your favourite TRX core exercise.

2 sets x 120 seconds with 120 seconds rest

followed by

1 set x 60 seconds

The Workout

A1: Chin Up – 8 reps
A2: Static Lunge – 20 reps

Rest 60 seconds and repeat two more times for a total of three sets.

B1: T Push Up – 8 each side
B2: Stability Ball or TRX Single Leg Curl – 12 reps each side

Rest 60 seconds and repeat two more times for a total of three sets.

C1: Inverted (Bar or TRX) Body Row – Maximum reps possible
C2: Overhead Squat – 15 reps

Rest 60 seconds and repeat two more times for a total of three sets.

D1: Upright Row – 12 reps
D2: Lying Hip raise – 20 reps each side

Rest 60 seconds and repeat two more times for a total of three sets.

Integrated Core Exercises (yes we do them again!)

Chose from mountain climbers, cross body climbers, prone cross toe taps or your favourite TRX core exercise.

2 sets x 120 seconds with 120 seconds rest

Ouch! That’s going to be a tough one.

If you have any questions about the workout just leave a comment below.

Have Fun!!