Compounded Progress

The Benefits of Incorporating Compound Exercises in Your Strength Training Routine

Strength training is an essential component of any fitness regimen. It not only helps in building muscle mass but also aids in increasing strength and improving overall health. When it comes to strength training, one of the most effective methods is incorporating compound exercises into your workout routine. Compound exercises involve multiple joints and muscle groups working together in a single movement, making them highly efficient and beneficial for achieving various fitness goals. In this article, we will delve deeper into the reasons why compound exercises should be an integral part of your strength training program.

1. Increases Muscle Mass and Strength Simultaneously

Compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, allowing for more muscle fibers to be activated in each movement. This results in greater muscle stimulation and growth compared to isolation exercises that target only a single muscle group at a time. By incorporating compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, and pull-ups into your workout routine, you can maximize muscle recruitment and achieve noticeable gains in muscle mass and strength.

2. Improves Functional Strength and Athletic Performance

Functional strength is the ability to perform everyday activities and athletic movements efficiently. Compound exercises mimic real-life movements and activities, making them highly effective in improving functional strength. By training your body to work as a cohesive unit through compound movements, you can enhance your performance in various sports and activities that require strength, coordination, and agility.

3. Enhances Calorie Burn and Promotes Fat Loss

Compound exercises are known for their ability to stimulate the metabolism and promote calorie burn both during and after the workout. Since these movements involve multiple muscles working together, they require more energy expenditure compared to isolated exercises. Incorporating compound exercises into your strength training routine can help accelerate your fat loss goals by increasing your overall caloric expenditure and boosting your metabolic rate.

4. Saves Time and Increases Efficiency

One of the main advantages of compound exercises is their efficiency in working multiple muscle groups in a single movement. This not only saves time during your workout but also allows you to get more done in less time. Instead of spending hours focusing on isolated exercises, you can achieve a comprehensive full-body workout by incorporating compound movements into your routine. This time-efficient approach is especially beneficial for individuals with busy schedules looking to make the most out of their gym sessions.

I’m not an advocate of being a gym rat and I feel you should do the minimum effective dose when performing your strength training. If you want to do extra activity, find other activities outside the gym.

5. Reduces the Risk of Imbalances and Injuries

By engaging multiple muscle groups in compound exercises, you can help prevent muscle imbalances that can lead to injuries and postural issues. Isolation exercises, while beneficial in targeting specific muscles, may not address the overall functional strength and balance of the body. Compound movements promote balanced muscle development and coordination, reducing the risk of overuse injuries and enhancing joint stability.

This is applicable for the average person, but especially if you are engaging in high impact activities such as climbing and martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

How I Incorporate Compound Exercises

In your tool box you want to primarily be using these type of exercises as your bread & butter foundation -

Pushing - Dumbbell presses, push up variations, parallel bar dips, barbell presses

Pulling - Chin-up’s, pull-up’s, dumbbell rows, cable pulldowns & rows, barbell rows. horizontal bodyweight rows

Quad dominant lower body - Squats, Split Squats, Lunges

Hip dominant lower body - Deadlift’s, romanian deadlift, sumo deadlift, trap bar deadlift, single leg deadlift

The versions that you use will be relative to your level and regressions of the body-weight exercises can be found for even a beginner.

In Conclusion

Incorporating compound exercises into your strength training routine is a smart and effective way to maximize your workout results and achieve your fitness goals. Whether your aim is to build muscle, improve strength, increase athletic performance, or lose fat, compound exercises offer a myriad of benefits that can take your fitness journey to the next level. By integrating movements that challenge multiple muscle groups simultaneously, you can enhance your overall strength, functionality, and physique. Remember, it's essential to consult with a fitness professional or trainer to ensure proper form and technique when performing compound exercises to reap the full benefits of these powerhouse movements.

Why its NEAT to Move More

The Importance of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) for Health and Body Composition

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) plays a critical role in overall health and body composition. NEAT refers to the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise. This includes activities such as walking, standing, fidgeting, and even typing. While it may seem trivial compared to structured exercise, NEAT can significantly impact our energy expenditure and ultimately our weight and overall health.

Understanding NEAT

NEAT was first introduced by Dr. James Levine, who found that some people burned significantly more calories through daily activities than others, even when accounting for differences in weight, age, and body composition. This discovery highlighted the importance of NEAT in weight management and metabolic health.

The energy expended through NEAT can vary greatly from person to person and can be influenced by occupation, lifestyle, environment, and personal habits. For example, someone with a desk job may have much lower NEAT levels compared to a construction worker or even a coffee barista who are on their feet and constantly moving throughout the day.

Health Benefits of NEAT

1. Weight Management: NEAT can have a significant impact on weight management. Increasing NEAT, even without structured exercise, can help burn more calories throughout the day, contributing to a negative energy balance and potential weight loss.

2. Metabolic Health: NEAT has been linked to improved metabolic health. Studies have shown that higher NEAT levels are associated with better insulin sensitivity, blood sugar control, and lipid profiles.

3. Cardiovascular Health: Regular physical activity, including NEAT, is crucial for cardiovascular health. Incorporating more movement throughout the day can help improve circulation, reduce the risk of heart disease, and enhance overall fitness levels.

Incorporating NEAT into Daily Life

Given the sedentary nature of many modern lifestyles, intentionally increasing NEAT can be beneficial for overall health and well-being. Here are some practical tips to incorporate more NEAT into your daily routine:

1. Take the Stairs: Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. Climbing stairs is a great way to sneak in extra physical activity throughout the day.

2. Walk More: Aim to increase your daily step count by parking farther away, taking short walking breaks during work, or going for a post-meal stroll.

3. Stand Up: If you have a desk job, consider using a standing desk or taking regular breaks to stand and stretch. Standing burns more calories than sitting and can help improve posture and circulation.

4. Household Chores: Embrace household chores as a way to increase NEAT. Activities like vacuuming, gardening, or washing dishes can all contribute to higher energy expenditure.

5. Stay Active: Find activities you enjoy that involve movement, such as dancing, gardening, or playing with pets or children. The key is to keep moving throughout the day.

Conclusion

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) may not always receive the same attention as structured exercise, but its impact on health and body composition should not be underestimated. By increasing daily movement and incorporating more NEAT into our routines, we can improve energy expenditure, support weight management, and enhance overall well-being. Prioritizing NEAT alongside regular exercise can lead to a more active and healthier lifestyle in the long run.

How to have the best workout - 5 tips

Lifting weights is literally a superpower in regards to the positive effects on health & longevity.

It can be one of the most rewarding things you can incorporate into your life. However if some key foundations to your training is missing it can become a frustrating and ultimately demotivating endeavour. Here are 5 ways to avoid this trap and optimise what you are doing-

1, Use the biggest bang for buck exercises

Research shows that exercises that recruit the most amount of muscle also will deliver you the most results and a most time effective fashion.

Your exercising should be built upon a foundation-

• Squatting

• Deadlifting

• Lunging

• Pushing

• Pulling

• Carries

There are many variations of these movements that can by cycled between with each programme and some variations may suit certain proportions better than others.

You can be assured you’ll be making progress if your numbers are steadily increasing on these movements.

Now this is not to say that i’m against isolation exercises, I come from a bodybuilding background and so have extensive knowledge on how to build muscle. Isolation exercises certainly have value for certain muscle groups and for maintaining structural balance.

However in the grand scheme of programme planning they should be tertiary, especially if time is very limited.

2, Set a time limit

Giving yourself a deadline of being in and out of the gym in say 45-75 mins will pressure you to stick to your your rest periods and not faff around getting distracted by other stuff.

Certain rest periods will be required between sets so i’m not promoting jumping the gun on these as the body does need time to recover between sets for optimal performance.

However if the programme is designed intelligently this will be taken into account and the time spent should still be efficient & effective.

3, Elminate all distractions

With increasing discussion of transhumanism; ie being integrated into our technology I’d argue we are already there in the way we are constantly plugged into our phones today. Emails, text’s social media and other apps bleed away our time and concentration.

When you are in the gym I recommend you either put your phone on airplane mode or elminate it completely.

There should be no more input than some music if it helps you to keep focused.

You could use an app, spreadsheet or even paper diary (retro idea eh!?) to track your gym workouts.

4, Have a plan

You should have a programme well established that you commit to sticking to for 6-8 weeks.

Going to the gym and then deciding what you are doing that day is a good way to have a crappy workout. Think of it as a project and that you are committing to working on that project for the allotted time.

5, Have someone to hold you to account

Self motivation is a finite resource.

Having a peer who also likes to exercise or a trainer to keep tabs on the consistency of your frequency and progression is a valuable way to help push yourself harder.

Gym training should be an egoless pursuit when it comes at the expense of your exercise form breaking down but it does require some grit and hard work in order to progress.

You must expose your body to something difficult in order to give it the signal to repair and come back stronger in order to better handle it the next time. This is a key foundation of why the body adapts positively from training.

Are You Sabotaging Your Results In The Gym?

“Spending time doing bicep curls and tricep extensions without concentrating first getting as strong as hell on compound movements is like try to do algebra without first mastering the basics of arithmetic & multiplication”

I can step into any commercial gym and observe the amount of people who are actually training effectively is a very small minority. 

It takes focus and a bloody persistence to get under a heavy barbell week after week and squat it to a good depth for repetitions. It’s far easier to jump on a leg extension and get a deep burn in your thighs bro.

Doing weighted chin-ups, feeling like your shoulders are going to rip out of their sockets as the extra kettlebell you’ve attached around your waist fights to pull you to the floor is a lot more gruelling than doing some bicep curls. Though the weighted chin-ups much more likely to add size to your arms.

Pulling a heavy barbell off of the floor whist remaining disciplined enough to keep a good back position is far less pleasant than sitting on a machine to do some leg curls.

Doing a Turkish getup where every part of your body is straining to keep in position is going to add much more of a cap on your shoulders than doing some lateral raises with a weight that’s less than the average large handbag. If you are a Jiu Jitsu person this will also carry over much better to your sport.

Life is busy, people work 40-60 hours per week, have family commitments so realistically will only be able to get to the gym on average of 3 times per week for 45-75 minutes per session.

You must ensure that your limited time is well spent if you really want to maximise your results.

To hell with the latest fitness magazines “Grow Huge Arms with This 6-Move Superset Workout”. These publications are shit and are notorious for recycling the same bullshit articles month after month, often contradicting themselves every other print. 

Common Excuses For Avoiding Compound Movements

Excuse 1

“Oh but I don’t know how to do these lifts safely”

Bad Squats

This is a common cop out.

Listen, if you want to learn to drive effectively you’d invest in driving lessons with a good instructor, the same applies to exercise.

It’s not a good given gift that every guy instinctively knows how to lift weights properly, although some would like to think the contrary.

If the gym is something you are going to seriously invest 3-5 hours per week it makes sense to hire a good coach to teach you the proper fundamentals.

Excuse 2

“I don’t have the flexibility or I’m too old to do these lifts”

This granny thinks your excuse is full of shit, click on the picture to go to an article about her..

The beauty of doing exercises with a full range of motion is over time this will actually help you build flexibility in these ranges of motion. Its a loaded stretch!

Its also possible that due to the nature of your desk bound job that you’ll need to invest some extra time daily in a stretching routine to help counteract the 8-12 hours sat slumped over a desk. 15-20 minutes daily can make a world of difference!

I understand that we all potentially have some structural limitations. Height, past history of injuries etc should be taken into consideration when designing an exercise programme.

There are also certainly variations of exercises that can suit a persons proportions better than others. For example a taller lifter with long femurs may get more out of a Front Squat when compared to a Back Squat.

There are few injuries I’ve come across in my 16 years as a trainer that’s stopped someone from being able to perform some version of compound exercises. I’ve worked people with history of back, shoulder and knee problems.

As with above it makes sense if you are concerned what variations are best for you to invest in a coach to help you design the most effective exercise programme for you.

A Credit To CrossFit (yeah, really)

Credit where its due

People know i’m not a big fan of Crossfit. Their kipping antics are embarrassing and use of olympic lifts for multiple repetitions to the point of fatigue and form breaking down is a damn liability. On the plus side it certainly keeps plenty of physios in business though…

However I give prop’s where its due and one of the best Crossfit gym’s in London focuses primarily on getting people very strong first using good form over pure WOD performance and their results in competition are excellent because of this. 

Crossfit in general has helped get the trend back to using big compound movements and this is why many a CrossFit enthusiast will be sporting quite a muscled physique (drugs aside). I also do like the community spirit they have been able to build, having a peer group to help push you do work harder than you would alone can certainly be a valuable tool (provided they encourage you to use good form).

Back To Basics, Back To Big Lifts

When I first started training I bought a copy of The Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger. This was before the big expansion of information the internet, the cringe days of dial up modems.

What this book laid out well for me was the importance of building a foundation using compound exercises. Arnold cautioned about moving to too complex a workout regime before first building this foundation (yes he was a steroid taking adulterer, but he certainly knew a thing or two about building muscle).

This was further reinforced by my own personal training qualifications from WABBA.

Most average people have both limited time and no aspirations of becoming a competitive bodybuilder on stage, thus negating the need to overly specialise their exercise programme. Monday should not be national chest and biceps day.

If you really want to make some progress in the gym drop those puny 5 kilo dumbbells and get ready to lift something heavy. 

A Caveat On Loading

Now when I say heavy it needs to be scaled to your current level of strength. It's not use trying to load the bar with a weight you have no chance in hell of controlling with good form, attempting this is EGO lifting. If you struggle to squat to a good depth with with 60 kg’s then you probably will need to begin at say 40-50 kilo’s and build from there.

If you are unable to do even one single chin-up where you start from a dead hang with your arms fully extended and then pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar (none of this half rep shit where you don’t unbend your arms fully) then your journey to a chin up might need to start with just doing negative repetitions (the lowering phase of the movement).

A Sample Programme

Below I outline a programme that’ll sticks to the principles of basic and big. It should suit most people and gives you the ideas of the principles I’m talking about.

If you work hard by progressively adding weight to the bar I guarantee that you’ll add some muscle and strength by using this.

If you are training to add some size then make sure you are eating enough, you must have a slight surplus of calories in order to give your body the raw materials to grow. Don’t worry about taking some magic weight gainer shake, save your money and just eat more real food.

Videos are linked into the exercise names

Monday - Programme A

A1 Barbell Squat- 4 Sets of 6 to 8 repetitions, 3010 tempo, rest 120 seconds between sets

A2 Medium Supinated Grip Chin Up- 4 Sets of 6 to 8 repetitions, 3011 tempo, rest 120 seconds between sets

B1 Barbell Forward Lunges Alternating 3 sets of 16 to 20 reps total, 2010 tempo, rest 90 seconds between sets

B2 Single Arm Dumbbell Row  3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per arm, 3011 tempo, rest 90 seconds between sets, 15 seconds between arms

C Side Plank on Elbow 2 sets of maximum time per side, 90 seconds rest

Wednesday - Programme B

A1 Barbell Deadlift 4 Sets of 6 to 8 repetitions, 2010 tempo, rest 120 seconds between sets

A2 Close grip Barbell Press 4 Sets of 6 to 8 repetitions, 3010 tempo, rest 120 seconds between sets

B1 Barbell Good Morning 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 3010 tempo, rest 90 seconds between sets

B2 High Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 3010 tempo, rest 90 seconds between sets, 15 seconds between arms

C Bent Knee Hanging Leg Raises 2 sets of maximum repetitions, 90 seconds between sets

Friday - Repeat Programme A

Following Monday- Repeat Programme B

Following Wednesday- Repeat Programme A

Keep rolling the days over between the two programmes.

notes

*The tempo outlines the speed of each exercise. Every exercise has 4 phases to it: the lowering, time between lowering and lifting, lifting and time between lifting and lowering. If we use the example of a Incline press at a 4010 tempo, in this case you lower the bar to your chest for 4 seconds and lift the weight for 1 second. If we look at another example in this case a seated cable row at a 3011 tempo, in this instance you release the cable from your chest towards the machine for 3 seconds, immediately pull the handle back to your chest for 1 second, then finally pause with the handle on your chest for 1 second. What you need to remember with the tempo of each movement is that you should be lowering the weight at a slower speed than you lift it.

*A note on Pairings. A1 - A2 denotes you do these exercise together. Programme A as an example you complete 1 set of the Barbell Squat; rest for 120 seconds; then you complete 1 set of Chin-up. You again rest 120 seconds and start the Barbell Squat again. In this example, as there are 3 sets you complete this rotation 3 times.

Have you considered personal training or online personal training to help optimise your training? Get in touch today to hear what options are available to you.

The Hierarchy Of Fat Loss

Type in how to loose fat into a search engine and you’ll get a flood of articles telling you different 100 different things.

Most go out on massive tangents, either trying to sell you some magical fat loss product focusing on minute things that probably won’t help fat loss at all unless you first have the fundamentals in place.

Here are 3 key fundamentals to stick to-

1, The Energy Balance Equation And Creating A Calorie Deficit

At the most basic level we have the 1st rule of thermodynamics. Energy cannot be created or destroyed so it has to be accounted for.

In order to loose fat you must be expending more energy than you are intaking.

but the insulin’s brah!?!….

A word on Insulin

Now there are people out there who claim that this law doesn’t apply and that its all about keeping your insulin levels low. These same people a lot of the time with also be promoting the idea that the solution to your fat loss woe’s is in a pill or powders to help control your insulin levels. Beware these snake oil salesmen!

Now It is true that when someone does get to a certain level of obesity that they might experience some insulin resistance. Obese people often develop pre diabetic symptoms and eventually type 2 diabetes. Research has shown is that type 2 diabetes can often be reversed by loosing a lot of weight.

For someone who is obese, a lower carbohydrate approach may well be the best initial approach to loosing fat. Swapping out processed heavily calorie ladened foods for more whole-food options is a simple way to quickly cut back on calories. As average chocolate bar contains around 200-250 kcal compared to a piece of fruit that typically is 80-100 kcal.

I do not recommend one type of diet, the best diet is one that you can stick to for a prolonged period of time. Consistency is what really counts.

A common pitfall is underestimating the amount of calories you are consuming. Type 2 diabetes of not, if you put someone in a completely controlled environment and ensure they are in a deficit they absolutely will loose weight.

 Protein needs are increased during a diet in order to help protect lean body mass and increased fibre has been shown to help keep the feeling of hunger at bay. So the age old advise on eating your meat-fish & greens is a good foundation to build upon.

In order to create a calorie deficit you can do this via changes to your diet and also increases in activity to expend more daily calories.

If you want to exercise for the sake of burning calories I’d recommend choosing something steady state with minimal movement complexity. Brisk walking, cycling or a cross-trainer are good options.

The energy cost of pure strength training is largely overestimated and that it also requires an extra level of movement complexity. In my opinion weight training under fatigue whilst trying to keep your heart rate up is a quick recipe for injuring yourself. The cost to risk ration is too great, it’s too easy for form to start breaking down.

This is a nice segue onto the reason it is however important to still strength train whilst loosing weight-

2, Strength Training To Preserve Lean Mass, Not Burn Calories

One of the issues when creating a calorie deficit is that your body doesn’t just discriminate to only burning off body fat. It will also start to break down muscle mass and bone density over time unless you give it a reason not to. Lean body mass is an important factor in how many calories your body burns at rest.

The common quagmire I see repeated dieters get into goes something like this-

The dieter creates a calorie deficit and looses some weight, but because strength training wasn’t incorporated concurrently a proportion of the weight they lost was lean body mass. After a time they resume their eating and steadily put the weight back on but this time with less lean body mass.

This repeats for several cycles and eventually you get a person who has high body fat, very low lean body mass and thus a much lower energy requirement to maintain their weight. They literally can end up being able to put on body fat on the amount of calories that a few years ago would have simply maintained their weight.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Don’t despair, there is a way to counter act this!

This is where the role of strength training comes in. Strength training gives your body a signal to hold onto lean body mass even when in a calorie deficit.

Calorie deficit + Strength training = Greater proportion of fat loss

I’d recommend 3-4 strength training sessions a week when in a calorie deficit to optimise your results For a complete beginner I’d recommend to start with 2 and gradually increase as you become accustomed to it.

3, Better Sleep, Better Fat Loss

Better sleep helps you loose more fat

In a study, 2 groups of people were put on a calorie deficit. One group in addition to this had restricted sleep. Both groups on average lost a similar amount of weight. However, for the participants who got only 5 1/2 hours sleep the amount of fat mass relative to lean body mass was significantly reduced (1.3 pounds of fat and 5.3 pounds of fat-free mass) compared to the group who got 8 1/2 hours sleep (3.1 pounds of fat and 3.3 pounds of fat-free body mass).

In addition to this the sleep restricted group had increased levels of hunger as their Ghrelin levels (‘hunger hormone’) increased.

It is well known that when we are sleep deprived we often get more cravings for foods, most commonly something sweet. This is a potential landmine when it comes to sticking to a diet if you are hungry and craving sweet things all the time.

Wrap Up

Focus on these three key areas first before considering further optimisation of what you are doing, anything else is just a waste of time and money.

Exercise Is Not About Suffering

A certain mentality of suffering is promoted in many gyms these days. Both personal trainers, motivational speakers and certain types of group training environments there is a ‘hardcore’ attitude if you aren’t suffering lots when training or dieting then you aren’t doing it right.

This unfortunately puts off many average people from even trying to start exercising. They see it a a mountain not even worth attempting to scale.

Yes you have to work hard, achieving anything worthwhile in life takes hard work but its its not about machoism for the sake of it and it needs to be scaled appropriately according to the level you are at.

Below I discuss a better approach-

1, Training

Feeling like sh*t afterwards isn’t a measure of a good gym session.

It’s common these days to be bombarded by certain types of gyms and magazines promoting the attitude that working harder when exercising is always better. That you should always be crawling out of the gym after every workout in a sweaty puddle of destruction with nothing left in the tank.

This in my opinion is an idiotic and dangerous attitude.

Not only is approaching exercise like this is a sure fire way to quickly grow a hatred for it but I believe your chance of injury is also a lot higher.

This is especially applicable for beginners who’s fitness levels will be at a low baseline and haven’t yet built a better body awareness.

Sure you definitely need to train hard but you do not need to push every set to failure nor want to throw up after every workout, in fact I strongly discourage this as you’ll quickly plateau.

Steady Progression is the key

Your training needs to be focused on the key principles of getting stronger on primarily compound exercises whilst using good form. When combined with patience and persistence these are the ingredients for progress.

Now there are certainly limitations on how strong you can get otherwise everyone would be working up to a 300KG bench press. In order to truly maximise your strength you will at some point have to specialise your training (powerlifting as an example) but for the average person who goes to the gym this isn’t applicable and they are in most cases far away from their potential.


Like most things in life lifting weights will not always have a linear progression. There will be up’s & down’s and It’s natural to reach plateaus from time to time. This will require you to back off the weight you are using before ramping it back up again. The more advanced a lifter you become, the smaller the progress will be. What’s going on in your life; life stressors, quality of sleep and nutritional intake will also have an impact on your progress.

So there are many strategies to drive progress. Four key ways are:

1. increasing the weight you are lifting

2. performing more reps

3. adding more sets

4. reducing the rest period between sets.

I find its best to choose one of two of these methods per training cycle. Keep it simple.

Rep's & Weight Progression Example-

Flat Bench Press- 4 sets of 6-8 reps, 180 seconds rest

Week 1- 80KG x 8, 80KG x 8, 80KG x 7, 80KG x 6 = 29 reps total @ 80KG = 2,320KG total lifted

Week 2- 80KG x 8, 80KG x 8, 80KG x 8, 80kg x 7 = 31 reps total @ 80KG = 2,480KG total lifted

Week 3- 82.5KG x 7, 82.5KG x 7, 82.5KG x 6, 82.5KG x 6 = 26 reps total @ 82.5KG = 2,145KG total lifted

Week 4- 82.5KG x 8, 82.5KG x 8 82.5KG x 7, 82.5KG x 6 = 29 reps total @ 82.5KG = 2392.5KG total lifted

Squeeze out those small victories a rep and set at a time!

If you really want to get strong you have to look at this as a ‘long game’ and anyone who has increased their strength and transformed their body dramatically will have invested a number of years into the process.

2, Dieting

In a nutshell I feel that dieting shouldn’t be a sprint.

How many times have you already possibly tried crash dieting to then put the weight back on soon after possibly with a bit extra?

Yes creating a large calorie deficit for short periods of time certainly can work for a quick assault on your body fat but for most people this ends up being a yo-yo cycle.

During an aggressive diet you’ll likely be pretty miserable as you’ll be very hungry and possibly in a bad mood.

Whatever your time period is, one of the key important factors is maintaining muscle mass whilst dieting.

When in a calorie deficit you should ensure your protein intake is adequate. This for dieters is generally much higher than the RDA and for most people I set it at 2-3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. The additional benefit of high protein is it helps with the feeling of satiety.

Adding strength training to this mix will further help you fight breaking down muscle and also help you to ‘shape’ your body that will look better at a lower body fat level.

You should aim at no more than 0.5KG weight loss per week and you should aim to do this over the course of at least 12 weeks ideally. If say you have more than 6 kilo’s to loose then you should aim to make this a longer time period to take this into account.

Again just like weight lifting dieting isn’t always a linear progression however you have to trust the process you are following reminding yourself whats most important.

Bodyweight will fluctuate lots depending on you hydration status, sodium intake, bowel content, hormonal cycle (for both men & women) and how much you have slept.

Track your weight without getting obsessed about it and look at the trend over the weeks and the month rather than from day to day. It’s much more likely to look something like this-

Wrap Up

Extremes whether they are with exercise or dieting are rarely sustainable.

Crafting a lifestyle that has good balance of exercise and sensible eating must incorporate patience and persistence.

In addition to this your fitness regime should complement your other interests in life, it should not be the sole focus.

In the pursuit of looking good make sure you aren’t missing out on health and living life!

Three Principles Of Fat Loss

In this article I cover three fundamental principles for creating fat loss- 

1, Regulate Total Calories

In order to loose fat you have to create a calorie deficit. 

So how many calories do you need in order to lose weight? 

I’ve experimented with numerous different formula’s but over time I’ve found the best one is simple your bodyweight in pounds (kilos x 2.2) generally multiplied by either 12-14 as your starting point to establish a baseline. 

Now this is always going to be a best guess and factors such as your individual metabolism and activity levels will have an impact on what multiplier you use. Some people might have to even go down to 10 in order to get them into a deficit if their activity levels are low. 

Select a number and see how things progress. Adjust the number up or down as appropriate to align with you loosing body fat at the right speed. Generally I recommend trainees to aim to lose at most 0.5kg per week. Your total calories over time will also gradually need to be adjusted down as the diet progresses in order to continue to support fat loss. 

Example – Bodyweight 75 KG x 2.2 = 165 lbs x 14 = 2,310 KCAL

This part is absolutely critical, If you have no idea accurately how much you are eating its akin to shooting a shotgun into a dark room and hoping you hit something.

Tracking macros & calories indefinitely isn’t essential for fat loss or maintaining a healthy weight.

However a time period of tracking your food is a useful tool to educate yourself on the nutritional composition of different foods so that you are then able to make better decisions when not tracking. 

Practice this skill, learn to eye ball portions of food and initially measure it to see how accurate you can get. Make it a game. 

Your mindset and how your approach this is important. Remind yourself this is a good thing you are doing for yourself, you will be building a lifelong skill that can help promote better health for the rest of your life.

2, Adequate Protein Intake

You have your calories, now you calculate total protein. This needs to be high enough to support essential body needs and for recovery from training. Protein requirement is increased during a diet and in the absence of adequate dietary intake your body will break down more muscle tissue.

For periods of dieting I like to set it at 2 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight. For advanced athletes who are already low in body fat it may have to be increased even further as the diet progresses. 

Example – 75 kg x 2 = 150 grams of protein daily

Protein has 4 kcal per gram so 150 grams of protein is 600 kcal

Your total calorie and protein intake in my experience are by far the two most important numbers to concentrate on. 

3, Carbohydrates & Fats

So with 2,310 KCAL minus 600 KCAL for the protein the remaining 1,710 KCAL can be divided evenly between fats & carbs.

Carbohydrate 855 kcal / 4 calories = 213.75 (214) grams

Fat 855 kcal / 9 calories = 95 grams

Totals

2310 KCAL

150 g Protein

214 g Carbohydrate

95 g Fat

From there it’s entirely up to you on personal preference how your split this up during the day. In general I guide my trainees to divide this up over 3-4 daily meals. Some people like an even spread of nutrients over each meal, others like to eat a bit lighter in earlier meals to create more ‘allowance’ to have a larger meal in the evening which they maybe are sharing with loved ones.

Example 1 - Even spread over 4 meals 

578 KCAL

38 g Protein

53 g Carbohydrate

23 g Fat

Example 2 - 4 meals but with a larger evening allowance

Meals 1-3

472 KCAL

38 g Protein

35 g Carbohydrate

20 g Fat

Meal 4 

895 KCAL

45 g Protein

100 g Carbohydrate

35 g Fat

My only preference here to help optimise protein synthesis over the whole day is to ensure you get 3-4 servings of 25-50 grams of a high quality protein source.

From personal exerience 4 is the best so that each meal is not too large and you get the body protein synthesis.

The distribution of the other nutrients is much less important in the grand scheme of things. 

Wrap up

Nutrition is literally a magic bullet in regards to regulating your body composition.

Certainly the more active you are overall your overall daily calorie requirements are which will allow you to “get away with more” but overall its very very hard to out train a poor diet.

Now there are certainly additional strategies to help further optimise your diet which I will cover in future articles, however without first creating the strong foundation these are somewhat redundant.

How To Have A Good Workout- 4 Tips

Going to the gym is an time investment in improving your body, make sure you get the best return from your investment. Here are 4 simple tips on optimising your gym sessions-

1, Progressive Overload

If you want to change how your body looks you have to give it a reason to. Adaptions to training are simply a response by your body to being exposed to a ‘stress’ and then adjusting structurally (muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones), neurologically and chemically (energy systems) to better be able to handle this stress the next time.

Over time it’s essential to gradually push forwards to get stronger. If you are lifting the same weights that you did 3 years ago you’ll likely look the same.

On this theme it’s also important to stick to a particular set of exercises for some time in order to give yourself time to improve. Changing your programme too frequently doesn’t allow this to happen.

Generally I’d recommend to stick to a particular programme for at least 6-8 weeks. For more advanced lifters with several years of lifting experience sticking to the same exercises but adjusting the sets, reps & tempo after 2- 4 weeks can be sometimes be a strategy to promote continued progress. 

2, Good form, good form Dammit!

What good is a gym programme if you find yourself injured several times a year? Progress takes time and injuries can set you back weeks and even months. Unfortunately we loose gains we make in the gym faser than we create them.

Exercises have been created in mind to work a muscle through a full range of motion in order to maximise the adaptive response. For the majority of people using a full range of motion is your best strategy for safe & effective training. 

Using a partial range of motion can be useful for certain specific situations such as in Powerlifting & Strongman or if your sport has a particular demand to be strong in a narrow range of motion. Specialisation training to help get through sticking points.

However for most of the gym population its doing nothing more than stoking your ego and possibly increasing your risk of injury.

An additional benefit to using a full range of motion is the exercise is in itself a ‘loaded stretch’ so over time using a full range of motion can help to ‘unstick’ some areas that might otherwise feel tight. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23629583/

3, Emphasise Compound Movements First

Exercises such as the Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges, Chin/Pull-Up’s, Dips, Presses and Rows should be your bread & butter movements you spend the most time on when exercising. These types of exercises active the maximal amount of muscles.

Focusing your energy progressing from shoulder pressing overhead 30KG’s to 50KG’s is going to do much more for your shoulder development then performing 3 sets each of a front raises, side raises and rear deltoid raises with a 4kg’s weight. 

Similarly improving on being able to perform 3 Chin-up’s & Dips to being able to do 9 is going to do way more for your arm development than performing 8 different exercises for your biceps and triceps.

No don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with adding some supplementary direct arm, shoulder or glute work but only after doing the basics compound lifts first.

4, Set A Time Limit

Following on the previous recommendation you should set a time limit to the amount of time you spend on any given training session.

45-60 minutes maximum per session 3-4 x per week is optimal for most people. Whilst gym sessions can be longer some some spots specific purposes, I.E. when training some involving a lot technique like olympic lifting or requiring longer rest periods for maximum strength training & powerlifting this isn’t appropriate for most people.

I recommend to set strict rest intervals between your exercises and use either something like an old digital Casio watch or a dedicated timer so that you avoid the temptation of getting distracted by your phone. I am of the belief that Tinder has done much to ruin peoples gains over the years!

Get in, primarily focus on progressing on the big compound movements first and then leave. It’s a spiral diminishing returns to spend any more time than this.

Ultimately the gym should be a tool to help enhance your experience of life outside of the gym and should not be the sole focus of your spare time.