Lean, Mean, Fat Burning Machine…

With Summer only around the corner, lots of you will be looking to enhance your body shape so you can look good & feel more confident on the beach!

Even if you don’t want a chiseled six pack, but still want to shift some excess timber and reduce the love handles/ bingo wings then this post will definitely help you out.

Here are 7 Rules For Getting Lean – Get them right and you’ll turn into a ‘Lean, Mean, Fat Burning Machine’ in no time…

#1 Create A Calorie Deficit

I’ve spoken about this before, in fact, if I had a £1 for every time I’ve mentioned this I’d be a gazillionaire! The truth is you will not lose body fat unless you create a net energy deficit. It doesn’t matter if you are eating only healthy foods IF YOU CONSUME TOO MANY CALORIES YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT!

Use the app MyFitness Pal to start tracking your daily calories. Most people will lose weight if they exercise 4x per week for 45-60 minutes and consume between 1,200-2,000 calories per day – if you are unsure of how many calories you should be eating to lose weight then hire a personal trainer.

#2 Assess Progress Every Week 

There are 3 ways I like to asses progress for fat loss:

1. Take weekly pictures of the body (front, back, and side shots)
2. Use body fat caliper readings
3. Jump on the scales 2-3x per week

If you are creating an energy deficit you will visually notice your body fat coming down as well as seeing your body weight drop on the scales.

#3 Hire A Personal Trainer

If you’ve read sooooo many articles on the internet that it’s left your brain frazzled and made you feel uncertain…then it’s time to hire a personal trainer! A good personal trainer will help you start losing weight immediately.

#4 Ensure You Rest & Recover 

In order to lose fat, you have to train hard. If you are constantly in a state of stress e.g. through over exercising, stress at work, stress at home, poor sleep, poor nutrition, etc, etc then your body will not recover properly. If you neglect recovery, fat loss will come to a grinding halt, your body will feel beaten up, and you could potentially injure yourself.

You need to focus on getting at least 7-8hrs of sleep per night, you need to be eating high quality, nutritious foods and factoring in some time to relax and recharge the batteries. Here are some tips to help you get a better nights sleep.

#5 Stay Strong 

I’m not just talking about staying mentally strong (after all losing fat can be challenging!) in fact I’m actually talking about staying strong in the gym. In order for us to have a strong looking physique when we lose fat, we need to have some muscle in the first place

Often when people go into a fat loss phase they will increase their training volume – opting for high reps (15+) and lifting lighter weights. In fact, you should be focusing on the total opposite – less volume (12-16 sets per workout) and you should be focusing on keeping your strength up in the 8-15 rep range.

#6 Do Full Body Workouts 

One of my favourite training splits for fat loss is full body workouts. This is where you train the full body every session. I like to do one day on and one day off e.g. a full body session followed by a rest day, a full body session, followed by a rest day, etc, etc

• Monday – Full body
• Tuesday – REST
• Wednesday – Full body
• Thursday – REST
• Friday – Full body
• Saturday – REST
• Sunday – Full body

I find that full body workouts are very effective at shifting body fat. I’d also recommend sticking to 2-3 sets per muscle group. An example workout could look like this:

• Chest: Flat bench press (2 sets x 8-15 reps)
• Back: Wide grip pull up (2 sets x 12-15 reps)
• Shoulders: Barbell press (2 sets x 8-15 reps)
• Biceps: DB curl (2 sets x 10 reps)
• Triceps: Dips (2 sets x 8-15 reps)
• Quads: Squats (2 sets x 8-15 reps)
• Hamstrings: Lying leg curl (2 sets x 12-15 reps)
• Calfs: Seated calf raise (2 sets x 12-15 reps)
• Abs: Hanging leg raises (2 sets x 15 reps)

#7  Protein 

In order to preserve muscle tissue, so that you not only burn fat but keep a sculpted-looking body shape – you need to ensure you are eating adequate amounts of protein.

The leaner you are the more protein you need. I’d recommend consuming at least 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Foods like chicken, turkey, eggs, mince, steak, cod, salmon and protein shakes are all great sources of protein.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions give me a holla!

Nick