But I HATE Exercise!
I know what it’s like to hate exercise and also want to lose weight and see results at the same time! Nightmare.
Ever been to a HIIT class, a bootcamp or a weightlifting workshop and thought, “this is absolute misery” and never returned again?
Me too! We’ve all been there, but don’t take this as a sign exercise is not for you,
There’s a secret they’re not telling you…
You probably don’t hate exercise, you probably just hate that type.
If you’ve not found what works for you yet, don’t panic, keep searching.
The best type of exercise will differ greatly from person to person, but they will all have one core detail in common – it’s the one you actually stick to!
The most important thing to remember is exercise should be FUN!
Unless your goal is to be the next Ultimate Fighting Champion or to win The Universe Championships, both of which require you to build a very specific physique, any exercise is good exercise!
Exercise is a celebration of what your mind and body can achieve. It helps your heart get stronger, build muscle and burn calories. Instead of “earning” your meals, you’ll start to reward your efforts by fuelling your body with the right food choices to help you recover quicker and perform better next time.
You may have been to an intense circuit class, hated every second of it and felt like passing out by the end only to look around the room at everyone else smiling and cheering, proclaiming their undying love for pushing themselves so hard they might actually die from this. That’s ok, that class style is just not for you, (or me to be honest!) but that doesn’t mean you should write it off completely, just try another style!
Some people love training on their own, so a group class environment is not going to bring out the best in them, however others need the support from the people around them to keep going.
Avid runners look at me like I’m crazy when I say I’m not massively fond of the discipline myself. Being in shape does not necessarily mean I do “formal cardio”; there are so many other ways of raising your heart rate!
If you enjoy the style of boot camps and met-cons, good job! Keep going, you’re killing it! These are awesome ways of keeping active. But if you don’t… then don’t do it, ever, seriously like never ever.
If you persevere, you’ll find the style that suits you the best; you don’t have to prove anything to anyone else but yourself. Let’s face it, you get into shape for you; no one can help you do it, there’s no cheat codes or quick fixes. Don’t get disheartened, make a change.
If you don’t like running, that’s ok, it doesn’t mean you’ll always be overweight
If you don’t like group classes, that’s ok, it doesn’t mean you’ll never improve your cardio
If you don’t like lifting weights, that’s ok, it doesn’t mean you’ll never be strong
If you don’t like exercise, that’s ok, it doesn’t make you a bad person!
When it comes to exercise, do the things that you actually enjoy!
If you’re new to fitness, lose all those preconceived ideas about how you think you’re supposed to train. There’s no perfect way, there’s no one exercise type to rule them all, the only way you can go wrong is force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy because you think you should.
If you’ve already started your fitness journey, are you forcing yourself to train in a certain way because you think it’s “good for you” and now you have to keep doing it otherwise you think you’ll be labelled as a quitter?! If this is to reach a particular target, good for you, keep going! But if not, STOP IT NOW! Change it up for something that actually brings you joy and adds some fun to your training.
The Ultimate Guide To Restarting… Again!
The Ultimate Guide To Restarting… Again!
This might be the first time you’re restarting or the 50th, either way we’ve got your back!
So you may have fallen off the wagon, again, already.
Welcome to the club!
Statistically speaking, MOST people have already abandoned their New Year resolutions – I did warn you about setting these!
But nevermind that now, where do we go from here?
First of all, I want you to FORGIVE YOURSELF!
Do you have a little voice in your head laughing at you, telling you you’ve failed, you’re a loser?
Would you ever say these things out loud to another person?
No?
Then why are you saying them to yourself?!
Nobody deserves that abuse and that includes you!
So forgive yourself right now and we can move on.
What went wrong?
Absolutely nothing. You basically conducted an experiment that didn’t yield the results you were expecting. This is neither a good nor bad thing, it just is!
So let’s dig deeper – what did you try to do?
- Do a 60 minute workout every day
- Run 5km every morning at 5am
- Strictly stick to my macros and calorie targets
Is this really a list of things that suit your current lifestyle?
I didn’t think so.
The 2 most common factors for falling off the wagon are –
- Your goals were too vague – they lacked a deadline!
- You tried to change too many things at once – keep it simple!
In our heads we often like to think of exercising as a light switch, it’s either on or off. We either do it or we don’t.
Well out here in the real world, we like to think of it as a dimmer switch. Instead of turning it off completely, just turn it down a notch or two till we’re at a more comfortable and realistic commitment level.
You tried to change everything everywhere all at once. I get it, you’re ambitious, I love it! Keep that enthusiasm going! But how about now we just try and change one thing?
Did you actually enjoy what you were trying to achieve?
Going for a run everyday when you HATE running doesn’t sound the most sensible idea. If you want to increase your CV load you can always mix it into your regular training routine – just like hiding broccoli in your mash potato!
Did you add too much in to start with?
How about a substitution rather than addition – adding exercises in can make your sessions longer. If you’re already stretched for time this is never going to end well. You can swap your chips for a salad or side of veggies once a week or swap those fizzy drinks for sparkling water. Substitutions help keep things varied and exciting!
Is the bar set too high?
You might have started off the year with loads of free time but now life has returned to normal and the workload is piling up again, you might find yourself with less time to get a workout in than you first thought. This is absolutely ok! Life changes, priorities change. So you can’t get to the gym for an hour, ok, how about 40 minutes? I don’t have time for 5 sets of everything, ok, how about 3 sets?
When we’re trying to build a routine, exercise isn’t actually the important part, we need our plan to fit our lifestyle. At this point, it doesn’t matter if it’s 60 minutes in the gym or 6 push ups on the kitchen floor!
Lower the bar, be kind to yourself, get the little “wins”!
There’s absolutely no shame in what other people would call “failing”. We see it as practice.
And what does practice make?
Change one variable, and run the experiment again.
If it didn’t yield the right results, adjust your parameters!
The most important thing here is to track what you are changing and what results it provides. Once you can see which changes create the best results you’ll have a recipe for success!
So you’ve decided you want to get fit?
Great!
But now what…
You’ve been collecting information for weeks and reading a lot about the best ways to start working out and now you are completely overwhelmed with all the information.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry we understand. It can be extremely frustrating.
But not to worry, we know the top 3 three ways to get things going:
The first three things we focus on when starting out are –
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Mindset
Before you jump straight in, let’s look at building the foundations first.
- Exercise
Starting to exercise more is often not a bad start! But what should we start with?
Taking your first step is literally that! Take a step, then another, and another and oh look at that we’re off for a walk.
Never underestimate the power of walking!
It starts off as just 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then a friend comes along and it’s 40 minutes with a stop off to get coffee and a good catch up. Before you know it you’ll have a group of friends or you’ll have joined a walking group and you’ll be on your feet for miles enjoying the great outdoors and all the while improving your lung capacity and heart health.
Now wasn’t that easy!
The time we spend out on a walk can help us see the value in spending quality time working out. Our 10 minute Hiit home workout turns into a 30 minute class at the gym. This then leads to us spending 60 minutes completing a full workout specifically designed to our needs and goals!
- Nutrition
You’ll have read thousands of articles online about “the best diet” – this might be Keto, Paleo, Vegan or even the Mediterranean Diet.
But once you start researching them, you’ll come across so many conflicting ideas and claims you’re more confused than you were to begin with!
So let’s keep things simple. Instead of thinking diet = eat and drink less, how about trying to think diet = eat and drink MORE!
- Eat more veggies
- Drink more water
If we start to add to our diet rather than subtracting we accomplish multiple things –
- We start to create a more positive association with nutrition
- It’s a huge mental relief from the constant restrictive talk we’re so used to hearing
- By making a conscious effort to add healthier things to our meals, we by default start to replace the less healthy things.
Think this seems too easy?
GOOD!
We don’t want to make things too difficult for ourselves or we won’t be able to stay consistent.
- Mindset
This is a huge component that is often overlooked.
You can workout regularly and eat the most balanced diet but you won’t be maximizing your potential if you’re stressed out and sleep deprived!
So let’s look at stress management.
- Improve you sleep
- Track your goals
- Remember to breathe
A good night’s sleep can make everything so much easier; consistently having poor sleep can make everything so much harder.
Two simple things to think about when trying to improve your sleep quality –
- Avoid screen time within 30 minutes of bed. Turn off your tele, shut down your computer, put down your phone!
- Regular sleep and wake times, even (especially) on weekends. Keep your circadian rhythm consistent.
Tracking your goals or writing down your thoughts can help you reflect on the day. Getting your thoughts down on paper, or writing a blog, can help you to get things out of your head and process them more effectively. Our brains are for creating ideas, not storing them!
Tracking your goals can often help you see your progress. Strength training doesn’t often have obvious visual changes but watching those numbers go up on the page can really help boost your motivation. If you’re trying to gain or lose weight, you might not notice the changes day to day but keeping a record of your measurements, or even better, a weekly/monthly photo of yourself, can help you see if you’re on track and heading in the right direction.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. This quick pause may seem too simple but trust me, a few slow and deep breaths can help you relax and refresh. We’re not trying to clear our minds, but more create a flowing river through them; thoughts can gently wash in and drift away just as easily.
If you’ve had a hectic day, take 5 minutes before your workout to just stop and take a breath. During your warm up let your mind drift and try not to linger on one thought for too long.
By doing this, you’ll be able to focus better on the workout in front of you and get more out of your training.
This isn’t revolutionary stuff! It sounds so simple. Well, it is.
The hardest part about this is being CONSISTENT.
“I have no idea what I’m doing”
Hands up anyone who’s ever said this.
Yep, thought so, me too!
This is exactly how most people feel when they enter a gym for the first time.
January is the most common time for people to start a new gym membership. They’re excited, it’s shiny and new, this is going to be their year… and in the blink of an eye it’s over.
The excitement wears off quickly, the equipment becomes dull and boring, the room becomes an overwhelming void of confusion and despair!
February therefore is unfortunately the most common time of year for people to quit the gym!
Sound familiar?
DO NOT FEAR! We’re here to help!
The big difference between our personal training studio and those big box gyms on the high street is we understand.
We know how hard it can be to keep motivated when those rose tinted glasses slip down your sweaty nose during your first class. We understand how easy it is to say f*ck this, I’m out.
We love nothing more than being able to help those who need guidance, those who feel lost, intimidated and confused by all the big equipment and machines.
We keep things simple, we work with you, we WANT you to succeed!
Trust me. I personally had a similar experience. I’ve been in your shoes, I understand!
I struggled with self-confidence, I didn’t love how I looked or felt and I often assumed that everybody around me was judging me the whole time. I felt like I was subjecting myself to torture!
I thought maybe I need to somehow get in shape BEFORE I join the gym so I don’t look ridiculous.
Well you know what was ridiculous? That thought! You go to the gym TO get in shape!
I had no clue what I was doing and couldn’t tell a dumbbell from a deadlift. I was scared and alone. But joining rb5 set me on a path that changed everything – I’m now dedicating my life to helping people NOT get intimidated when beginning their fitness journey.
I formed completely new healthy habits, I found consistency and accepted accountability.
Now here I am telling YOU how this story could be yours!
You can do this!
We all have to start somewhere; let us help you make your ‘one day’ into your ‘day one’!
Hands up anyone who’s ever said this.
Yep, thought so, me too!
This is exactly how most people feel when they enter a gym for the first time.
January is the most common time for people to start a new gym membership. They’re excited, it’s shiny and new, this is going to be their year… and in the blink of an eye it’s over.
The excitement wears off quickly, the equipment becomes dull and boring, the room becomes an overwhelming void of confusion and despair!
February therefore is unfortunately the most common time of year for people to quit the gym!
Sound familiar?
DO NOT FEAR! We’re here to help!
The big difference between our personal training studio and those big box gyms on the high street is we understand.
We know how hard it can be to keep motivated when those rose tinted glasses slip down your sweaty nose during your first class. We understand how easy it is to say f*ck this, I’m out.
We love nothing more than being able to help those who need guidance, those who feel lost, intimidated and confused by all the big equipment and machines.
We keep things simple, we work with you, we WANT you to succeed!
Trust me. I personally had a similar experience. I’ve been in your shoes, I understand!
I struggled with self-confidence, I didn’t love how I looked or felt and I often assumed that everybody around me was judging me the whole time. I felt like I was subjecting myself to torture!
I thought maybe I need to somehow get in shape BEFORE I join the gym so I don’t look ridiculous.
Well you know what was ridiculous? That thought! You go to the gym TO get in shape!
I had no clue what I was doing and couldn’t tell a dumbbell from a deadlift. I was scared and alone. But joining rb5 set me on a path that changed everything – I’m now dedicating my life to helping people NOT get intimidated when beginning their fitness journey.
I formed completely new healthy habits, I found consistency and accepted accountability.
Now here I am telling YOU how this story could be yours!
You can do this!
We all have to start somewhere; let us help you make your ‘one day’ into your ‘day one’!
I challenge you to not set New Year’s resolutions!
Here’s why…
They’re often big, bold claims that we convince ourselves we’re finally going to achieve this year. We made the same claims last year, and the year before that, and come to think of it, the year before that too! We’ve been saying the same thing every January since the dawn of time, it’s time to stop.
Let’s discuss the 3 most common resolutions –
- I’m going to get fitter
- I’m going to eat better
- I’m going to get my shit together
What’s the one thing these 3 are all missing?
A Deadline.
There’s no timeframe set to “getting fitter” and to be honest, what does “fit” actually mean?!
The definition will differ for everyone and we each have our own perceived basic standard of fitness.
Again, “eat better”… better than what? who?!
If you set yourself challenges like these, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
So how do I set a goal I hear you ask!
Simple, you have a target and a deadline.
For example, I would like to get my own training back into a regular routine.
Is my goal to train more? No!
My goal is to train on average 3 times a week and a minimum of 12 total sessions in January.
I have a target and a deadline. 12 sessions, 1 month.
This allows me to work it around my lifestyle, some weeks I might only get 2 sessions in but I’ll be able to plan ahead and arrange to get 4 in the following week, thus still allowing me to hit my target by the end of the month.
By setting a goal like this, I have set myself up to form a good habit; forming consistency (but not conformity) with my training. A flexible plan means that one bad day or even week, does not diminish all the hard work you’ve put in already and does not knock you off track.
The idea behind this is that I will continue to train 3 times a week throughout February without even realising or trying too hard to achieve this. I have already built this training pattern into my lifestyle and created a new good habit!
Setting short term goals like this will help set you up for success for your long term goals.
You can apply this logic to any goal you like. Want to reduce the amount of meat you eat? Start by swapping out just one meal a week and build it up to your desired level over a predefined period of time. Want to get your shit together? Start by changing just one thing. That might be as simple as having a wash everyday for a week. Wash the pots 10 times in a 2 week window. Spend an hour over a week reading a book for a month. Baby steps, little wins; it’s not “all or nothing” but more like “little and often”.
So remember, don’t set ridiculous New Year’s resolutions; instead, set yourself up for success!
Why is shoulder press so hard?
Without specific examination in the movement of the individual person, it is almost impossible to diagnose why someone may be feeling pain in their back when shoulder pressing. Despite this, there are a few common culprits. The first one being overarching the lower back. When we over arch our back when Shoulder Pressing it puts a huge amount of pressure onto that spine in an unstable position. This could be down to having a weak core or the weight is simply too heavy. Strengthening the core through various core movements such as planks, lying leg raisers, hanging leg raisers etc will help improve this.
How to shoulder press
When we shoulder press the line of movement from what ever we are lifting should always end up directly over our head with our spine straight/ neutral. A correct brace is a lifting cue often overlooked or performed wrong. When bracing currently you can create a huge amount of intro-abdominal pressure. This pressure although sounds bad and terrifying is actually what provides stability to our spine when lifting. It is safer for your spine and it also helps you to lift heavier.
How to brace for performing a shoulder press
So how do we brace? A teaching technique I like to use is by imagining I have a standard trouser belt around my waist which doesn’t quite fit, about 1-2cm too wide. Before I lift an object I take a deep breath in and with that breath, try to push my stomach out into the belt (filling the belt). Hold this brace until the movement is completed, in this case the weight is now directly over your head.
What if I’m still experiencing pain after good bracing and a strong core?
So, if you have a strong core and you are good at bracing but still get lower back pain when shoulder pressing, I think it’s time to look at your shoulder mobility. Mobility is essentially how well we can move through our joints. If we have poor/ limited shoulder mobility, chances are you will over arch your lower back to complete a lift.
How to see if you have good shoulder mobility
Follow this test in the picture bellow to see if you have good mobility.
What we are looking for in this test is to see how far back you can bring your arms past your head without arching your back or having your chest rise to the ceiling. Good mobility would look like the one on the far-right hand-side.
If you prove to have insufficient movement in the shoulder, I would first try foam rolling and stretching the Lat and chest muscles and then retry the test. Strengthening all your rotator cuff muscles through a series of internal and external shoulder movements will also help stabilise that shoulder joint when shoulder pressing.
For years being able to do a Push Up has been portrayed as a good feat of strength. But why can so many of us not do one? In this blog we will delve into how we perform a Push Up and what is needed in order to complete one full push up.
What muscles are used in a Push Up?
A Push Up works a whole variety of muscles but the main ones being: Chest, Shoulders and triceps. It will also take some core strength as well. So, in order to be able to perform a Push Up we must have adequate strength in these main areas.
How to perform the perfect Push Up`
In order for you to see if you can do a Push up follow this list.
- Firstly, start on your knees
- Place your hands on the floor with straight arms in front just outside shoulder width, as you would if you were about to fall forward
- From there, bring your feet to the floor and lift your knees off the ground. Make sure there is a STRAIGHT LINE from the ankles, to the knees, to the hip, to the shoulders and from there to your head. Your wrists should also be directly under your shoulders at this point.
- You are now in a full plank position (in this position squeeze your abs nice and tight and hold as if you were to take a punch in the stomach form Mike Tyson)
- From here take a deep breath in and try to lower your whole body to the ground and then back up again while exhaling. Try tucking the elbows in towards your sides slightly. Make sure to retain that straight rigid body throughout the movement
What if I’m struggling to do the perfect Push Up?
To make this exercise easier, simply bring your knees to the ground and try again. Or if you still struggle, try putting your hands on a raised surface. Both these two ways are a simple regression from a normal push up, so practicing these will help overall. Now instead of practising easier modifications of a push up over and over again, there are other elements of exercises that will also help you to achieve that goal.
What other exercises can help me do a Push Up?
What other areas should we focus on? Scapular retraction… or put simply, squeezing your shoulders blades together. An easy way to help me perform this is by imagining someone has placed a tennis ball directly in the centre between both my shoulder blades and from there I need to squish that ball by only using my shoulder blades.
Try this by standing up and having your arms out straight in front of you like you would for an actually Push Up. From here imagine the tennis ball and squeeze. That is Scapular Retraction.
Now go back into that full plank position we did earlier and squeeze those shoulder blades back and forth but when you separate the shoulders blades try doing so as far as you can.
Your upper back may arch slightly (this is fine, as long as it’s only the top of your back). Perform this for 10 repetitions 4x sets and not only will this help better stabilise those muscles on your back, but it will also strengthen the triceps. We will call this exercise Full Plank Scap Retractions.
In addition, most weighted chest exercise such as, Barbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Chest Press etc will help with a push up as these will strengthen those main muscles needed.
Here is a small Push Up program anyone can use in order to help improve. If you are already at the point of being able to perform a couple of press ups, simply change the first exercise to normal Push Ups and perform as many as you can,
| PUSH UP PROGRAM | SSETS | REPS | WEIGHT | TEMPO
Speed in which to perform exercise |
| INCLINE PUSH UP | 4 | 5 | BW | 2:1 |
| FULL PLANK /SCAP RETRACTIONS | 4 | 10 | BW | 2:3 SQUEEZE SHOULDERS FOR 2 and keep pushed apart for 3 |
| DUMBBELL CHEST PRESS
RING ROWS |
3 | 10
10 |
Choose a weight that you will fail at 10reps | 2:1
3:1 |
| FULL PLANK HOLD
(seperate shoulder blades as much as you can on hold) |
2 | Max Hold
Don’t allow your hips to dip or raise |
BW | NA |
Now remember building strength doesn’t happen overnight so be patient and keep consistent and you will eventually get there!
Pull ups are by far one of the hardest exercises. You are lifting your whole bodyweight and not only that, you need a lot of muscles to work together effectively, otherwise the movement will become even harder. In this Blog we will look at how to do a Pull Up, as well as some accessory exercises that will help you achieve one.
What muscles are used during a pull up?
So, what are the prime muscle movers during a Pull Up? The muscles used most heavily in a Pull Up are the lats, bicep, core and mid-lower traps. So ultimately, if we can strengthen these areas then a Pull Up will be a lot easier.
Improving grip strength will also be beneficial. When doing a Pull Up the grip width we decide to use is going to be crucial. For example, the wider the grip, the harder the movement. So, for your first pull up we recommend using a neutral grip.
During this blog you will see that it is broken down into two main sections. This is an exercise difficulty level. I would recommend everyone to start at Section One, however if you are currently able to perform 1-3 Pull Ups and wish to be able to do more, then starting at step two may be more beneficial for you.
Section one – Exercise to strengthen your prime movers
In this next part of the blog we will talk about the best exercises that will help strengthen those prime movers.
Inverted Row
The first exercise we will do to help improve Pull Up strength will be an inverted row. This exercise will help strengthen all those areas we mentioned previously. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to do an inverted row.
- Start by hanging from a bar shoulder width apart with your legs extended straight out in front
- Pull your chest towards the bar by squeezing your back and shoulder blades together.
- Hold at the top for 1 second and slowly lower down
Tip 1 – Focus on squeezing your shoulders back and down on this movement.
Tip 2 – To simply make this exercise harder, lower the bar or have your feet on a raised surface so that your body becomes more horizontal.
Kneeling Cable Pull Down
The next exercise variation we want to do in order to improve our pull up is a Kneeling Cable Pull Down. The reason a Kneeling version is superior to the traditional seated pull down is because the kneeling engages the core to a higher level and like we mentioned earlier, core strength is a limiting factor on why so many people can’t do a pull up.
- Start kneeling just in front of the cable with your hips stacked directly over your knees
- Pull the cable attachment (recommend a neutral/close grip) vertically down till it reaches your chest
- Hold at the bottom for 1 second and release slowly back up
Tip – When the arms are extended out above, try to initiate the movement by pulling your shoulders down towards your trouser pockets.
Grip Strength
The last exercise in this section is going to improve Grip Strength. Try holding a Dumbbell or Kettlebell etc as heavy as you can for 30-40secs. Perform this three times.
Our recommended structure to help you train to do a proper pull up:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Inverted Row | 3 | 8-10 |
| Kneeling Cable Pull Down | 3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Grip | 3 | 30-40secs |
Section 2 – How to utilise your bodyweight in order to train you to do a pull up
The next three exercises we will perform will utilise the most strength in order to help you train to do a pull up. These will help you to get stronger as you use your bodyweight.
Banded Pull Up
The first exercise will be a banded pull up. This exercise is the closest replica to a traditional pull up. This will also give you a good confidence boost.
- Tie a band around the top of your pull up bar
- From there, place your foot into the band
- Grab the bar in a neutral grip and allow the band to take your weight
- Pull yourself up from the bottom all the way until your chin comes over the bar
Remember with Banded Pull Ups to change the resistance of the band every so often in order for the exercise to keep challenging you.
Scapular Pull Up
The second exercise to help strengthen your pull up will be a Scapular Pull Up. These are a great exercise to help strengthen the lower traps as they help move and stabilise the Scapular. This exercise will also help grip strength.
- Hang on a bar (neutral grip)
- Let shoulders relax down into a dead hang
- Try to pull body up by pulling the shoulders down without bending the elbows
- Hold at the top for a second and then come back down slowly
This exercise has a very short range of motion so don’t be alarmed if you feel like you aren’t doing much! This exercise replicates the first portion of the Pull Up known as Scapular Depression (bringing the shoulder blades down).
Negative Pull Up
And the last exercise to help strengthen will be a Negative Pull Up. Negative Pull Ups are a great way at getting you stronger holding your own body weight.
- Start at the top of a pull up position (you can jump up or use a box to achieve this)
- From there slowly lower yourself all the way down into the bottom position/hang
- Bring yourself back up to the top position by means of jumping or using a box again and repeat
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Banded Pull Ups | 4 | 8 |
| Scapular Pull Ups | 3 | 10 |
| Negative Pull Ups | 3 | 5 |
With both of these workout programs you don’t need to perform every exercise each session. What I would recommend is alternating each session between picking 1-2 of the exercises and performing those in order to help you train to do a pull up.
Are you wondering how to kick start weight loss? When broken down, weight loss is simple but often over complicated. The fundamental law to remember is the following:
You must burn more calories than you consume (eat).
What Are Calories?
Calories are units of energy that we get from the foods and drink that we consume. When you burn more calories than you consume, this brings you into what’s called a calorie deficit.
The calories that we burn through each day are built up of 3 separate components:
- Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) – When your body is at rest, REE are the calories that you burn when you are at rest. This energy is used to keep you alive, performing functions such as breathing and blood circulation.
- Thermic Effect of Food – This is the calories that your body uses when it carries out the process of digesting and absorbing, as well las metabolising food
- Activity energy expenditure – This is the calories that you burn during exercise, and movement – Even just fidgeting can cause you to burn calories!
What Is A Calorie Deficit?
If you are providing your body with fewer calories than it needs for the above 3 components, then that means you are putting your body into a calorie deficit. Doing this consistently can cause you to begin weight loss.
The bigger the calorie deficit the quicker the weight loss. It is recommended you calculate the calories you need to lose weight. From there, tracking your calories is the easiest way to truly know how much food is going into your body. There are many apps
Once you’ve found how many calories you need to lose weight the rest is simple. DON’T EAT MORE!
Calculating your calories
The calories that our body needs differs from person to person and can be affected by a wide range of environmental and physical factors.
It is wise to figure out how much maintenance calories you need for your body to support its energy expenditure. We would recommend using a calculator that takes into account your weight, sex, age height and the levels of physical activity that you undertake.
To ensure a healthy weight loss and adequate nutrient intake, women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day whilst men should not consume fewer than 1500.
How Can I Burn More Calories to kick start weight loss?
Now there are a few simple things we can do throughout the day to help speed up the process of weight loss i.e. burning more calories. One often simple but overlooked thing is what we call ‘NEAT’ (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis). NEAT is all the non-voluntary sports like exercise we do each and every day from: walking to the car, making hand gestures when we talk, vacuuming the house, gardening and even fidgeting.
To your surprise the average person will typically burn more calories through Daily NEAT than they will in their actual gym workout. So how can we push the boundaries even more and burn those extra calories through NEAT? Here are a few of easy ways we can do so:
- Walk or cycle to work
- Use stairs not lifts
- Standing more frequently whether it’s at work or in general.
- 10,000 steps a day
Anything you do that gets you moving around more will help increase your daily energy expenditure or put simply, burn more calories through NEAT.
Many people wanting to go to the gym sometimes have this notion that they are working out because they just want to get rid of fat in one part or a specific area of the body.
But guess what? It is one huge myth that gets thrown around so people will actually buy into what they are selling.
Doing all those crunches using some contraption you’ve just seen on television will not burn the fats on your belly. Ultimately, it also will not give you a six-pack by doing a hundred crunches when your abs are hiding under the fat.
The human body works in mysterious ways. It needs you to follow a certain regime for it to come up with the results that you wanted.
In reality, those workouts you do is for burning fats in your entire body. You become healthier and fitter; and you can then target which muscle groups to develop.
But fat-burning? That’s a little more complicated.
How do you burn body fat?
Here is what works for fat burn: regular exercise and good nutrition.
Targeting muscle growth can help improve the muscles’ definition and you could break it down into specific areas: chest, arms, legs, abs or back.
But going back to fat burning, why don’t we try workouts that are geared towards a holistic fat burn or that will blast the calories, burn fat all over your body, and get the body ready for muscle toning?
Cardiovascular exercises like running are great ways to burn fats, but it is proven that cardio workouts — partnered with resistance or weight training —are way better means as it burns fats faster.
What are these fat-burning exercises?
- Burpees. These are known to be a full-body exercise. It involves a lot of movements and targets a lot of muscles. In doing the burpees, you need to do it fast and the most number of repetitions in order to get the fat torching level.
To do burpees, you start with a plank, push-up, squat and jump. String them together and repeat those movements to torch those fats.
- Jumping Rope. What? That game little girls play? Yes! let’s up it a hundred repetitions and it will be one of the best fat blasters of any grown person.
A jump rope may look like the most basic ‘equipment’ in the gym, but it is one of the best things that could get you to burn fats.
To do jump ropes, you need to hold the rope on each end with your arms locked on your sides. Spin the rope using your wrists and jump as the rope hits your feet and as the rope swings back for another rotation. Once you have gotten the rhythm, do it faster so your heart rate shoots up for a better calorie and fat burn.
Jump ropes are also used as one of the exercises of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
HIIT is a cardiovascular exercise and is a set of short but intense burst of physical activities for a few seconds followed by a short interval of very quick rests followed right away by the next exercise in the series. It is known to build up muscles.
- Goblet Squats.
It is a form of squat where you hold in front of your body the weights like kettlebell or dumbbells, usually as heavy as about half of your total body weight. This helps keep your upper body upright and in proper form. A thigh exercise, it also works the shoulders. This exercise usually done in high-rep exercises. Do this 10 reps per minute for 10 minutes.
- Kettlebell Swing.
This exercise is known to be a great cardiovascular exercise plus resistance training and should be able to torch those fats. Kettlebell swings, especially the alternating ones, is a good exercise since the motion of passing the kettlebell from hand to hand while swinging is a good cardio workout. On top of that, it works not just your arms, obviously, but also your core as you strengthen it when you try and control the movement and the swing.
To take advantage of its full potential, you can do swings for 30 seconds with 15 second rest in between and do it for about 20 minutes.
- Farmers’ Walk
They say walking is the simplest way to get your heart rate up. It is something one does forever. Just imagine adding weights to this simple activity and you can already imagine those fats melting.
Walking provides a lot of health benefits without subjecting your body to high-impact injuries.
To do this, hold dumbbells in both hands and walk for a minute. That is one set. Rest for 30 seconds and do another set and you repeat this 10 times. You can play around a farmers’ walk as you can hold your weights overhead, chest level or hip level.
- Battle Rope Wave
One exercise that can rip through those fats are the rope exercises. It offers a low impact on the lower body but will burn through your back chest and core will have a good workout.
There are many variations to the rope exercises:
Power slams, which offer a total plyo-metric burn as it tires out your muscles fast. You slam those heavy ropes while jumping for added burn.
There are also other slam options like the single arm slams, where you alternate your arms from slamming the rope to the floor. Do this with control and alternate both arms in quick motion.
You can also do the regular slams, where you simply squat and with your back straight and with control, slam those ropes to the ground without flailing your body around.
Rope waves are the most basic but still offers maximum burn. You squat, back straight and raise the ropes up and down and see it make the wave motion. You may also do this alternately, one arm at a time
Weighted Jacks. Stand feet together holding the ropes on both hands with an underhand grip. Jump to wide legs hand with the rope ends stretched overhead. It is jumping jacks with the added weight of the heavy ropes. Now that’s cardio and strength training in one!
These are just some of the exercises that you can do so you can lose fat. You can’t simply say you want to lose fat in your arm. It does not work that way. Losing fat means burning fat and calories through an intense strength and cardio exercises and, more importantly, proper nutrition.
Once your muscles have been exposed after hiding from all those fats, then you can start targeting sculpting your muscles. This does not happen in one session. All these are a result of consistent hard work and it may take months of even years, but consistency and hard work will get you the results you want in no time
