So You Want to Lose Fat? Stop Doing Cardio!

Yes. You read that title right. I told you to “stop doing cardio!” if you want to lose fat. I can hear it now, “What? Nia, you don’t know what you’re talking about. All of the top bodybuilders spend hours a week doing long, slow cardio workouts. And that’s what they say to do in the magazines so it must be right!” Yeah . . . sure.

Look, I’m going to tell you the absolutely quickest, no fail way to lose fat in the least amount of time possible. No, I’m not going to sell you the latest “Square Dance Abs-Line Dance Your Way to Sexy” DVD’s. (Do they have those yet? If not, keep your eye on the Saturday morning infomercials!)

This is for men and women, so pay attention. The quickest way to fat loss is through proper nutrition. That is number one. Don’t let anyone BS you. There is no magic pill that will allow you to eat whatever you want and lose fat. Second is strength training. The third and final component is intervals or bodyweight circuits (Note: I prefer bodyweight circuits).

There you have it. No frills. No fillers. No dance shoes required. And best yet, absolutely no BS!

If you have limited time but want maximum results, I would suggest that you perform 3 total body weight training sessions per week. Oh, and don’t even think about doing sets of 20 or more reps. The goal here is to maintain or even increase lean muscle mass. That means keeping reps predominately in the 5-12 rep range. Doing sets of 20 reps will not “cut” or “tone” your muscles. You cannot change the shape or length of a muscle. You can only make it bigger and/or stronger. If you want to get cut, ripped, or toned, you just need to focus on losing the fat that covers your muscles. Low body fat=muscle definition.

Here’s a sample daily workout. Perform it in a circuit if you can. That simply means that you perform 1 set of each exercise before you repeat the first exercise again.

Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 60 seconds between exercises
1a) Front Squat
1b) Chin-up (use a band or partner for assistance if you can’t perform them on your own)
1c) Incline DB Bench Press

After you perform 4 sets for each exercise, you can then do bodyweight circuits to increase your fat burning. Once again, perform in a circuit.

Sets: 3-5
Rest: 1-2 minutes after you complete the entire circuit
Jumping Jacks x30-50
Squats x20
Pushups x20
Reverse Lunges x10 each leg
Plank x30-45 seconds
Squat Thrusts x15

This is a great example of a fat burning workout. As I said, perform 3 total body strength training workouts a week on non-consecutive days. Here are some great set and rep guidelines (Day 1: 4 sets of 8, Day 2: 6 sets of 5, Day 3: 4 sets of 12). Finish off with intervals on the bike or bodyweight circuits.

If you truly wish to engage in more physical activity and increase your fat loss, I would suggest taking brisk walks that are about 20-35 minutes in duration, preferable outside. Take the walks on your off days. This program will get you more results than the vast majority of the workouts you find in “Muscle and Fiction”. Give it a try!