Fat Loss Lifestyle Blog

 What I have witnessed from selling & servicing over 18,000 personal training sessions in the last 8 years,  is that most people are wasting their time working out.  Now don’t get me wrong; there are many benefits that can come from working out besides losing fat and gaining muscle.  But let’s face it, these are the main two reasons why most people start  an exercise program.  Correct even one of the common mistakes below and you will feel your clothes feeling looser and your muscles feeling tighter in only a couple weeks.  If you correct all three,  you will be able to work out less,  and get more results. 

The 3 most common mistakes I see people make are; 

• #1  Too Much Cardio & Not Enough Resistance Training
• #2 They do too many sets per exercise
• #3 Lifting the weight too fast

Mistake #1

Too Much Cardio & Not Enough Resistance Training

Go to any gym and you will see that 70% of the members are on cardio machines & 30 % (or less) are lifting weights.  This is understandable considering that it is easy to walk or jog on a treadmill but difficult to pick up dumbbells and barbells and exercise correctly.

Many new people are intimidated with lifting weights so they stick to what is easy to do;  cardio. 

You see; when you lose weight doing cardio work only,  if you start out with a pear shape, all you will end up with is a smaller pear shape.

On the other hand when your fitness / fat loss program is well rounded with resistance training, cardio training, and a sound nutrition program you have the ability to sculpt your physique.  You can put size on smaller body parts,  you can take size off bigger body parts. 

Plus, when you build muscle with weight lifting you become stronger, burn more calories 24 hours per day, build bone density;  and give your self a much better chance at aging gracefully. 

A smart resistance training program should have three components;

1. 1/3 bodybuilding type exercises aimed at making the muscles bigger
2. 1/3 balance & stabiity/ core type of exercises
3. 1/3 plyo metric type exercise (explosive jumps) 

Mistake #2

Too many sets per exercise

Most people believe that they need to do 4 or 5 sets of weight lifting per exercise.  This is simply not true.  All that is needed is 2 or 3 sets at most.  One of the main keys to stimulating the body to lose fat and gain muscle through lifting is “Intensity”. 

It is very important that the last 3 repetitions of most sets are very intense.  The last three reps should be ones that you never thought you could get.  These last few intense reps done safely are the only ones that will cause enough of micro tears in the muscle to force the body to repair them back slightly bigger and stronger. 

When you know that you only are going to do two sets, it is easier to gear up and pick up the intensity to a higher level; make work outs short, brief, and intense.  60 minutes is plenty long enough,  as long as you have a specific plan and only rest 1-2 minutes between sets.

Mistake #3 

 Lifting the weight too fast 

Many people think that the more weight they lift and the more repetitions they perform;  the better.  We call it the “how much ya bench” mentality.  When one has this mindset, they just throw the weight around with reckless abandon.  With this mindset a lot of the tension of the weights goes to the bones, ligaments, joints, and tendons.  This is not good and can  lead to an injury.  

Your goal should be to make a light weight feel heavy by moving it slow and controlled.  This way you can have the ability to squeeze the target muscle during the contraction.  Try using a 3-1-3 tempo on your lifts.  That is a 3 second positive, a 1 second isometric squeeze in the contracted position and then a 3 second negative.  You may have to lessen your weights but I promise you that you will elevate your ability to focus on the intended muscle groups.  This could make the biggest difference in your work outs.  Try it, and I promise you your muscles will feel a big difference.  Plus your joints and tendons get less of the tension that is intended for the muscles.  When you work out on your own,  you constantly will have to remind yourself to slow down.  If you count to 3 on the positive and the negative this will help. 

How often should I work each body part?

In general perform two sets of three different exercises per body part.  If you work out with the proper intensity, you only need to exercise each body part once per week.   2-3 one hour  work-outs of resistance training per week is all that is needed to entice your body to gain muscle and lose fat.  Working out longer or more often per week will not get you to your goals faster.   

Remember, your body does not grow while you work out.  You are actually tearing the muscles down during exercise.  Your body grows while you are resting. 

Let me know in the comment section below what you thought of this post.  If I get 5 comments or more I will post on the topic again next week.

To improve your body & energy;  you must focus on the three pillars of a sound fitness routine;

I.                    The Thoughts That You Think

II.                 The Exercise That You Get (resistance & cardio vascular)

III.               The Foods That You Eat

Your Healthy LifeStyle Coach,

Darin L. Steen