There exists a school of thought that suggests training for fat-loss should simply mirror how we train to gain muscle mass and body weight. This is of course wholly incorrect. Whilst the basics still remain: consistency, application, commitment and intensity, notable other aspects should be altered if the regime is going to be ultimately as successful as it should be.

When concentrating on becoming stronger, heavier and bigger we set our sights on weight lifted and calories ingested. The same is partially true when attempting to get into the shape of your life for whatever reason. Calories eaten are extremely important, but the emphasis in my experience when in the weights room, should be tilted more in the favour of “amount of work/weight done/lifted in a specific time period”.

In basic terms, when you’re looking to lose body fat the aim should be to maintain muscle, whilst losing fat. Whilst many athletes chase the holy grail and believe they can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, I prefer to stay within the realms of reality. As a champion natural body builder, I aim to keep what I’ve built and strip the fat to show it. This involves switching my training from winter to summer. During winter months my intake of calories goes up, my weights rise slightly and my rest between sets increases. I’m simply looking to get stronger and bigger. During summer months, chance are I’m competing and this is where the intelligent work begins and in essence, where the fun really starts. Who wants to train with weights and never show their physique in all it’s glory with low body fat?

Here’s an example of a training programme I used in the past to achieve my best-ever condition.

Notes: the “Rest” column indicates how long to rest between each set. Rest between exercises (after completion of the final set and beginning the first set of a new exercise) should be kept to a maximum of 90 seconds.

Monday-Day 1- Chest, delts and tri-ceps.

Exercise                                                         sets    reps                rest
A-Flat dumbbell press                                3          6-8                  120 seconds
B-Incline barbell press                               3          8                      90 seconds
C-Flat/Incline cable flies                           3          12-20             60 seconds
D-Dumbell 1-arm side delt raise              3          12                    0 seconds
(no rest between each arm)
E-Seated machine shoulder press           3          10                    90 seconds
F- EZ bar skull crushers                              3          8-10                60 seconds
G- Rope pushdowns                                    3          12-15             60 seconds

Tuesday-Day 2- Quads and Hamstrings

A- Barbell Squats                                         4          6-8                  120 seconds
B- Barbell good mornings                          4          6-8                  90 seconds
C- Leg Press                                                 3          10-12             90 seconds
D- Seated leg curls                                      3          8-10                90 seconds
E- Dumbell Lunges                                      3          20 per leg      60 seconds

Thursday- Day 3- Back, Traps and Biceps

Exercise                                                         sets    reps                rest
A- Barbell Rows                                            4          8                      90 seconds
B- Lat Pulldowns- close grip                      3          8                      90 seconds
C- 1-arm dumbbell rows                            3          10                    0 seconds
(No rest between each arm)
D- Facepulls with rope (traps)                  4          12                    30 seconds
E- Standing hammer curls             3          6                      60 seconds
F- Standing cable bar curls                        3          15                    60 seconds

                                               
Friday-Day 4- abs and calves

A- Reverse bench crunches                       4          10                    30 seconds
B- Swiss ball crunches                                4          15                    60 seconds
C- Donkey calf raises                                  4          8                      60 seconds
D- Seated calf raises                                   4          20                    60 seconds

Sunday- Begin workout cycle again.

As you can see from the “rest” column, I take very little time between sets. Not only does this improve my muscular performance, it also helps my cardiovascular fitness and in turn radically lowers my body fat levels. It may appear easy to seasoned weight trainers, believe me, training with heavy weights and short rest periods is and will be the hardest task you’ve faced in the gym.

Whilst the actual exercise choices aren’t ultimately that important, it’s the pace and the consistency of the program that will suit you superbly should you be looking to really maximise your time in the gym. In my opinion, far too many weight trainers waste time in the gym talking and posturing, without really doing what they’ve gone there to do in the first place. Many weight trainers rely heavily on cardiovascular exercise without really taking anywhere near full advantage of their time in the weights area. Training at a fast pace with heavy weights is in my opinion the single, most effective way to get into shape there is. With routines like the one above, I’ve managed to achieve fantastic condition without having to resort to anything more than a few leisurely walks per week for cardiovascular work.

Quick-view benefits of the routine.

• Hits each body part every 6 days
• Allows for a maximum of 45 minutes each session in the gym
• Minimizes the need for endless cardio work
• Tackles both objectives of muscular work and fat-loss
• Ensures metabolic rate is high during and for hours after (more fat burned)


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