Many people hit the gym looking for the same thing: fat loss. But most of those people miss the mark on at least one of four personal transformation must-have’s!
But you’re ready to kick it into action and finally crush these fat loss goals, huh? Well, great! Let’s look at the four things you should absolutely do to increase your likelihood of success.
1) Have a Sustainable Nutrition Approach
Wait, wait wait… that’s not in the gym!
Bingo.
Fat loss starts outside of the gym. You’ve heard the saying:
“You can’t out-train a bad diet.”
Well, it’s true, so this is where we need to start. The key word here is sustainable. A lot of individuals start by trying to change everything all at once, but don’t make this mistake. Start with something that you’re 100% confident you can do. There’s no one answer for everyone, but try this…
- Make a list of things you feel you need to improve with your approach to nutrition.
- Pick your five biggest struggles that you want to work on, and that you are 100% confident you can, and will, be able to do.
- Out of those five things, pick your top three.
- Next, decide what you’ll do first.
- Do that thing for as long as it takes to become second nature, while keeping everything else the same.
Better is better. Once you get that first thing down, pick your next action step from the remaining two of your top three. Once you’ve knocked out your top three, create your next list. BUT, don’t be surprised if you have new ideas for the list at this point. Repeat the five steps from above!
If you do this, we can assure you, serious personal transformation is in your future.
2) Strength Training and Inefficient Exercise
The next major problem that we see involves people doing things that they are too efficient at. Jogging (insert any activity here) is great and all, but if you do it all of the time, the fat loss benefits wane. We didn’t come up with this idea on our own- we simply stand on the shoulders of giants, like Dan John…
“Regardless of what you choose to do, whether it’s African disco dancing or kettlebell swinging, it’ll work. There’s an inherent problem with this, though.
As you become more and more efficient, you get less and less benefit.”
– Dan John
So what’s a solid routine for fat loss? Strength Training for hypertrophy (muscle gain) and participating in inefficient exercise.
What’s inefficient, you ask? Well that depends… If you were on the Crew team in college, rowing wouldn’t be the best choice for fat loss.
New to kettlebell swings? Suck at dancing? Spend some time on these. Sounds silly, we know, but it works!
One caveat, though. Don’t take this advice as a call to take part in risky activities. Slinging a barbell over your head while fighting with a timer is not the best approach to fat loss. Will it work? Probably. Will injury set you further from your goal? Absolutely.
Self-limiting exercise is perfect, as the risk-reward ratio is very good. Physical therapist Gray Cook speaks on the benefits of self-limiting exercise often.
Self-limiting exercise demands mindfulness and an awareness of movement, alignment, balance and control. In self-limiting exercise, a person cannot just pop on the headphones and walk or run on the treadmill, fingering the playlist or watching the news on a well-placed monitor. Self-limiting exercise demands engagement.
– Gray Cook
Excerpt from the book Movement
3) Manage Stress and Recovery
While inefficient exercise is great for fat loss, we’ve got to be able to “turn off.”
Don’t let all this talk of strength training and inefficient exercise allow you to write off low intensity cardio. Low intensity cardio (heart rate 110-140) work is great for fat loss, albeit indirectly. Our aerobic system is the base of everything that we do. The list of benefits are darn near endless, including improved cardiovascular function, more restful sleep, and decreased stress and anxiety levels. Sounds pretty good, right?
We recommend alternating days of strength training and inefficient exercise with days of low intensity cardio training. Try getting out for something as simple as a 30-90 minute brisk walk between your main training days.
Here’s a few other great ideas for turning down:
- Try a daily meditation practice. Check out the app Headspace, we’ve seen great results with guided meditations like this one.
- Get to sleep earlier. How many hours of sleep? More than you’re getting now. Better is better.
- Read non-work-related books.
- Take a short nap.
- Find a hobby you can get lost in.
4) Have a Supportive Community
This might be the most important personal transformation must-have…
Seek out people who are on the same path as you.
Imagine if you were trying to quit smoking. It wouldn’t be the best idea to hang out with smokers. Fat loss goals are no different!
- Seek out those that have done it, or helped others do it.
- Seek out those whom are on the same path.
- Spend time with these people!
For us it works out to be training in small groups. Everyone supports each other, has a great time, and looks forward to the community aspect as much as more than the training itself. You build friendships, create an amazing group of friends, and it becomes an effortless accountability system.
Ready to start your own transformation?
Try implementing the 4 must-haves you just read over.
Don’t wait, the time is now…
If you’re ready for a done-for-you package, come check us out, right here at Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, LLC!
Simply fill out the form below and we’ll follow up to schedule a FREE consultation. We’ll discuss program options, get to know each other, introduce you to other coaches and members, and take you through an assessment. Not ready for the consultation, but still would like to chat? Shoot an email to bspnova@beyondstrengthperformance.com and we’ll make it happen.
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