In one of my previous articles I stated that 'there is no fat loss exercise'. By that I meant that there is no standalone exercise that will torch body fat just be completing it alone. However, there are fat loss exercise protocols; it is the way that you piece together the exercises, the rest periods and the number of reps/sets that will determine the effectiveness of a fat loss exercise protocol. Resistance strength circuits are one such protocol that are excellent for torching stubborn body fat and helping push you through your physique plateaus.
You've heard of circuit training, right? There are circuit classes at your gym, there is BMF, boot camps to name but a few. These are great in their own right for fat loss and improving your conditioning levels, but the chances are there is not much external resistance involved. Adding strength based exercises into a circuit will bring you massive benefits to your health and fitness.
What are Strength Circuits?
Circuit training involves grouping a series of exercises together into one long set with minimal rest periods (typically 15-30 seconds) between exercises. Once you have completed the prescribed exercises a longer rest period (60 seconds-3 minutes) is given before the circuit is repeated.
Your aim should be to work every muscle in your body in the circuit. Bicep curls, triceps extensions, ab curls and some light jogging will not cut it. Choose big compound moves such as squats, deadlifts, rows, kettlebell swings and pull ups. These exercises will give you more bang for your buck and have you working at a good intensity within a very short period of time.
Why does circuit training work?
The main aim of fat loss is to hold onto any lean muscle mass you currently have and drop stored subcutaneous fat (the fat you can 'see') and visceral fat (excess fat around your organs) and circuit training does a very good job of doing this.
The high intensity nature of circuits coupled with the added resistance aspect brings to great benefits to your training:
i) Higher Growth Hormone (GH) production: GH is a great for fat burning and muscle maintenance/growth.
ii) Increased Insulin sensitivity - insulin is the hormone that is responsible for shuttling blood glucose into our cells. The problem with low insulin sensitivity is that our bodies release more insulin than is required to 'do the job' when we eat a carbohydrate laden snack. This results in inevitable fat gain which then lowers our insulin sensitivity, which then causes more fat gain and so on - you can see the problem. Circuit training helps by allowing your body to use less insulin to carry out it's role effectively. Your body can return to 'fat burning mode' more quickly.
iii) Muscle retention - if you have read my blog before you will know how precious lean muscle mass is. It is important for posture, strength and enhancing your metabolism. Non-resistance based programs couple with low calorie/protein diets will cause muscle breakdown, which in essence makes your fat loss goals that big harder.
iv) Time efficient - It is a great form of training as well if you are short of time. Well planned circuit training sessions can last from anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes. This is exactly what you are looking for when you are trying to burn fat - short, intense and effective workouts.
How should I fit it into my schedule?
In my opinion there are two ways you can successfully incorporate strength circuits into your routine.
Listen to your body. If you are feeling weak or low on energy in between sessions, allow yourself more rest time and evaluate your nutrition and sleep regime.
Strength Circuit Example
A1 - Compound leg exercise i.e. squat: 6-8 reps
A2 - Upper body compound exercise i.e. pull ups: 6+ reps
A3 - Full Body Exercise i.e. kettlebell clean and push press: 6-8 reps on each arm
A4 - High Intensity Exercise i.e. kettlebell swings: 15-20reps
A5 - Core exercise i.e. Kettlebell rack walks: 30 seconds or 10-20 reps.
B (Optional) - 20 minutes of steady state cardio
Protocol - rest 15-30 seconds between each exercise. Once you have completed all five exercises allow yourself 90-180 seconds rest. Aim to complete the circuit 3-5 times in total depending on your current fitness levels and exercise experience. Choose weights which allow you to work at a high intensity, but not to failure (this will keep injury risk lower and long term performance higher)
The "Takeaway"
Strength circuits are a great standalone protocol or addition to your current regime to help you break through plateaus and enhance fat loss. Sessions should be kept short and intense more maximum effectiveness. Remember to keep rest periods to a minimum and intensity to a manageable high.
You've heard of circuit training, right? There are circuit classes at your gym, there is BMF, boot camps to name but a few. These are great in their own right for fat loss and improving your conditioning levels, but the chances are there is not much external resistance involved. Adding strength based exercises into a circuit will bring you massive benefits to your health and fitness.
What are Strength Circuits?
Circuit training involves grouping a series of exercises together into one long set with minimal rest periods (typically 15-30 seconds) between exercises. Once you have completed the prescribed exercises a longer rest period (60 seconds-3 minutes) is given before the circuit is repeated.
Your aim should be to work every muscle in your body in the circuit. Bicep curls, triceps extensions, ab curls and some light jogging will not cut it. Choose big compound moves such as squats, deadlifts, rows, kettlebell swings and pull ups. These exercises will give you more bang for your buck and have you working at a good intensity within a very short period of time.
Why does circuit training work?
The main aim of fat loss is to hold onto any lean muscle mass you currently have and drop stored subcutaneous fat (the fat you can 'see') and visceral fat (excess fat around your organs) and circuit training does a very good job of doing this.
The high intensity nature of circuits coupled with the added resistance aspect brings to great benefits to your training:
i) Higher Growth Hormone (GH) production: GH is a great for fat burning and muscle maintenance/growth.
ii) Increased Insulin sensitivity - insulin is the hormone that is responsible for shuttling blood glucose into our cells. The problem with low insulin sensitivity is that our bodies release more insulin than is required to 'do the job' when we eat a carbohydrate laden snack. This results in inevitable fat gain which then lowers our insulin sensitivity, which then causes more fat gain and so on - you can see the problem. Circuit training helps by allowing your body to use less insulin to carry out it's role effectively. Your body can return to 'fat burning mode' more quickly.
iii) Muscle retention - if you have read my blog before you will know how precious lean muscle mass is. It is important for posture, strength and enhancing your metabolism. Non-resistance based programs couple with low calorie/protein diets will cause muscle breakdown, which in essence makes your fat loss goals that big harder.
iv) Time efficient - It is a great form of training as well if you are short of time. Well planned circuit training sessions can last from anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes. This is exactly what you are looking for when you are trying to burn fat - short, intense and effective workouts.
How should I fit it into my schedule?
In my opinion there are two ways you can successfully incorporate strength circuits into your routine.
- As a standalone 4-6 week program - carry out 3 circuits a week with a days rest in between each workout.
- As an addition to your strength training program - I would recommend 1-2 strength sessions and 1-2 circuit training sessions each week.
Listen to your body. If you are feeling weak or low on energy in between sessions, allow yourself more rest time and evaluate your nutrition and sleep regime.
Strength Circuit Example
A1 - Compound leg exercise i.e. squat: 6-8 reps
A2 - Upper body compound exercise i.e. pull ups: 6+ reps
A3 - Full Body Exercise i.e. kettlebell clean and push press: 6-8 reps on each arm
A4 - High Intensity Exercise i.e. kettlebell swings: 15-20reps
A5 - Core exercise i.e. Kettlebell rack walks: 30 seconds or 10-20 reps.
B (Optional) - 20 minutes of steady state cardio
Protocol - rest 15-30 seconds between each exercise. Once you have completed all five exercises allow yourself 90-180 seconds rest. Aim to complete the circuit 3-5 times in total depending on your current fitness levels and exercise experience. Choose weights which allow you to work at a high intensity, but not to failure (this will keep injury risk lower and long term performance higher)
The "Takeaway"
Strength circuits are a great standalone protocol or addition to your current regime to help you break through plateaus and enhance fat loss. Sessions should be kept short and intense more maximum effectiveness. Remember to keep rest periods to a minimum and intensity to a manageable high.
Are you fed up of complicated health and fitness information? Are you fed up of of not seeing
results? Head over to our website at http://www.revolutionpersonaltraining.co.uk for regular fitness and nutrition information and articles as well as excellent offers on our personal training and boot camp services.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Stephen_Ashboltresults? Head over to our website at http://www.revolutionpersonaltraining.co.uk for regular fitness and nutrition information and articles as well as excellent offers on our personal training and boot camp services.
No comments:
Post a Comment