Killer Exercises for Rapid Fat Loss and Lean Muscle Gain

As a former fat kid and a current real world fat loss specialist who has helped tons of people lose the pounds, I know a thing or two about exercise selection. Because of this I am often asked what the best exercises are to lose fat AND gain muscle fast.

Let’s keep it simple. The most effective exercises for fat loss are also the most effective exercises for muscle gain and visa versa. These exercises all have one thing in common: they provide a UNIQUE challenge to your body AND involve as many muscles in your body as possible.

Both the scientific research and the real world case studies have shown that total body workouts are superior for maximal fat loss and muscle gain. But that’s not all…

We can dramatically accelerate results by preferentially selecting TOTAL BODY EXERCISES within each TOTAL BODY WORKOUT! For example, squats are well known for being one of the best muscle-builders with a serious a fat-shredding effect. However, the squat goes from great to UNSTOPPABLE for changing your body for the better when you make it a combination movement by adding a row or press to each repetition. You can absolutely reap more benefits this way since you have now involved your upper body into the king of lower body exercises.

It’s as simple as the Best Body Equation below:

Performing Total Body Exercises Within Each Total Body Workout:

More Muscles Involved =

More Calories Burnt + Greater Muscle-Building Stimulus =

Greater Fat Lost + Greater Muscle Gain

I must be honest in that I have a true love-hate relationship with the following movements I am about to share with you. Love because of the unparalleled fat-melting, muscle-building results they provide to help get that lean, strong body. Hate because they break me every single workout by leaving me in tears while in a pool of my own sweat. In other words, these are not for the weak of mind, body, or soul!

Alright, enough jabbering already! Here is the official top 10 list of my favorite exercises in the world for fat loss and lean muscle gain:

Exercise#1- Any Squatting Combination Exercise- Squat Thrust/Burpee Variations, Squat to Overhead Press, Squat to Row, Squat to Chest Press, Braced Core Squat, Single-Leg Squat plus Curl to Press, etc.

Exercise#2- The Swing- Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, or Sandbags

Exercise#3- Any Lunge Combination Exercise- Alternating Lunge plus Curl to Press, Alternating Lunge plus Twist, Alternating Lunge plus Chest Press, Alternating Reverse Lunge plus Row, Split Jump plus Jerk, Split Jump plus Curl etc.

Exercise#4- Any Push-Up Combination Exercise- Push-ups plus Knee-Ins, Push-up Rows, T-Push-Ups, Spiderman Push-ups, Squat Thrust Push-Ups, Four-Way Push-up Crawl, etc.

Exercise#5- The Chop- Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, Bands, or Sandbags

Exercise#6- Olympic Lifting Variations: Dumbbell or Kettlebell Cleans, Snatches, High Pulls

Exercise#7- Dynamic Back Pillar plus 1-Arm Dumbbell Chest Press

Exercise#8- Rear Foot Elevated Deadlift plus Curl to Press

Exercise#9- Med Ball Snatch-Slam Combo

Exercise#10- Dumbbell or Kettlebell Single-Leg RDL plus Row

I’ll be sharing some more great exercises for those specific trouble spot areas (e.g. legs, butt, abs, chest, arms, etc.) in the days to come.

To your best health,
Dean

http://GetFitNHbootcamp.com

How You Can Build The Ultimate Circuit Training Workout For Rapid Fat Loss

In the past, the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. Essentially, this means you perform a certain number of reps, then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a certain number of times based on your goals. If you were looking for fat loss and lean muscle gain shorter rest periods were thought to be ideal. For more of a strength or power emphasis, longer rest periods were prescribed.

So, what’s the problem with this format?  Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they can also be an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. In most gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 10 reps for let’s say the bench press (You do know Every Monday is National Bench Press Day, Right?). They pump out 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on ESPN, and then head back to the bench to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 10 on the bench that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern (a horizontal push). That means you’d need at least in hour to perform four different exercises. If your goal is to win a bench press competition, you might choose to train this way. However if fat loss is your goal, there is a much better way!

A much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises is utilizing the alternating set format. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, which is the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. Let’s look at a few ways to perform alternating sets:

1. Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)
2. Tri-sets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)
3. Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:

The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:

• Exercise#1- Squats
• Exercise#2- Dips
• Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions
• Exercise#4- Pull-ups
• Exercise#5- Leg Raises

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise can be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).

To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:

• Exercise#1- Double-Leg
• Exercise#2- Push
• Exercise#3- Single-Leg
• Exercise#4- Pull
• Exercise#5- Core

I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from our boot camps in the weeks to come.

Fat Loss Forever,

Nancy Carlson

http://GetFitNHbootcamp.com