A BIG MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN WANTING TO TRANSFORM THEIR BODIES IS TO THINK THAT IT CONSIST OF JUST ONE LONG PHASE OF "DIETING" AND TRAINING. THIS IS ALSO WHY MOST PEOPLE FAIL....
IT IS A LIFELONG PROCESS AND IT TAKES A FEW PHASES OF DIFFERENT NUTRITION REGIMES AND TRAINING METHODS TO REACH YOUR GOAL PHYSIQUE.
ONCE YOUR HAVE REACHED THAT GOAL YOU NEED TO REPEATEDLY GO THROUGH SOME OF THE PHASES TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE YOUR PHYSIQUE.
I MADE A BASIC SUMMARY OF THE STEPS TO TAKE AND THE PHASES YOU WILL NEED TO GO THROUGH.
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PHASE 1: (DEVELOP LIFESTYLE)
NOT a 12 week process. It might take much longer
Goal
Women: Get
Fat% down from 45% and higher to 25%
Men: Get
Fat% down from 35% and higher to 15%
When
your fat level is 45% and higher for women and 35% and higher for men your main
goal should be to get your it down to 25% for women and 15% for men.
Your
secondary goal should be to stimulate your muscle to help with Insulin &
Leptin Resistance. Building muscle or lean mass does not take priority during
this phase.
METHODS TO REACH GOAL:
NUTRITION (with
fully functional metabolism)
People
whom have been over-eating and subsequently gaining weight or maintaining their
weight normally has a fully functional metabolism.
In
this instance cutting calories down to your required amount will result in fat
loss.
NUTRITION
(with a compromised metabolism)
REVERSE DIETING
You
know your metabolism is compromised when you are eating 10 or less calories per
LEAN pound, training, but you are still unable to burn off fat. This normally
happens because of repeated low calorie restrictive “dieting” in an attempt to
lose weight.
You
need to repair you metabolism before you will be able to burn off the unwanted
fat permanently.
HOW to repair a compromised
metabolism: You need
to implement reverse dieting (slowly eating more calories until you have reached
the required macros for your lean weight and body type. Reverse dieting is done
in periods of increasing and decreasing calories.
Once
you have repaired you metabolism you can start cutting back calories to the
point where you are dropping no more than 500g of weight per week. This will
ensure that you do not lose lean weight and your metabolism stays strong.
The
most important thing regarding nutrition during this phase is to find a way of
eating which is sustainable for a lifetime.
This phase can last quite some time and you cannot expect the
amount of fat you have been accumulating and carrying for years to be lost in 12
weeks.
Having
unrealistic expectations is the reason why 90% of overweight people never
succeed in losing the fat.
False
advertising, misleading “before and after” marketing schemes, people claiming
to have lost huge amounts of weight using extreme methods and lying about
keeping it off create these unrealistic expectations. People forget that it is
not only about the weight on the scale but also about the condition of your
body. ANY but ANY weight loss program which results in you losing more than 1.5-2
kg a week is compromising your lean mass (muscle) and subsequently your
metabolism and in time you will gain more weight than you might have lost.
The
best and most effective nutrition plan to burn off unwanted fat is a nutrition plan
which can be sustained for a lifetime. The human body is constantly seeking
homeostasis (balance)…
It
would only make sense to follow a nutrition regime which is also balanced.
Protein,
carbohydrate and fat intake should be balanced to suit your Body Composition,
Personal conditions and Training Schedule. The only “fine tuning” or selective
eating there needs to be is finding the food which works for you taking
allergies, medical conditions and other health issues into consideration. There
is no need for an individual in full health to cut out any food group entirely.
The only bad food would be calorie loaded food, like processed carbohydrates and
processed protein and fat which should be kept minimal.
Find
a professional to help you determine your macro (protein, carbohydrate and fat)
needs to be able to burn fat.
TRAINING:
During
the First Phase, with your main goal being burning fat, you should focus on the
best fat burning training possible. That would be Short Duration High Intensity
Interval Training. This type of training has an EPOC effect on the body
(Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) and what this means is that even after your session
has stopped you are still burning calories. Steady-Stare Cardio does not have
the same effect and burning stops when the session stops.
Steady
State has its place though and if you cannot do PROPER HIIT cardio longer
sessions of Steady Stare cardio will also work well for fat burning.
Weigh
training during this phase should only be high rep training incorporated with
High Intensity Cardio like circuit training. Stimulating muscle fibers to pull
in nutrients, maintain and increase lean weight if needed, is the only
important thing. Muscle growth (hypertrophy) is not really possible at this
stage, you need to consume MORE calories than you are burning in order to do
so. Heavy Isolation Weight training will therefore be of no real benefit at
this point. Spend as much time possible burning off the excess fat, then focus
on building muscle in the areas which you will then be able to identify
visually since the lower fat% will allow you to successfully do so.
PHASE 2
4 – 12 week Phase depending on the condition of your body
Goal
Women: Lowering
Fat% from 25% to 20%
Men: Lowering
Fat% from 15% to 12%
This
phase starts once you have reached or already have a fat level of 25% and lower
for women and 15% and lower for men. During this phase your will further lower
your fat level while maintaining or gaining lean weight.
Once
a fat level of 20% or lower for women and 12% and lower for men is reached your
goal is to successfully maintain that level for at least 2 months before the
Third and Last Phase is started.
NUTRITION
Your
calories intake should be around 14 calories per lean pound while working on
your goal.
The
ratio of protein to carbs should constantly be adjusted to make sure that lean
mass is maintained which will further help lowering your fat%. A maintenance
plan will be followed for a period of time.
TRAINING
Isolation
Weight training can be introduced and fat burning Cardio work should be used as
a tool to lower the fat% further. Cardio should not exceed 3 sessions per week
to assist in keeping fat levels stable.
The
training should be designed around the amount of lean weight carried and
whether it is needed to be increased or maintained according to personal goals.
This
phase is also known as a growing or building phase in terms of lean mass.
PHASE 3: (NEXT LEVEL- MAINTAIN AN ATHLETIC LEAN LOOK)
A Lifelong process
Goal:
Women:
Lowering Fat level from 20% to
15% and lower to make muscle more visible.
Recovering from lowering fat level &
regaining the lean mass lost through lowering fat level.
Building lean mass to improve
physique to the degree desired and also as far as genetically
possible.
Men:
Lowering Fat level from 12% to 8% and lower to make muscle more visible.
Recovering from lowering fat% & regaining the lean mass lost through lowering fat%.
Building lean mass to improve physique to the degree desired and also as far as genetically
possible.
The
third phase consists out of 3 separate phases.
Leaning
Out (Cutting)
Recovery
(Reverse dieting)
Building
(Bulking)
It
is during this phase where the biggest transformation in regards to muscle
visibility and shape will take place.
LEANING OUT PHASE: (12 - 14 week period max)
This
phase normally lasts 12 weeks depending on your body fat level. It is
structured to lower your fat level to the point where muscle definition and
separation is as visible as you desire.
NUTRITION
Your
calorie intake is slowly cut down or your cardio increased on a 4 weekly basis
or as needed.
This
is done to “trick” the body into burning fat below the natural maintenance
level. More drastic calorie drops to try and speed up the process will result
in muscle loss and the subsequent compromising of your metabolism.
No
more than 500g per week should be lost.
During
this phase it is wise to allow your fat% to drop with only 5% in the 12 weeks.
TRAINING
Weight
training need not be adjusted but can be slightly altered to become more
intense and have a High Intensity Cardio effect. Short Stacking or Super or Giant
setting is normally used.
Short
Duration High Intensity Interval Cardio is also increased to 5 – 6 times per
week to further assist fat loss.
RECOVERY CYCLE: 4 weeks
Once
you have successfully lowered your fat level with 5% you need to go through a
recovery cycle.
During
this cycle you will increase your calorie and carbohydrate intake slightly for
about 4 weeks. This is called reverse dieting. After recovery you will either
MAINTAIN OR BUILD while not gaining more than 2%. You fat level will now be 2 – 3% lower than
before Leaning Out.
BUILDING CYCLE: (DEVELOP LIFESTYLE & INCREASE
LEAN WEIGHT) 6 + months
The
only way to change your shape, appearance and size and improve your physique is
to build or increase your lean weight (muscle weight)
After
your first Lean Out Cycle you will be able to see where you need improvement
the most and would then follow a specific training program focused specifically
to shape or improve those areas.
NUTRITION
During
the building phase your nutrition should be much more flexible than before. You
need to eat enough calories in order to grow. Your calorie intake should be
slightly higher than your calories spent.
You
should increase your fat and carb intake with small amounts every week
monitoring your fat levels carefully to make sure that too much unwanted fat is
not gained. If this does happen you simply cut back a little on fat and carbs
for your body to utilize the gained fat again.
TRAINING
Isolation
muscle specific weight training is used to build and shape muscle and increase
lean mass during the building phase.
Cardio
is not necessary during this phase but can be included twice a week just to
help control your fat% and to lower it slightly if needed.
Once
enough lean weight has been gained and you feel motivated to lean out or you
have a specific reason in mind, you can attempt another leaning out phase.
After each phase you should be able to maintain a lower fat level and have more
lean mass to show.
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