 The primary steps to a leaner you Mike Honore
These are the general principles I stick to and recommend for maintaining low bodyfat, reducing bodyfat and for muscular development progress year round.
1: First of all SET YOUR GOAL, decide what it is that you want to achieve from your training. Remember a goal is a dream with a deadline. Write down your goal and GIVE it a deadline. Look at your goal regularly, visualise the new you, focus on it, tell other people about your goal so you are commited to make it happen. An important factor for goal achievement is to place a motivating force behind it. Some reason that will pull you up when you need it most, some inspiration to drive you towards your goal! If you don't find a driving force or form of motivation to propel you towards your goal you may as well throw the towel in right now. At one point or another we are all faced with varying degrees of adversity, when that time comes how are you going to react? Are you going to lie down and give up? Or are you going to get right back up and take control? The most profound difference between those who achieve and those who don't is, pure and simply, motivation, focus AND spirit. Once you have your goal clearly set and your motivator in position...
2: MAKE A PLAN, to achieve it. KEEP YOUR PLAN SIMPLE! With any goal orientated training program the structure you follow should remain straight foward and focussed. It's easy to get caught up in the harebrained details of some new hyped up system, forget that, if you want results nothing will beat good old fashioned HARDWORK - combining weight training, cardio, good sound nutrition, supported by no-nonsense supplementation (These 4 elements have been proven by athletes time and time again, over many years, to develop lean, hard bodies!)
OK, now we have that cleared up, this is the strategy...
3: EAT REGULARLY, any expert will agree, and you're probably getting sick of hearing, that metabolism is optimised for energy output (calorie burning) through regularly spaced eating - you must eat every 3 to 3.5 hours during your 'waking' hours. If you space your eating any longer than that your blood sugar will plummet, this can cause any number of physique and performance compromising issues. Each meal should be of relatively equal size, containing portions of protein, carbs and fat. Now this means eating 5 to 6x per day. It is usually the hardest step for most people to follow, but is THE CRITICAL FACTOR for achieving lower body fat. If you are serious about your physique goals get this part right!
4:TRAIN WITH WEIGHTS, at least 3 to 4 times per week. Remember fat is broken down inside the 'mitochondria' of muscle cells. Developing and maintaining lean muscle should be the number one essential aim of any weight loss program - the speed of your metabolism is directly linked to the amount of muscle you carry. If you make the mistake of letting your muscle waste away through a reckless lifestyle, so too will your fat burning ability! Arrrrhhhh!
5: DO CARDIO, for at least 20 to 30 mins at least 4 days per week, ideally before eating in the morning, or, immediately following weight training - this way you will be in a carbohydrate reduced state, and primed for maximum fat burning! Oh, and whose idea was it to drink 'energy' carbohydrate sports drinks during training? If you are aiming to get into a fat burning state those sports drinks will bring that to a definite grinding halt!
6: SLEEP, maintain regular and optimum sleep patterns - sub optimal sleep is linked with stubborn bodyfat and even bodyfat accumulation!!!
7: BE AWARE OF ALL FAT INTAKE, hidden and added, and keep this intake well under control.
8: USE ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID (EFA) SOURCES, such as Flax Seed Oil. EFA's are EXTREMELY important fats your body cannot manufacture and must be consumed through your diet. These 'special' fats are found in very few foods, so find out where they are. EFA's assist in regulating hormone production, metabolism and cell repair, and YES they contribute to fat loss!
9:AVOID HIGH GLYCEMIC 'SUGARY' FOODS, if you must eat them, at least have them with your meals to buffer the huge insulin spikes that these forms of carbohydrates cause (high insulin levels caused by simple sugars/fruit sugars and also excess carb intake will do nothing for your mid-section!). You should aim to maintain stable insulin levels by sticking to low glycemic carbohydrates such as Kumara and brown rice as the main carbohydrates in your diet, and you will also notice you won't suffer from the energy ups and downs that high glycemic sugars cause. Watch total carbohydrate intake as well, don't over indulge, carbohydrate intake has a strong correlation with obesity and other associated dietary illnessses such as diabetes. Alcohol comes into this category too - Alcohol yields 8 calories per gram (compare that to normal carbohydrate sources which are 4 calories per gram). Alcohol is very high in calories and, I don't have to remind you, has many, many adverse effects on metabolic function...
10: PUT PROTEIN AT THE TOP OF YOUR SHOPPING LIST! I can't stress this point enough! Low quality and too low protein intake is the limiting factor for many 'physique trainers'. If you want a hard body it is imperative to design a diet that places protein as THE NUMBER 1 PRIORITY. Protein is essential for muscle maintenance and growth, but is also important for our skin and immune system. Don't be afraid of protein, there has been a lot of confusion and misleading press about protein intake over the years. What is known is that protein has a higher thermic effect in the body over other foods (carbohydrates and fats), meaning that through its digestion your metabolism IS ACCELERATED, ie more calories are burned! Protein is also the nutrient least easily converted to fat. All proteins are not created equally though, so become aware of what proteins provide the most benefit for you. Don't compromise your progress or health by not eating adequate amounts of quality protein! I personally eat 4x Reactiv Enhanced Whey Protein Concentrate servings per day as well as 2 whole food 'meat' servings per day. I believe that Whey Protein Concentrate is THE most superior form of protein you can eat. I feel so strongly about this that I have made Reactiv Enhanced Whey Protein Concentrate the backbone of my entire nutrition plan and I recommend it to you too, whether you are training for a leaner look or for developing increased muscle and strength.
Alright that's my straight forward approach to leanness. All the best with your training, now get into it and make it happen!!!!
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