Super-sets for Fat Loss

Now the warm weather is on its way it's time to shed the last of the winter fat. This year I packed on a lot of new muscle but my fat% went from 11% to 14% in the process.During the winter I'd been lifting heavy with lots of rest inbetween sets.

In order to strip the extra fat and retain the muscle I've switched to super-setting exercises and keeping rest between pairs of sets to 60 seconds. I've been pairing opposing muscles for chest & back exercises whilst perfroming 2-3 exercises for the same muscle with no rest for arms, shoulders and legs.

With this protocol, and the right diet, definition starts to imprive very quickly. This is due largely to the increase in growth hormone, which is related to the lactic acid build up from reduced rest. The weights are still high enough to retain muscle (10-15 reps mostly). Heart rate is elevated throughout the workouts, thus ensuring more calories are burned and a significant excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which keeps you burning fat for some time after the workout (estimates of how long vary from 3-38 hours depending on the intensity of the exercise).

A sample wokout might be:

A1) Bench Press 2x 10-15 reps (no rest)
A2) Cable Row 2x 10-15 reps (60 seconds rest)

B1) Lat Pulldown 2 x 10-15 reps (no rest)
B2) Clean & Press 2x 10-15 reps (60 seconds rest)

C1) Alternating Lunge 2x 10 reps (no rest)
C2) Dead Lift 2 x 10 reps (60-90 seconds rest)

D1) Leg Extension 2 x 10-15 reps (no rest)
D2) Squat 2 x 10-15 reps (60 seconds rest)

E1) Rope triceps pressdown 2 x 10-15 reps (no rest)
E2) Dumbbell Biceps Curl 2x 10-15 reps (60 seconds rest)

For abdominals I generally use giant sets (i.e. ball crunch, side bend, reverse crunch, cable crunch, plank with no rest in between).

New Book Released

My new book "Foundations for a Better Physique" has now been released and is available either as a paperback or download from www.lulu.com

The book cuts through all the confusing information about training with weights to give you the best method, in my opinion, of training your whole body whilst preserving structural balance.

The book describes the six core exercises in great detail and tells you how to periodise your training for optimal results.

Invaluable information on motivation, rest, recuperation, training variables, and diet is also included along with record sheets for diet, training and physical measurements.


Paperback costs £6.25 and download £1.50

12 Week Body Transformation Challenge

Due to popular demand I am once more offering the 12 Week Challenge for those of you who are serious about making extreme changes to your physique. During the 12 weeks you will work consistently towards your goal. Generally clients want to shed body fat whilst retaining muscle. I usually advise people to aim for between 12 & 24 lbs of actual fat loss depending on their starting fat percentage.

This is a perfect opportunity for those of you looking to get really lean or for those, with more to lose, to make a bug shift in your weight loss goals.

The programme consists of:

Goal setting

Weight and body fat monitoring

3 Personal Training sessions per week (weights)

Optional outdoor group training twice per week (running, hill walking, bootcamp)

12 week diet plan with detailed record sheets (vegetarian option available)

Unlimited email support

Advice on supplements and supplement ordering service

Option for additional Personal Training sessions for only £10 each
Optional photos (before, after, and monthly)

The entire 12 Week Body Transformation programme costs only £50 per week (payable at the beginning of each week)

SPECIAL OFFER: If you pay for the entire 12 week programme in advance it will cost you only £450 (a saving of £150!)

*prices are for the FISH Studio. If you wish to train at another location please contact me for a quotation.

Payments can be made by cheque, cash, or Paypal.

Contact: http://www.derekprior.com/ or derekprior@yahoo.co.uk

Telephone: 07735433467

International clients please see ONLINE TRAINING on http://www.derekprior.com/

Losing Fat & Toning Up

The majority of our clients want to lose weight and tone up. Occasionally we get clients who want to bulk up with muscle, which, whilst having its own challenges, is often a lot simpler.

Weight loss in theory is actually rather simple: ensure that energy out is greater than energy in. Basicaly this means become more active and reduce caloric intake accordingly.

Some clients want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - a very tricky task. To build muscle you generally need an excess of calories. The trick is to change the proportions of macronutrients in the diet and to time the intake of proteins and carbohydrates (carbohydrates should generally fall either side of training and, besides the post workout recovery drink/snack, should generally be low GI.

The fastest way to achieve that lean, defined look is to use specific loading parameters and time under tension (with incomplete rest between sets) in order to create high levels of blood lactate. This triggers a huge growth hormone response, and growth hormone not only helps us build muscle but also burns fat.

Optimal nutrition, effective training, and adequate rest (combined with increasing incidental exercise, such as walking to work) will ensure the best results.

The problem comes with adherence and motivation. Often, overweight clients are not entirely truthful about what they are eating (and drinking). If they are training well but go home and drink Coke and eat sweet foods or foods high in saturated fat they are likely to be disappointed with their rate of progress, and disappointment leads to despondency with training.

It is sometimes not enough to encourage clients to keep a food diary. Many will only make progress if their nutritional needs are spelled out for them - daily, easy to follow, menu plans. With some clients, appropriate supplements may make the nutritional side easier or more effective.

Generally, for those wishing to lose weight and build lean tissue, I recommend L-Carnitine (especially just prior to training), L-Glutamine (before and after training), Branch Chain Amino Acids (before and after training), a good quality whey protein, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, and (for those who need an extra boost), a thermogenic supplement (i.e. Maximuscles Thermobol or Muscletech's Hydroxycut).

It's also important to protect the immune system with vitamins A,C and E and zinc and magnesium supplementation. Drinking soluble vitamin C (high potency) during training helps to blunt the effect of cortisol, thus preserving lean tissue.

Nevertheless, no matter how good the exercise programme and the nutritional advice, many clients simply lack the discipline to stick with it. Training not only needs to be effective, for some people, it also needs to be fun, and varied. If you don't achieve adherence in your clients then they may get short term results before returning to old habits. Long-term changes come long-term repetition of the desired behaviour. Is it better to have the "perfect" programme which the client won't adhere to, or the mitigated programme which keeps them coming back for more. At some point, perhaps after months or even years, the client may be ready for the most efficient way to train, but until then it's important to meet their psychological need for variety and enjoyment, leading them all the while towards better and more effective ways of training.

Fat Loss Through Weight Training

Many people think that to lose fat they need to go on a restricted calorie diet and perform hour upon hour of cardio. Calorie controlled diets are virtually certain to backfire: they generally result in a loss of lean muscle tissue which leads to a corresponding drop in metabolic rate. Eventually progress with the weight loss plateaus until there is another drop in calories and a further reduction in metabolic rate. From here there are generally two options: continue the progressive calorie restriction (ultimately leading to anorexia and cachexia, or severe muscle wasting) or return to normal eating and put on even more weight than you lost due to the reduction in metabolically active muscle.

Aerobic exercise may help to shed even more calories but it does not effect major changes to body composition and metabolic rate. Cardio is ideal for health (the 30 minutes per day of exercise equivalent to brisk walking recommended by the ACSM) or sports-specific training, but weight training is superior for lasting fat loss and changes to body composition.

Not only can muscular hypertrophy lead to a better physique and the burning of significantly more calories at rest, but there are even protocols for training with moderate weights (65-75% of 1 rep max) that will generate high levels of blood lactate with a corresponding high production of growth hormone (which burns fat whilst stimulatin glean tissue growth).

For maximum fat burning it is essential to produce high levels of lactic acid by extending sets and increasing time under tension (through relatively high reps, say 10-15). It is helpful to pair exercises using super or compound sets and to reduce rest intervals (generally to between 45 and 65 seconds; sometimes as low as 30 seconds). This "incomplete" recovery contributes to the elevated lactate levels and growth hormone response.

Diet also has its part to play but not by excessively reducing calories. Generally the ratios of macronutrients need to be manipulated in favour of higher protein and lower carbohydrate (but not to the levels suggested by Atkins). Low GI complex carbs should be the principal form of carbohydrates. The level of carbohydrates decided upon will be dependant upon carb tolerance, energy levels, and activity. The only exception to the low GI rule should be the post workout (within 15 minutes) meal.

For more information on losing fat through weight training contact Derek at fishfitness@tiscali.co.uk