So, what is the best training style for dropping body fat and building a nice lean physique ?

Is achieving the best body composition spending hours on a treadmill? Running? Bootcamp? Cross Fit?

Remember... Body Composition is in relation to your lean body mass and body fat levels. Optimising body composition is decreasing body fat while increasing or maintaining lean body mass.

The best training method is the one that promotes these changes and trains predominately the ANAEROBIC SYSTEM.

I will always say the best plan is the one you can be consistent with long term and taking that into consideration the application of Strength Training with weighted load external to body weight will always be the best tool to gain ideal body composition improvements.

There are a few rules however that come into play...

‍Individualism‍

• Always have your goal in mind
• Think of where you are starting at in terms of training age
• Make sure the program will be effective for you, this includes exercise selection and progression
• Think of your genetic make-up, are you dominant slow twitch? Or are you dominant fast twitched? ie: endurance runner. (slow) vs sprinter (fast)
• Think of your individual preferences (Do you like circuit work, do you like lifting heavy?

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload simply just means doing a bit more each week in terms of the amount of work (volume) or quality of how intense the session is (intensity).

• Stress, Recover, Adapt. There needs to be a stimulus that causes enough stress where your physiology adapts and changes to handle the demands of the stressor. In this case we want to use weight training as the stimulus for tension, metabolic stress and damage on our muscles so we can adapt and grow
• You can progress with intensity or volume

‍Volume

The amount of work in the workout. There are many different ways to gauge this for example:

• ‍Total Sets x Reps x Tempo
• Total Sets
• Total Time Under Tension

There are also two terminologies to understand:

1. MRV: Maximum Recoverable Volume
2. MEV: Minimum Effective Volume

Basically, this relates to the bell curve. There is a point where the stimulus of workload is too little, and nothing will happen. There is also a point where you can do too much causing de-training and negative adaptions.

Take these into context as you’ll find different people can tolerate more volume than others. It is shown that females usually can tolerate more volume than guys.

Intensity

‍Relates to the weight used in relation to your 100% achievable effort at that given load or weight, your 1 Rep Max (1RM).

• Make sure you know what adaption and stimulus you are focusing on hypertrophy, functional hypertrophy, relative strength, power or absolute strength. All of these adaptions will require work at different intensity ranges to elicit the changes they involve.
• 70% Intensity of your 1RM is the minimum to train strength and mass . Without going through the science, linear or undulation applications here is the simple takeaway and basic frame-work that will cause stress, adaption and progression for body composition in regards to strength training.
• Have a weekly training schedule and commit to those days whether it is 3, 4, 5 or 6 days a week.
• Keep the same exercises for a minimum of 4 weeks.
• Put more volume on body parts you wish to bring up.
• One week increase volume (Reps).
• The next week increase intensity (Go the next weight up or 2.5-5% increase).
• Repeat either going up in reps or going up in intensity/weight.
• Only change exercises when you reach a plateau for 2-3 weeks. If you are progressing, keep going.
• De-load for 1 week every 8-12 weeks. Meaning back off the heavy lifting and volume to about 70% so you can recover. Simplified, lift a little bit less heavy and do less work that week, don’t work too hard so your body can recover and adapt to the work you have done throughout the weeks previously.
• Repeat this whole framework again until the next de-load.

‍Be Compliant. Be Consistent.

Coach Mick

‍If you want to talk to our team and see how we can help in regards to finding the best method for yourself to level up your physique you can book a discovery call: CLICK HERE.

We have many personal training packages available that will aid your body composition journey.

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Mind Performance Health

Unit 8/591 Withers Road, Rouse Hill

Personal Training Studio

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