The Experts on Fat Loss, Condensed
I have reason to believe that a lot of my readers also read Tmuscle, but in case you haven't seen it, check out this article on fat loss: it's a summation of what a baker's dozen of the best strength and conditioning coaches currently out there have to say about the best workouts for slicing blubber off your body. And since fat loss is the hottest topic out there--always--and these guys (they're all guys) make their living from this stuff, it's worth a look.
If you're really short on time, however, you can just refer to the Cliffs Notes version I've created below. Listed are the name of the coach and the technique or techniques he suggests:
Mike Robertson: eat less
John Romaniello: Full-body strength training
Martin Rooney: Sprints and lifting in circuits
Bret Contreras: Full body strength training plus prowler/Airdyne (metabolic) work
Christian Thibaudeau: eat less, sprints and Olympic lifts in circuits
Chad Waterbury: Full-body lifting plus rope jumping/ burpee ladders (metabolic)
Tim Henriques: Fasted morning steady-state cardio, incline treadmill walking
Mike Boyle: Eat less, Strength Training, Airdyne Intervals; approx. 2:1 work ratio
Alwyn Cosgrove: Basically, it's higher rep, density based, short rest-period resistance training.
Jim Wendler: Prowler / Sled Push 4-7x/week; strength training 4x/week
Nick Tumminello: Strength training, 300 yard shuttle run
Erick Minor: Heavy, full-body workouts done in superset or triset fashion
Scott Abel: "Power Sequences" aka "Combination Lifts"--a form of lifting complexes.
For people keeping score, the winners are:
Combination of Strength Training w/Limited Rest and High-Intensity Interval Training: 7
Strength Training with Limited Rest Periods: 4
Eat Less: 3
Fasted Steady State Cardio: 1
Note that the people who answered "Eat Less" weren't really answering the question, which was about optimal fat loss workouts. They admitted that for the most part, asserting the primacy of diet in determining body composition. So the clear winner is strength training (with a preference for limiting the rest periods) plus some form of High-Intensity Interval Training--sprints, sled pushes, work on the Airdyne (surprising to see two mentions of this particular device!).
It's worth noting that Alwyn Cosgrove, perhaps the biggest authority on this topic, does NOT prioritize HIIT in his workouts. I can't speak for him, but at a certain point, a strength-training workout with little-to-no rest becomes a HIIT workout; you're moving from one thing to the next so fast that it's more or less the equivalent of sprinting, only with fewer reps per movement. My understanding is that he's been seeking ways to limit the number of repetitions of a given movement in his fat-loss workouts, presumably for injury-prevention purposes--so HIIT doesn't make the grade, as it's high-rep by nature.
So if you're trying to lose fat and you're not doing strength-training with limited rest and/or HIIT training...the question is...why not??
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I’m not entirely surprised by Alwyn Cosgrove’s response.
He wrote the butt kicking workouts in Warp Speed Fat Loss. Three strength days and three cardio days.
Might come out of left field for ya, but on Cardio day it includes HIIT and steady state!
Also, on the strength days there is also HIIT.
I can confess. Doing that while carb starved is massochistic and the results are euphoric.
As I prepared to eat my last meal today, I looked at my overdone, over spiced ground beef and offered to God that I’d kill for ketchup. You my rest well tonight knowing that no one died. Ketchup stayed in the fridge. Nothing but perfection on this one. Eight days to go!
Lastly, check out those videos of circuits that Scott Abel put together. Holy Moses!
This sounds great and not far off of what I’ve been doing. I’d like to shed a few more percentage points off the body fat to get down to about 10 percent. How long would you recommend the limited rest periods be?
I’m certainly no expert, but I’ll throw out the three big things I’ve been seeing in a lot of writing by the experts lately.
1. Circuits – In this case, you put 4-8 exercises together and perform them back to back to back with no rest after each exercise. Essentially (if using barbell) you pick up the barbell and don’t put it down until the last exercise rep is done. After the circuit you rest for 60-120 seconds. Each exercise usually consists of 5-8 reps. However, some use a step or pyramid approach, such as 6,5,4,3,2,1 or 6,5,4,3,4,5,6. Having done some myself, I can tell you they will get your heart RACING!.
2. Following standard lifting protocols, rest periods of 30-60 seconds are recommended to improve fat loss. However, for super heavy/complex lifts like deadlift and squat, rest periods of 90 seconds are not frowned upon.
3. A third option to reduce rest periods is to consider pairing up antagonistic exercises. For instance, pick a push and a pull exercise. Perform them sequentially. This allows for smaller rest periods. So, instead of doing 3 sets straight of pull with 60 second rest, do alternating sets of push and pull with 30 seconds rest.
That pretty much sums up what I’ve been reading. Hope it helps!
Depends on who you ask!
Note “OneMad’s” comment below, he pretty much sums it up.
I like going as short as possible, to be honest. If you need to stop and breathe for a few moments between sets, so your form doesn’t fall completely apart, go for it, otherwise, keep on going! Metabolically, it becomes close to sprinting.
by Andrew Heffernan on Jan 25, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
Intense
I’ve found that Kettle Bells really get my heart rate up and the sweat pouring out, though I can’t really go more than 2 sets without rest, as my HR is at theoretical max.
Anyone know whether the best burn is based on “time at high heart rate” versus “very high heart rate”?
That is, better to go 3 minutes at 163 or to hit 165 twice in 5 minutes?
(p.s., I’m 58, so 165 exceeds theoretical max HR)
I'd tend to favor...
…average HR over your work period as a better indication of your output.
by Andrew Heffernan on Jan 25, 2010 11:08 PM EST up reply actions

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