In light of the upcoming spring season, I am devoting this week's Inside Fitness to tips and tricks for burning fat and bringing out that six-pack that's in high demand once beach weather comes.
The first step is to get in the gym. Keep the focus on higher repetitions at a lower weight. This technique serves to tone and harden the muscles, giving you the "hard" look. Train more frequently, but with less volume. This means that if you trained your chest once a week, doing four exercises of four sets each, cut down to three exercises of four sets, or four exercises of three sets, and train maybe twice a week (again, because of the lighter weight being used here, over training should be minimalized). Focus more on isolation and finishing movements, such as flys, pull-ups, and preacher curls. The same principle for upper body goes for legs, too. Keep the weight lower, and the reps in the 12-16 range.
Cardiovascular training is of the utmost importance for the beach look. Doing some sort of cardio workout at least three times a week for 30 to 40 minutes is optimal. Try to do it after lifting, so as not to completely tire you out before lifting. Another effective technique that is breaking up the cardio sessions. Instead of doing one 50 minute session, break it up into a morning session of 25 minutes, and an afternoon/evening session of the same. This approach may seem a little extreme, but it works very well in bringing up the metabolism.
Another way to get cardiovascular benefit is to decrease the resting time between sets while you're lifting. This adds an extra dimension to your weight training workout, shifting the emphasis from primarily strength and toning to endurance and strength and toning.
Perhaps the most important factor in losing fat and toning up for the beach is what you consume. I say consume, because the important things are not only what you eat, but what you drink as well. Most sources recommend eight to ten glasses of water per day, but pretty much every fitness magazine consulted puts that amounts upwards of a gallon a day.
In short, drink as much water as you can, as this will help you reduce fat, as well as contribute to your overall health. Eat lots of protein, probably 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Make sure the protein comes from lean sources, such as poultry, fish, and lean red meat (This does not include Carmichael cheeseburgers, or those processed chicken things, the "grillas.").
Also, try to avoid low-quality carbohydrates, and concentrate on finding high-quality ones (baked potatoes, brown rice). Low-quality carbs are those that are sugary or highly refined. These include most cereals, snack foods (chips), and candy, as well as sodas and many juices. Be sure to eat frequently throughout the day as well. By eating four to six small meals throughout the day, you speed up your metabolism (which helps burn fat), as well as safeguard against overeating at any one meal.
One last thing that many people do not get enough of is fiber. Make sure your fiber intake is sufficient throughout the day. Not only does fiber promote general health, it also helps burn fat. Sources of fiber include leafy greens and salads.
Follow these steps, and this spring break you'll be confident in your bathing suit at the beach.
I need some tips for a good calf workout. Any suggestions?
First, warm up thoroughly. Stretch out and make sure your calves are loose. You can begin with standing calf raises, either with a barbell behind your neck, or under the smith machine. Do a few sets, with higher reps in the range of 20 to 30. Move immediately to the seated calf raise. Do three sets of 16 to 20 reps, resting for a few seconds if the burn becomes too much. After that, go to the leg press and do calf presses, banging out reps of 20 to 30 again. This workout should be done quickly, with lots of stretching between sets so as to avoid cramping.
