Hey there,

Progression is a key factor in getting better results with your workouts.

I wanted to share three simple ways that I am progressing with my current weight lifting routine.

Before I share those three methods I am doing a three day per week (every other day), full body weight training workout plan that focuses on multi-joint complex exercises like deadlifts, push-presses, rows, lunges, etc.

Without further delay, here are the three methods

PROGRESSION METHOD #1. Increase Intensity of Your Lifts

This one is simple. Increase the amount of weight you lift from workout to workout. So, on Monday, the first week of a program you lift 150 pounds on a lift such as the bench press. On week two for your Monday workout you should try to increase the weight to 155 pounds.

PROGRESSION METHOD #2. Increase The # Of Reps/Set

Another simple way to progress from workout to workout is to increase the number of repetitions you complete for a given set. So let’s say Week 1 of your Wednesday training session has you set do 5 sets of 8 repetitions for each exercise in your workout. On week 2 of that same plan you would try to get 5 sets of 9 repitions. That’s an extra 5 repetitions per exercise per workout so that will put a greater training stimulus on your muscles.

PROGRESSION METHOD #3. Decrease Rest Periods Between Sets

This form of progression is great if fat loss is your goal. Here’s how this one works. Let’s say your Friday workout calls for you to do 4 sets of 15 repetitions with 60 second rest periods. On week two for your Friday workout you would decrease your rest periods to 55 seconds while keeping the weight and reps/set the same. This decrease in the rest period will make the workout more metabolically challenging on you. Week 3 you would drop it to 50 seconds, week 4 drop it to 45 seconds.

So there you have it - Three simple ways to progress with your resistance training workouts.

I hope these ideas are helpful and I hope that you use one or more of them.
Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

Howdy,

If you want to lose fat then you should be doing some form of cardio training in conjunction with
a good nutrition plan and resistance training. 

To get the most out of your cardio training you must use progression to keep the fat loss results
coming and to make progress towards your goals.

Here are three ways to crank up your fat burning cardio results:

1.  Increase Time - A simple way to get more of a calorie burn is to simply add more time to your
cardio workouts.  This is not my preffered choice for intermediate or advanced trainees but it is a great way to start if you are new to cardio workouts.  

2.  Increase Intensity - You can get more work done in less time by cranking up the intensity of your
cardio sessions.  There are two main ways to do this.  The first is to increase the speed of your efforts
(pedal faster).  The second is to increase the resistance of your cardio.  If you have been pedaling
at level 15 on the stationary bike you can increase it to level 16 to do more work in less time. 

3.  Increase Frequency - The final way to add progression to your cardio training is to increase how often you do your workouts.  If you have been doing cardio 3 days per week you can add a fourth cardio session to your weekly plan. 

Just be sure to balance work and recovery.  As you get closer to your fat loss goals you may eventually move to daily cardio to give you that extra push.  

Just keep in mind how you can improve from workout to workout and try to beat your previous performances. 

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com  
P.S. - If you are short on time and equipment in your home gym training the 4-minute H.I.I.T. workouts are powerful way to crank up your fat loss results.  To learn more Click Here   

Howdy,

As I mentioned in my last video I was recently down at the Ryan Lee Bootcamp (an awesome seminar for fitness professionals) and I spent some time hanging out with my buddy Josh Henkin, creator of the Ultimate Sandbag. 

Sandbags are one of my favorite Odd Objects to train with so it was really cool to grab Josh and pick his brain about Sandbag training. 

While I was hanging out with Josh I grabbed him in the hallways and forced him to share some awesome fat burning Sandbag Training tips for you! 

Just click on the Play Button below to see Josh’s Fat Burning Sandbag tips…

 I have two of Josh Henkin’s Ultimate Sandbags in my basement and I use them often in my home gym and outdoor training. 

Training with sandbags is challenging on the abs, core, grip, and EVERYTHING for that matter and doing these Sandbag Complexes that Josh mentioned in the video are great for fat loss!

Performing a series of multi-joint, sandbag exercises like cleans, snatches, squats, lunges, presses, zercher goodmornings, etc will activate muscles all over your body and burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. 

That’s why I love short, intense Sandbag Complexes for for fat loss.   

No one needs a Sandbag to do these complexes, you can certainly do these complexes with Dumbbells and even a barbell but a great way to keep your muscles guessing is to work Sanbags into the your training arsenal! 

I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU:  Have you ever trained with Sandbags?  Ever trained with any other Odd Objects?  Drop me a line and let me know if you like this training tool!

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

Hey there,

Phew…

What a day…

I am chilling in my hotel room, shoes off, after a long day at Ryan Lee’s Bootcamp. It’s been awesome shooting video and masterminding with some of the top fitness professionals in the world (trainers flew in from ALL OVER THE WORLD to be at this event!).

Good news for you…

I’ll be sharing some great video interviews and fat loss tips in the very near future that I recorded with various fitness professionals while I was here.

In the meantime, check out this video I shot with John Sifferman this morning in the Stamford Conneticut Hilton.

Just hit the play button to watch this video…

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

P.S. - If you’re looking for more Home Gym Training ideas Click Here…

P.P.S. - What other ways can you think of to incorporate this Med Ball Burpee exercise into your fat burning workouts?  Share your thoughts below…

 Other Media: Download

I made a fun strength training video that demonstrates many different types of exercises.  I’m sure you’ll get a lot of new training ideas from this:

Strength Training and Weight Training Exercises for Fitness

To your health and success,

John Sifferman, NSCA-CPT

P.S. This was created for my new website http://www.johnsifferman.com

If you’ve been reading here at FatBurningBlog for awhile, then you have no doubt heard me talk about the amazing benefits of joint mobility training. Just this morning I had the opportunity to spend over an hour with high school soccer athletes (both the boys and girls varsity teams) teaching them joint mobility exercises. Many of the athletes were surprised how difficult the exercises were and how much tension they were carrying in their bodies. By the end of the session, everyone was moving better and it was enjoyed by all.

That’s one of the coolest things about joint mobility training - the instantaneous benefits.

I just found this video on youtube that I thought you would enjoy. This is my coach, Scott Sonnon, explaining the nuances of a proper joint mobility program. This information is priceless and is valuable for anyone whom exercises regularly. This is taken directly from Scott’s home exercise DVD program: Intu-Flow: Moderate, Sustainable Exercise for Pain-Free Health and Longevity.

Scott Sonnon’s Intu-Flow Beginner Part 1

I guarantee that if you apply the principles that Scott outlined in the video, that you will be on the fast-track towards significant progress in your workout routine. If you would like to learn more about Scott Sonnon’s Intu-Flow program, check it out here:

https://rmaxinternational.com/The-Intu-Flow-Complete-package.html

I wouldn’t recommend something that I don’t believe 100% in its value.

To your health and success,

John Sifferman, NSCA-CPT

P.S. If you would like to read my review of Intu-Flow here at fatburningblog, click here.

Howdy,

Got something cool for you to see…

If getting ripped abs is on your list of priorities when it comes to your current fitness program, do not overlook the importance of your usual strength training
activities.

One of the biggest misconceptions about getting ripped abs is that you must spend hours doing ab work alone.

Unfortunately this is furthest from the truth,

The real fact of the matter is that when you are lifting heavy during your squats, lunges, deadlifts, and the bench press, you will be using the ab muscles to a great degree.

If they were not working, you would find yourself feeling unstable, and chances are, you would wind up injured.

The ab muscles are going to be called into play with every weight lifting exercise you do, so ensure proper form is being utilized during all workout sessions.

Furthermore, one of the major factors in developing ripped abs, is going to be getting your body fat level low enough for them to be seen clearly.

(this is the key factor)

If you’re not approaching close to single digits, chances are you may have great ab muscles, but you aren’t going to see them when looking in the mirror.

Weight training exercises are one of the best ways to boost your metabolic rate, which will then help you burn off body fat all day long. Do keep in mind though that all weight lifting activities are not created equally.

A heavy set of squats is going to ramp up the metabolism a great deal more than a set of bicep curls would for example.

To utilize this principle, try your best to program your weight lifting routine so that only core, compound lifts are included.

This would be movements such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, bent over rows, shoulder presses, and the bench press.

Not only will this provide you with a far better whole body workout without wasting too much time on needless exercises, but it will also help you achieve that ripped abs look that you are going for.

Lastly, keep in mind that ripped abs and strong abs can mean different things.

If you do a great deal of weighted abdominal work, you may actually cause your ab muscles to grow larger, thus giving you the appearance of a wider waist. Unless the body fat levels are not low again, you’ll just end up looking bigger in the middle, rather than more defined.

So, in order to make this goal a reality for you, first focus on getting low enough body fat levels to get those abs showing.

This can be accomplished through a solid lifting program and a clean diet.

Then, if you are not happy with the shape of the ab muscles or the amount of ab muscle development, start focusing on doing more work focused on just this muscle group itself.

Today’s "How To Get Ripped Abs" tip is from my buddy Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at:

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

I highly recommend checking out his program. You can learn more about it by Clicking Here:

Train with purpose,


Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
http://www.askthefitnessexpert.com/burn
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

Question:

I was just wondering…How can you tell when adaptaion sets in…..Does adaptation mean that your muscles won’t get sore after a particular routine or that your muscles will get sore but they just won’t get any bigger…….Basically, my question is,….Does soreness equal muscle growth in spite of how long a person has been doing a particular routine?

Kyle’s Answer:

Hey there,

Thanks for the question. Let’s see how I can help you out…

The quick answer to your question is ‘No.’

Soreness is not a good indicator of whether or not you have adapted to a given exercise program and is certainly not a good indicator of progress.

It has been typically stated by various strength coaches and trainers that a given person will adapt to an exercise program in 4-6 weeks.

Beginners can typically stick with a weight training program for even longer than 6 weeks and still see progress from that same program due to the fact this is a new stimulus for the body…

However, people that have been training for longer periods of time need to change their training program even more frequently so as to keep their body’s adaptation response going…

Now, regarding the soreness point you bring up,

I understand that that soreness feels kinda good when you first start training or when you switch your training program up and that it can seem like a good thing - like your body is changing and adapting.

When you first start working out you get sore. You also get sore when you switch routines or add new exercises to your workout plan.

This soreness however is not a good indicator of progress.

What Should I Look At To Measure My Progress?

Depending on your goals, you should be tracking certain key measurements such as body fat percentage, girth measurements, bodyweight, strength, etc.

Fat loss expert Tom Venuto calls this keeping yourself in a “Feedback Loop.”

The results you see from your Feedback Loop should be what you go by to see if you are making progress towards your fat loss goals…

So, I would recommend that you instead focus on whether the sum of your current strength training, cardio, and nutrition plan are bringing you closer to your goals (this is a key reason why you SHOULD have a definitive goal that you are working towards).

Train with purpose,


Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
www.FatBurningInnerCircle.com

Sometimes, we just need something simple and quick to train for our fat loss goals. This circuit is guaranteed to give you both strength and cardio benefits, while scorching your metabolism into fat burning mode. You’ll be huffing and puffing, but this one is over in just 15 minutes. Are any of you daring enough to try out this fat burning workout? Bare Essentials Fat Burning Circuit Repeat 3x, no rest between exercises, 1 minute rest at the end of each circuit:

• Bodyweight squats - 1 minute
• Pushup variation according to skill level - 30 seconds
• Front plank - 30 seconds
• Walking lunges w/ or w/o DB’s, KB’s or sandbags, (etc.) - 30 sec./leg
• Mixed grip pullups (either vertical or horizontal) - 30 seconds on the bar, no letting go
• Choice of Mountain Climbers or Bear Walk 30 seconds
• Rest 1 minute

Notes: For the timed sets, you don’t need to be repping out during the entire time. If you fatigue before the time period ends, rest and catch your breath, then try to squeeze some final reps in before the end. All of the exercises can and should be modified to fit your current conditioning level. If you like this fat burning workout, and would like some more mini-workout ideas, check out http://www.quatrofit.com To your health and success, John Sifferman, NSCA-CPT