Workouts play a really important part of the fat loss puzzle, but it's not what you think.
If you are using your workouts to "burn calories", you are missing the point completely. Most people throttle themselves in their workouts because they are trying to cause something fat loss wise.
Look: You are going to burn fat primarily with your diet.
Your workouts have an entirely different purpose.
The purpose of your workouts is to change your shape.
Simply burning fat is not enough. If you do calorie burning workouts only, you'll get smaller. But your shape doesn't change. If you are kinda pear shaped, you'll be a smaller pear.
Your workouts are to re-partition your body: Less fat (that's the gross jiggly part) and more muscle (that's the lean tight sexy part). That's what has your *shape* change.
If you gain 10 pounds of muscle and lose 10 pounds of fat, your scale weight doesn't change at all. But your shape changes dramatically. And you're wearing significantly smaller clothes.
How To Change Your Shape:
1.) Eat Protein At Every Meal
2.) Eat Better Quality Carbs and Fat
3.) Get Stronger In Your Workouts
So, even still, your workouts – while being totally essential – are one of three elements of changing your shape.
Your workouts should have you get stronger and move better and feel awesome.
You don't need to kill yourself in your workouts, because your food is still driving a lot of your results. Make awesome food choices, and slowly, smartly get stronger in your workouts.
Your Workouts Should Make You Better
We could do workouts where you are sore for days and are nauseous after every one.
Or we could do workouts that have you get stronger and move better.
Sometimes, they are one in the same. But not as often as you would think. Sometimes you've got to work your ass off. And sometimes, you need to go in the gym and clock a fairly easy workout that makes you stronger or makes you move better.
When it's time to work your ass off – do it. But mostly all I care about is that you add a rep here, or that you move up to the next weight. And that your form looks better than last month. That, over time, you're getting better.
Really, it's this simple: Women: If six months ago you were using the 26 lb kettlebell for everything, and now you are using the 35 lb kettlebell for everything, then you got better. Period. Guys, if six months ago you were doing everything with the 44 lb kettlebell, and now you're doing everything with the 53 lb kettlebell, you got better. You moved up. That's the game.
All the rest is food.
Get The Easy Part Right
I saw a tweet from someone from Gym Jones a while back (I can't find the tweet to know who it was, but I keep looking) that said:
"The workouts are the easy part. Get the easy part right."
How tottally effing genius is that?
Really, it's like this: Get on a good program. Follow the program. And then go to work on the food.
by Josh Hillis
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