Shaun Cadwalleder
With Christmas fast approaching you need a workout that is going to blow those excess calories away!
There is no better calorie burning workout than a good old simple compound exercise routine.
Focusing on many muscles will give you more burn for your buck!
Please note that although this program will certainly burn calories, to get the best results from your training it is imperative that your lifestyle choices align.
The following renowned statements still hold true:
You know what they say… “garbage in garbage out.”
- You cannot build muscle (and lose fat) without suitable rest!
During intense training sessions your muscles develop microscopic tears.
When you rest, your body supplies nutrients to these tears in order to repair muscles and make them stronger.
Find out more about how just a little rest can improve your health:
Recent scientific studies show that you continue to burn calories when you rest, post-exercise, especially during sleep.
According to certain studies there is a direct correlation between the amount of calories burned after a training session and the session’s intensity due to EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Consumption).
Finally, when your train hard you are depleting your energy reserves – without sufficient energy there is no way you can work out optimally; if you can’t workout optimally you will never progress optimally.
Which brings us on to the next point…
- You need to train optimally!
You don’t burn calories by cruising through workouts.
The clue is in the name, you have to “work” to get maximum benefits “out” of your training.
No pain, no gain folks!
- You must set goals that motivate – push yourself to achieve.
The only person you have to beat is the person you were yesterday!
Build muscle lose fat look great (2nd edition) – Everything you need to know to transform your body, by Stuart McRobert, is the looking after your body bible.
Don’t be fooled by the front cover, this is relevant to everyone with a goal to transform their body, not just the elite.
It provides tips on nutrition, sleep, finding somewhere to train, technique, etc.
The list of useful (but simple) information in this book is as abundant as Stuart McRobert’s experience!
Well worth a gander!
Time constraints
This workout takes roughly:
| Workout | Time |
|---|---|
| Warm up and stretch | 10 Minutes |
| 7 exercises x 3 sets x 20 seconds each | 7 minutes |
| 7 exercises x 3 sets x 30 seconds rest per exercise | 10 Minutes 30 Seconds |
| 7 exercises x 2 minutes in between exercises | 14 Minutes |
| Cool down and stretch | 10 Minutes |
Total time = 51 minutes 30 seconds
Round this up to 1 hour per workout each session and you have trained your whole body intensely!
If you do this 3 times per week you have spent 3 hours (1.79%) of your week training properly, burning those Christmas calories!
What’s more, if you align this sort of training with smart lifestyle choices there is no doubt that you can achieve the physique you always dreamed of!
You have half of a year before the summer is here so why not take these exercises; train hard for an hour, 3 times per week and make smart decisions!
If you genuinely have trouble making time or can’t help but make poor lifestyle choices please take a look at some of our other series’ here:
Things to do during active rest days or if you can’t lift weights
Although this programme is aimed towards the more able bodied individual, and those who have access to the necessary equipment, there are plenty of resources on our site to keep active over the festive period without lifting heavy weights!
The body has evolved to perform physically demanding tasks so walk, climb, swim, fetch, carry, dance, garden, crawl, jump, so do all these things! Not only do they keep you fit, they are enjoyable and often very useful. Remember that sitting is the new smoking! For further reading, take a look at some of the books written by Christopher McDougall.
Moving instead of sitting is also relevant for people who are prepared to indulge in this workout. As this plan only requires you to work out for three hours per week, you’re not expected to sit around doing nothing for all of the other hours!
Use the resources mentioned within this article as well as throughout our website, YouTube channel and podcasts to make sure you live a healthy, fulfilling life!
Equipment needed
- Barbell and weights
- A power rack or cage used to hook weights on when you have finished certain exercises
Workout
Warm up and stretching
Spend a few minutes gradually increasing your core body temperature, heart rate and circulation which will help increase blood flow to the muscles, as well as loosen and lubricate your joints. Light mobility stretches have now been shown to be better than static stretches in order to prepare your body for the range of movements ahead. By warming up, you are less likely to succumb to injury as your body is now prepared.
It is also a nice mental transition into an intense workout, clearing your mind for the challenge. Treat your workout like a meditation session. Focus on the mind/muscle connection during each contraction. ‘Starve your distractions and feed your focus’ dear student.
Light stretching and focused breathing between exercises
During each exercise your muscle fibres contract and extend, so it’s sensible to keep those muscles elasticised while you work out. Do this by stretching.
Muscles also respire more during exercise, making focused breathing another sensible idea. Muscle respiration is basically the demand of more oxygen, by your muscles, to break down glucose, creating fuel for your muscles.
Stretching and breathing also has other benefits… It aids the removal of lactic acid from muscles, reducing fatigue; it helps the body to deliver much needed nutrients to the muscle, aiding the recovery process; and it keeps you focused in between sets – Yes, that’s right, it keeps you away from the phone, away from the pretty girl and away from the mirror! Again: ‘Starve your distractions and feed your focus’ dear student.
Exercises
Before we start, another reference to Build muscle lose fat look great – Everything you need to know to transform your body, by Stuart McRobert. For exercise technique and correct posture it is very useful.
- Barbell squat
- Barbell deadlift
- Barbell chest press
- Barbell shoulder press
- Barbell bent-over rows
- Barbell calf-raises
- Crunches – Different variants
Cool down and stretch
Now you want to cool the body down, or ‘reverse warm up.’ You essentially do the opposite of what you did when you were warming up.
You start to reduce your core body temperature and heart rate back to a resting state. This continues to help with lactic acid removal (as mentioned in the stretching between sets paragraph above), it lowers your heart rate safely, it makes you feel more relaxed, invigorated and according to some studies, aids the recovery process.
Avoid plateau
One of the first points mentioned in this article was that you need to train optimally! You don’t burn calories by cruising through workouts. Keep those muscles guessing and keep your workouts interesting! You can do this by varying your sessions in all sorts of ways: the way you perform an exercise, your rest time, the speed in which you expand and contract muscles, your exercise sequence, the weights you use, the reps you perform, how hard you squeeze, the list is endless.
Just remember sweat droplets are the tears of fat, so work hard and make that fat sob!
Conclusion
While in the midst of festive season you are going to need a workout that will smash those excess calories!
So how do you do this? Simple, keep exercises simple, intense and work as many muscles at the same time as possible.
This workout will burn excess calories by focussing on the entire body.
Do not neglect other factors contributing to your overall health such as nutrition, rest and a positive mental attitude (PMA).
This plan takes up 1.79% of your week! There is no excuse for missing a session.
Don’t rest on your laurels – Keep moving! The body is built to move!
Avoid plateau in any workout that you do if you want to succeed. If you do the same thing, you get the same results.
Please carry on your journey through the Christmas series and use the resources on our site to your hearts content…
