Ross Jackson Personal Trainer

Eating to lose body fat isn't particularly complicated, but it can be difficult.

If you find it difficult, DO NOT take this as a reflection of your capabilities as a person - in many ways, fat loss goes against what your body naturally wants you to do...

Below I have listed a few ways of making things easier if you have a goal of losing fat.

1) include foods you enjoy in your diet as much as possible. Typically when people start a diet, they assume certain foods are "bad" and restrict themselves. Naturally, if we tell ourselves we can't do something, we want to do it ! This will very rarely lead to long term, sustainable results. Instead, this will probably result in binge eating, feeling like you have "ruined" your diet and reduced confidence in your ability to lose fat.

2) minimise stress. Stressful situations sap our energy and reduce will power, making it difficult to keep control over what we eat. Aim to get 8 hours sleep a night, plan your days and try to find time to relax and switch off.

3) plan diet breaks. Dieting for a long time can become laborious and draining. Instead of throwing the toys out of the pram when things get hard and ditching the diet altogether, schedule days every few weeks to stop tracking your food and eat whatever you fancy. This will give you a mental break from the process, allow you satisfy any cravings you might have and make your results far more maintainable in the long term.

SQUAT-TASTIC!!!

Guys are often thought of as having inferior flexibility to girls. However some of my male PT clients go against this theory and show some pretty decent mobility in their squats. Looking good guys 💪

Lifting weights in the 8 - 12 rep range is often thought of as the "optimal" rep range for building muscle.

However, the weights used in this rep range are moderate, and it is easy to hit a plateau with the amount of load lifted in this rep range.

Lifting weights in the 1 - 5 rep range is more effective for increasing strength due to the heavy load used.

Using "heavier" lifting could allow for more weight to be lifted in the 8 - 12 rep range, therefore allowing more muscle growth to be stimulated.

If you are training to build muscle naturally, I would recommend using a variety of different rep ranges in your training program, or alternating between extended periods of power lifting and body building style training.

Here's my client V in 2 different deadlift set up positions...

The picture on the left shows a couple of common deadlift faults, the picture on the right shows these faults corrected.

1) hips are too low ! When setting up for the deadlift, the hips should be pushed "back", instead of "down". Pushing the hips back increases activation of the glutes and hamstrings , 2 really important muscles in the deadlift.

2) head not aligned with torso. This reduces drive from the nervous system during the lift and increases chances of a neck strain. Instead tuck the chin down by looking at the floor in front of you.

Get some sleep !

Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle / strength gain, how much sleep you get can have a MASSIVE effect on your results.

I have noticed a lot recently that when clients report good sleeping patterns, the following things seem to happen...

More weight on the bar
Less binge eating - more adherence to nutrition plan
Training with more intensity
Improved mood

Coincidence ? I think not !

It is common for gym goers (often female) to lift light weights for high numbers of repetitions in order to "tone up".

Muscle can only do two things - get bigger or smaller.

Muscle tone increases when body fat is reduced (mainly through nutrition), making muscles more visible.

To achieve a toned looking physique, lift heavy weights using big movements like squats, lunges, dead lifts, presses and pulls. Eat less calories than you burn and your on the right track.

The single most important training factor in muscle gain is progressive overload.

Basically this means that over time, the total number of repetitions and / or the weight you are lifting on an exercise is increased.

Training to build muscle ?

Do you follow the classic "body part split" ?

It seems most guys who hit the gym nowadays use the approach of training chest on a Monday, legs on a Tuesday etc, etc, training each muscle once a week, copying the likes of Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler...

This is mental. I cannot think of two guys who are any further away from the average guy who hits the gym !

Unless you are pumped full of enough steroids to kill a small country, smashing each muscle group once per week is NOT the most effective way to build muscle.

Why ? Training frequency... hitting each muscle every couple of days, instead of every 7 days will yield far better results, for the natural trainee.

If your training 3 x per week, do 3 full body workouts.
If your training 4 x per week, do 2 upper and 2 lower body workouts (yes, legs twice a week!)
If your training 5 x per week, do 2 upper, 2 lower and one full body workout.

Squatting with heavy weights is awesome, but only if you have enough mobility...

If your squats resemble the guy below, work on your mobility until your squats look more like the girl.

Otherwise, you are at greater risk of injury and will find yourself quickly limited by the amount of weight you can lift.

Porridge oats are a great addition to any diet. Full of fibre, a great source of energy for hard training and they keep you feeling full for ages - really important when eating to lose fat.

I like to fire some into a shaker with chocolate milk, banana and peanut butter. How do you eat yours ?? 😀

Well done to mum and daughter Anne and Aimee who have been training with myself at Kaizen.

Anne has lost 27 pounds since February and Aimee has lost 13 pounds since June.

Both of them have been really dedicated and consistent with their nutrition and still have the odd night out . Well done guys 😁💪