Adding for fat loss

By Pete Ryan

Fat loss is often focussed on deprivation.  You will often see the gurus online touting this and that, and usually these people will suggest things like:

• Giving up carbs
• Cutting out fat
• Removing treat foods

How about we turn this idea on its head and see where that journey will lead us? Most people who want to lose fat have a few related issues. They do not eat well and they do not move enough.  If we look at these dual issues and consider our problems from the viewpoint of adding things then we can develop a very interesting approach to dealing with these issues.

Let’s look at 2 scenarios and how we approach them…and the probable result:

Scenario 1

You come to me and I say you will no longer eat treats, junk food or desserts. You will cut all sugar from drinks and only eat whole food stuff from now on; you would also limit yourself to 2,000Kcal (or less) per day.  Would that work?  Well, technically yes, IF you did that, then you would most likely lose weight…but would many people stick to it? Research suggests that most people will not be able to maintain the discipline necessary to keep this up over the long term, so they will fail and return to their old eating habits.  They may lose weight for a while, but eventually the fat will be regained and maybe they’d even develop more as they rebound from the caloric deprivation back to surplus calories.

Scenario 2

Suppose a person comes to me and I say they can continue doing exactly what they do now, but add some vegetables (focus mainly on green leafy vegetables), have them with as many meals as they can and try to eat those first.  I suspect most people could do that, they would also be filling themselves up with bulky greens and so not have so much room for everything else.  So, after a week or two they may well find that they have lost fat, and also that they have started to feel better too.  So, now  suggest that they add a 10 minute walk after each meal. No crazy workouts, just a walk at a pace that is just above their normal walking pace, but not exhausting.  Most people could do that as well.  Pop on an audio book or podcast and take a brisk stroll for a few minutes after most meals.  No need to become a zealot, but if you have 10 minutes, briskly stroll around the block, through a park or whatever is nearby, even on a treadmill while watching a TV programme if you prefer that. I can see people managing those things without too much trouble.

So, let us look at these two scenarios.  One will lead to extreme deprivation and most probably lead to failure, while the other is very easy to implement and kickstarts the fat burning process without any sense of deprivation at all.  The mindset is different when you add compared to when you subtract things.  People feel better when they have more, the fact that having more will mean they actually consume less and burn more calories doesn’t matter.  The fact is that having more will allow treats and indulgences, but will still often result in fat loss and improved health. This means that for some of the population, this method may be the key to success.  Remember, you do not have to stop there, continue to add things that will improve health, add foods you haven’t tried before, add things like a new activity to your lifestyle.  All of these changes, small as they are, soon add up.

This approach will not work for everybody, some people have a single slice of cake, then uncontrollably eat the whole cake! If you suffer from addictive tendencies, then this method may not work for you.  Know yourself, if you are an average person with some fat to lose, consider this method as an option.  Make slow, calculated changes over time.  Spend a few months eking out the pound or two lost by adding in greens, the pound or two lost by adding in a ten minute walk. Keep the fat loss going over a few months and you will look like a new person and not have to have given up on any food you enjoy.  You will find that naturally you will eat some things less, but that is all, with the added bonus that you can have that piece of pie or slice of pizza.

It is a good method to begin the process of fat loss for most people, so consider adding things to your diet and lifestyle, not taking things away when you begin the fat loss process.

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Time to antagonise you!

By Pete Ryan

I was watching a youtube video the other day.  The guy was going on about the importance of doing push-ups (press-ups) ever day.  Work up to 100-200 a day (over 36,000 reps a year).  Push-ups are relatively easy and not too taxing, you could do this and not overstretch your CNS recovery, and if you varied the form there wouldn’t be too much of an issue with overuse (change arm position, different angles, use handles, add weight etc)...but my mind went straight to the effect this would have on your muscular balance.  Your triceps (back of the arm) and anterior deltoids (front of the shoulder) would be receiving a massive volume, whereas your rear deltoids (back of the shoulder) and biceps (front of the arm) would not receive much activation at all.  Also your core (think of a very thick belt around your midsection between your hips and your ribs that stabilises the spine, that is the muscular region we are usually talking about when we talk about the ‘core’ ).  The front (ab) region would get loads of work, but the rear section (lower back), would get very little. I see this as a real problem.

Muscular balance

I believe that you should aim at muscular balance.  If you can bench press 100Kg, then you should be able to row 100Kg (approximately – this is raw, not bench pressing in equipment). If you can shoulder press your own bodyweight overhead, then you should be able to do pull-ups relatively easily (both for reps and with added weight). I’ve read various ideas about an ideal amount for each lift, but I believe these will vary depending on body type and your own, personal make-up.  The important thing is, if you push you should pull, if you twist one way, you should twist the other way, if you work the left side, then you should work the right side.

Let me use the example of the push-up I started with.  The push-up uses the back of the arm (triceps) and the front of the shoulder (anterior deltoid).  If these get really, really developed they will tend to set you up for imbalances.  Think of the shoulder, if the front is really strong and the back is very weak, the head of the humerus  (the arm bone) will get pulled forward, so it will be in slightly the wrong position when you do any movement. This will only be a tiny amount, you will not feel it, but over the years things like osteoarthritis can occur or you may develop nagging shoulder pain or impingement? So, is there a way to avoid these issues?

Balancing up

There is a simple way to balance out the muscularity, and you do not need to have a diploma in anatomy to do it. Simply work the body through the opposite movements.  If you bench press, then row, if you overhead press, then do a chin-up or pulldown.

You work the antagonist muscles, the muscles that work the opposite motion (or often can be used to stop that motion occurring).  The easiest example is the biceps and triceps in the arm.  The biceps curl the arm, while the triceps straighten the arm.  They do the opposite jobs.  If the biceps are fully flexed, you cannot straighten your arm, if the triceps are fully flexed you cannot bend your arm.If one is too powerful, or the other too weak, then issues with the arm can occur.

The easiest way to sort out the body when thinking about this is by using the push/pull for the upper body (the lower body has a slightly more complex interactions).

For the upper body think of it split like this:

• ·         Horizontal push
• ·         Horizontal pull
• ·         Vertical push
• ·         Vertical pull

So, let’s head back to the 100-200 push-ups per day.  In this case you are doing a horizonital push, so you would need a horizontal pull to balance that out. I would suggest you add another movement into this equation.  If you are doing 100-200 push-ups then why not add some inverted rows into the mix.  You may not easily get 100-200 inverted rows as they are somewhat more of a challenge than a push-up, however getting 40-50 should be easily doable, with many of you easily getting 80-100 reps with practice.  This would help maintain shoulder stability by building the rear deltoid, balancing arm development and also be added work on keeping the core stable and more in balance front to back, which is a nice bonus.

Summing up

So, I want you to consider as you workout that every time you pull, you push.  This does not have to be on the same day.  An old ‘bro-split’ was back and biceps one day and chest and triceps the next.  Just try to keep those movements balanced.  Many people end up with issues simply because they fail to balance the body as it develops.  Don’t be one of those people!

If you want more about building the body in a balanced way I am happy to talk about more advanced concepts, just reply on here and let me know.

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