The Ultimate Home Workout Fat Burning Plan Part 3

This article is part 3 in a four part series of articles to work on a home workout plan for people that want to drop fat and get fit (DFGF). Please keep in mind that if you wish to do any of these workouts in a gym then set the equipment up that you need before starting.

If you have missed the essential reading in part 1 it is here – Home workout plan part 1 and building on from that is part 2 which is here.

Remember before all workouts – to foam roll, do strengthening work for weak areas and dynamic stretch.

In this part I am going to outline five varied workouts and again as previously mentioned please consider the five workouts as a 7-14 day work block that should be done 1 through to 5 and NOT picking workouts from the previous two articles and mixing them in as we don’t want excessive repetition of similar movements.

One more point before I give you the workouts and that comes from a question I got on the program. The question was “The program looks great but why have you not got in any direct arm work e.g. biceps curls, triceps kickbacks etc or lots of core work, does this really work?” The simple answer is that when deciding on what movements give you the biggest bang for your buck when your primary goal is to DFGF then I am not going to incorporate exercises that do not deliver a big metabolic/fat burning hit. If lateral rasies using a can of beans or water bottle as some trainers suggest worked better than kettlebell swings, inverted rows, box hops, deadlifts etc I would use them but they don’t so focus on what has been proven to work. This is a point that must be at the forefront of your mind even if you are not going to be training at home as when many people train they spend an excessive amount of time doing exericses that have little to no effect on their overall goal e.g. the guy that wants to put on more muscle and get bigger spending 30mins pumping up his arms with three different biceps exericses yet does not deadlift or can’t even do a couple of pull ups! On the final part of the question – “does this really work”, well I have plenty of clients to show that yes it does work and if you are one of them post up your comments in the comment section to encourage others as to the benefits of short, intense workouts.

Even if you are a guy looking to get more muscular you will derive massive benefit from doing these workouts on your non-strength focused days. They will boost your conditioning and keep you lean while gaining the muscle you want so long as the diet stays in track. If you are a guy and want to know what and how to eat in order to get bigger, leaner and stronger then why haven’t you read my maximum muscle nutrition 101 article?

Dominic mid-swing on the kettlebells - metcons have helped me get fitter, stonger and faster

Ok back to the workouts –

Workout 1 – Snatch and Cindy. This workout will take you over 10mins but another great mix of a www.crossfit.com classic metcon (Crossfit Cindy) and a single arm dumbbell snatch.

Workout 2 – Kettlebell swing and box hop ladder. Use a small step/box for the hops and if a kid can do this one so can you!

Workout 3 – Squat, band pulls and mountain climbers. It’s really important that you get a good strong band as the band pulls are such a great upper back exercise to help pull your shoudlers back.

Workout 4 – 200 double unders. Another great reason to use skipping in your workouts and getting good at doing double unders is a great skill to master and one that does not come without much practice. Do 400-500 single skips if you do not have double unders yet. Those press ups take their toll after a few rounds!

Workout 5 – 60secs metcon. This is a 4mins work block in which you have the first 60secs to do as many squats as possible and then take the number you get away from 60 and do that number of pull ups or inverted rows with 60secs to complete all reps. While keeping the clock running do 60secs of press ups and again minus the number you get from 60 and do that number of pull ups or inverted rows. Rest for 1mins and repeat 3-4 times or do a 400m run between each 4mins round. Love this workout and its been a while since I did it myself and it’s on the cards for me very soon.

There are another five workouts to be done over a week or a even repeated twice over a month period. It really is important to remember that the people that are successful in all that they do, whether it be business, getting in great shape etc are that way because they have high standards to stick to. If your standard is to now look in the mirror and say “oh I’ll start the training and diet tomorrow because I just have too much on today, I’m too tired (insert excuse here)” then you will forever be reading another one of my articles that gives you all the tools to DFGF but never hold yourself up to a higher standard. This is the whole reason why I have a motivation section on my blog.

Have you given your all today or are you going to swim in a sea of your own excuses?

It would serve you well to have a read of the articles there as no one got in great shape by accident and no one got fat without overeating. Keep reminding yourself that if it’s got to be it’s up to me and raise your bloody standards!

Your program sucks! Here’s why….

It constantly amazes me when I am discussing training with new clients or just people I meet when I am out and about. What is it that keeps people that do make the effort to train regularly return to the same exercises or methods over and over again. I am not talking about doing squats, deadlifts, kettlbell swings, pull ups, press ups etc over and over again as there is massive benefit in doing these movements. What I refer to is the fact that so many people do the exact same weight, reps, exercises, time, no weights, no cardio, intensity etc in all their sessions.

Take a client of mine that came to me having only done walking as a means of exericse. Doing the same route in the same time over and over again at first might produce some fat loss results as long as the diet improves but over time my client realised that doing this was not the smart way to train as there was no ‘toning’ or increased muscle strengthening and fat loss happening. Afer a few weeks of varied training she is now feeling more energetic, lower body fat, improved fitness and loves the type of exercise she is doing. In each session (either one to one or my group sessions) we do a full body workout but again the important thing here is that the movements vary from session to session. Here is an example of what we did to finish out her last session –

I tend to put in movments I know she can do from home with her two kettlebells (8kg and 12kg) so she can feel comfortable hitting workouts at home in just 15-20mins max.

Another example of this is a client I have worked with for over a year now and I can still manage to keep the sessions varied from week to week. In the video below she does a three exercise work complex using rowing, glute ham raise sit ups and an explosive med ball toss. A few minutes before this she did the skipping ladder workout above but used press ups instead of kettlebell swings as I wanted her to do the med ball toss after and the movement pattern is too similar so did not want her tired for that exercise.

In each of these examples I am showing you should get an idea as to how you can vary your workouts from session to session. Do not feel like you have to do a single exercise, rest 2mins then repeat. The rest repeat approach is fine when you goal is to build maximum strength (which I also with with both of these clients) but should not be the only way in which you organise your training. This is even more true when your goal is to maximize fat loss.

When your primary goal is fat loss using metcons (metabolic conditioning), couplet/triplet work complexes, intervals, tabata etc will all have a bigger effect or bang for your buck as long as your diet is staying on track. Both of the above clients have children and limited time to train so the priority must be given to keeping the sessions varied, intensity, time limited (15-20mins or less) and progressive strength increases.

Take the following video of a workout I did this week – 85kg power cleans and ring dips for 12,9,6,3reps. This was all done in less than 6mins. After this I did 10mins of rowing intervals -1.15mins easy row (sub 2.05/500m) and 45secs hard row (1.45 or lower/500m) x 5 rounds. That’s a total work time of less than 20mins and if you take in warm-ups etc you are looking at 30mins for the entire session. In this workout I can get more ‘work’ done in less time than the average individual and for many people that want to drop body fat I would recommend you keep this as a goal i.e. can you get more work done in your sessions rather than spending more time training? This is NOT to say that you should not do some steady pace cardio i.e. long easy walk, jog, bike, row when you can, but when you have limited time to train then the last thing I would put in would be more slow paced sessions.

The message here is –

1. Keep your training varied using different exercises, rep ranges, sets, metcons etc

2. Keep aiming to get stronger

3. Proper training is not reserved for the elite – the clients featured in the videos are just like you but maybe they are more consistent and have a better plan of action than you?

4. Do exercise that works – pilates, power plates, ab crunches etc are not going to make a blind bit of difference when your primary goal is fat loss. Do the stuff that counts and if you don’t know what counts then you need to go see a proper trainer.

5. Make your training fun!

The final point is vital. When did training get so bloody serious? Your training program sucks if you have no plan, you are doing the same thing all the time, there is no progress happening and you feel it’s a means to an end. 

I hate this, I hate this! The people on the tv ad made it look so much easier and fun

Exercise is something you enjoy because it makes you feel and look great and I find variety, challenges and a good plan of action makes it the highlight of your and all my clients day.

25kg weight loss and still more to come

As I mentioned in a previous post (warren’s testimonial) I received another success story. This one came from Joanne who has already been kind enough to send on a testimonial about her and her husbands progress some months ago which is here .

This was a bit of a surprise for me as I had both Joanne and her husband Maurice up for a review last saturday and both were making excellent progress but I was delighted to find the following in my inbox on monday morning –

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“It’s been a year now since I started with you, and I wanted to write to let you know the difference it has made to me.
I have lost just over 25kgs, and have gone down a couple of dress sizes. What amazes me is not only the weight loss, but the confidence I have gained in that time as well.
Over a year ago, if I had a wedding coming up or any occasion, I would spend endless hours trying on clothes, spending  lots of money on something I didn’t feel great in, and my confidence would always be low.

I went on a hen night last night, and felt absolutely fantastic about myself. I felt I looked great, and I had an amazing time, because I could be myself. I wasn’t holding myself back because of my size. I didn’t feel self conscious at all, and it made such a difference.

You see the bottom line is, when you feel good about yourself, everything else falls into place. I am really looking forward to the next year, and I know I will get to my ideal weight, because of you.
The weight is only one aspect of this process for me. I always thought I needed to lose weight, but I never had the proper tools to do it.  I never imagined even losing this much weight would make such a huge difference. I am more confident, have way more energy and am enjoying life so much more. I feel everything is possible now. I also feel that you need to know that you have made this possible. You have a fantastic approach to training, and you have never made me feel that anything was impossible for me, and having Maurice (her husband) encouraging me every step of the way has also been invaluable. We look forward to our training sessions with you, and we always feel motivated and positive afterwards (and sore!).

So after one year of training, thank you Dominic!
Joanne

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I have not edited that in any way and it was such a nice mail that I know there are many many people that could benefit from reading it. Please keep in mind that Joanne feels that she is half way there and is planning on making more progress over the next year so stay tuned. I might also add that her husband Maurice has made great progress and now not only maintains a sub-ten percent body fat but has improved his strength, flexibility and fitness in a massive way. They come up from Limerick to see me once every 6-8 weeks and as I have mentioned before it’s not more education they benefited from it was more understanding that made those life changes permanent.

Joanne was kind enough to provide a photo of where she was and where she has gotten to and I love the fact that the after shot has kettlebells in it!

The before and after - 25kg lighter in a year

You too can make these changes with the right attitude and consistent application. I recommend you read my fat loss 101 article here and as Joanne mentioned “get the right tools to lose weight now”.

My 2009 Transformation

Yesterday I decided to take out the camera and take a photo of my good self.

This can seem like such a vain thing to do but can reveal much about your training and shows the real evidence of the progress you are actually making.

Dominic in 2008 – my pretty boy look!! Cringe

Well this was the result for over a years worth of effort –

Dominic December 2009

 Apart from the hair growth on the chest can you see the changes I have made in my body over the past 12+ months? I will detail how I did this soon so remember to post comments and I will expand on this asap.