The Fat Loss Results Ladder

A few years back when I decided I was going to commit my life to ripping fat off people and getting them as close to athletic status as possible, I began to wonder if one thing was more important than the other.

See most people fail at fat loss attempts due to a perceived lack of time.

They do have time but the perception is there.

I needed a way to prioritise certain elements to deliver fast results in the short-term to buy me time to change these perceptions.

Unfortunately the world is impatient especially personal training clients.

Man they can get nasty if those pounds don't come off immediately!

I got inspired by Alwyn Cosgrove's 'Hierarchy of Fat Loss' but since then I've developed a comprehensive list of my own.

This is the 'Fat Loss Results Ladder'

A lot of these I struggled to prioritize over another as my truthful answer is 'Do them all, now!' if you want great results.

However, there is some kind of logic to this which pretty much goes...

Mental stability --- Nutrition --- Intense training --- Recovery --- Tweaking

If you are struggling for results, then work your way down the ladder, ticking them off as you go. If you hit one that you are not adhering to, sort it out immediately and you will more than likely see results. If not move on to the next and the next.

1 - Set STORM goals which have solid emotional attachments

Specific, Timed, Operations-based, Relevant, Measurable.

Have you made sure you qualify for these goals and you know exactly what is required of you?

Are you willing to pay the price for this goal in terms of finances, time and sacrifice?

Try the Magic Hundred, like I do- it's revolutionised my approach to life!

2 - Eat lean protein, vegetables, healthy fats 95% of the time

This means eliminating coffee, alcohol and all processed sugars - FULL STOP.

3 - Perform heavy resistance training and / or metabolic resistance training,
involving all muscle groups 2-3 times per week

I prefer metabolic weight training as found in the Fat Loss Action Blueprint. It's fun, it's intense and it delivers great conditioning at the same time!

4 - Perform high intensity interval training and or sprint interval training 2-3 times per week



200-400m sprints are optimal if going by distance.

Alternatively, use time e.g 1 minute hard, 2 minute recovery pace x 8

5 - Drink 30-50ml of water per kilo (2lbs) of bodyweight every single day

Water has more power than Barack Obama - it rules EVERYTHING in your body.

6 - Eat 70-120g of lean protein every day

Small ladies towards 70g, big lads towards 120g

7 - Eat a protein based breakfast at home, everyday



Use eggs where possible or a good protein supplement, but try to avoid sugarry cereals even the 'healthy' ones which aren't such as Special K.

If you don't know how to make healthy breakfasts get 'Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle'

8 - Make sure you really are busting your butt and sweating hard in your training sessions

You should struggle to finish a session - this means not giving up at the first sign of lactic acid!

Get a training partner who is fitter than you to make this happen!

9 - Ensure you are cutting your rest, adding weight or adding reps every single week

Sessions should get harder and more intense as you progress not easier!

10 - Restrict carbs to only after training sessions for recovery

Refuel your muscles ready for the next session, then let your body feed on fat at all other times.

11 - Fast 1-2 times per week for 24 hours

I do this regularly following the EatStopEat program.

I drink nothing but water for 24 hours once per week, which minimises my body fat and helps me clear out the few chemicals which do enter my body!

You'll love this program and it may just change your life and body - that's how much I value it.

12 - Make sure you are totally focused on short and intense rather than long and moderate paced aerobic exercise

Forget aerobics and long-runs. They're so 90's (said in high school cheerleader style).

13 - Add 10-15 minutes aerobic training at the end of each session

Intense training releases fatty acids into the bloodstream. Moderate paced cardio can then help burn this instantly.

Get to bed before 10.30 at least 4 times per week

14 - Have a deload week every 4 weeks to allow muscle recovery and regeneration

Recovery is where the magic happens. Constant bashing of your body will lead to backwards steps rather than forwards

15 - Make sure you are mildly (or very) anxious before training

Your last session should have you a little nervous about the next - believe me it's good for you as you know you're training hard enough!

16 - Eat only organic food

Less chemicals in the body mean less fuzz to prevent your internal systems working as they are designed to.

17 - Add fish oil supplements

Strong evidence to suggest this can help burn fat and keep everything healthy.

18 - Forget the irrelevant stuff!

Forget about very minor issues like walking up stairs instead of the elevator, chasing the dog around the park, chewing gum, drinking ice cold water etc!

Too much time is wasted on the things that account for such a small amount of calories that it doesn't really make any difference!

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There you have it - the Fat Loss Results Ladder from Storm Force Fitness.

If you are tempted to skip rungs because they don't suit you, you have the answer right there to your fat loss problem!

You must be willing to make changes if you want to see changes.

The key - GET ON WITH IT!

Jon

Resources to help:

Magic Hundred - Goal Getting



Fat Loss Action Blueprint



Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle



Eat Stop Eat - Intermittent fasting for fat loss

The deal with protein

When men were men and girls did cardio, protein was for those who sought nothing but arms big enough to get stuck in a cat flap.

However, times have changed and now girls do weights (if they have any sense) and cats themselves are fat enough to get stuck due to being fed the same rubbish their owners eat.



With this new found wave of girls with great, toned bodies and metrosexual men with crap hair cuts came the multi-billion dollar protein industry with everything from 'Red Carpet Body Shakes' to 'Maxi Bicep Pump Magic' with more colours than a Willy Wonka golden ticket bar.



I too got suckered into thinking more protein equals more muscle.

However, after reading Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat e-book which comes with 'How Much Protein?' my eyes were opened wide to some interesting truths.

1) Nearly all research confirming the need for 5-6 meals per day all containing protein, has been funded by supplement companies.

You can work that one out for yourself.

2) Having shovelled as much protein in as possible to build muscle, was I really that much bigger over a few years?

The answer is 'not really'.

Surely if muscle growth was directly correlated to protein intake I would have nearly twice as much muscle as I had when I ate three meals per day containing protein, compared to six.

Brad goes on to discuss how many of the guys we see guzzling shakes and bars as soon as they're off the gym floor rarely make noticeable progress unless they are on the 'magic juice'.

This would indicate it is actually something wrong in their training programs.

3) There is strong evidence that past eating 70-120g of protein per day, extra protein will not be used to build extra muscle. (Small females towards the lower end and big boys towards the top)

Annoyingly, these amounts are the same as what was first discovered around 1900.

That was 100 years well spent then.

Girls listen up - many of you (and some blokes) do not get ENOUGH protein. You should be aiming for 70g of lean quality protein each day if you want to add muscle and burn more fat for a curvy, lean body.

4) Much of the research 'proving' that protein intake above these amounts led to greater lean muscle tissue is actually flawed as they are based not on measuring lean muscle tissue but on positive nitrogen balance in the body.

Brad tells us that at this time, there is no way to accurately measure lean muscle tissue increase and no concrete evidence that positive nitrogen balance means a proportionate increase in lean muscle tissue.

5) There is little evidence to suggest we are able to put on more than 2-5lbs of pure lean muscle tissue (not including water) over about 8 weeks.

You really must see the review of the research that Brad provides to fully grasp these concepts!

Self-experiment

As always I had to experiment on myself before agreeing or disagreeing with any of this.

Along with the intermittent fasting of the Eat Stop Eat program (I did one 24h fast per week instead of two as I'm not looking to drop weight), I reduced my protein intake from around 170g per day to 100-110g.

Bear in mind I am doing this during a 12 week tough conditioning program which isn't focussed on heavy lifting. I'm focussed solely on improving endurance, stamina, and power-endurance during this program which includes one long run each week.

You would therefore expect a drop in muscle mass due to lower protein intake if what we thought we knew about protein was right.

However, in the last 4 weeks my weight has remained exactly the same at 79kg with my body fat reducing slightly as can be seen below.



The other benefits of using Pilon's program are four fold:

1) My food bill has gone down by 20 GBP per week (about $30).

2) It was nice to have a day without having to worry about eating times and I got a lot more done because I timed it with my busy Fridays.

3) It made me realise that a lot of my 'hunger' is merely because I and the crappy fitness magazines have programmed me to think I need food (including lots of protein) every 3 hours or I am going to waste away.

This has also been great for self-discipline.

4) It automatically creates a calorie deficit for fat loss without needing to measure portions or rule your life by food times.


Before you protein monsters dismiss this, listen up.

Anyone that knows me well enough knows that the concept of Jon Le Tocq going 24 hours with nothing but water is absurd. I am an eating machine capable of devouring obscene amounts of food when required in eating competitions.

Thoughts about doing this bounced around my head for a good ten days but I ALWAYS experiment if I think it will bring clients and readers better results when they have stuttered to a halt.

You will surprise yourself and could completely change your approach to food both for yourself and for clients if you are a trainer!

I strongly suggest you check out Brad's program as soon as possible to discover the truth about protein.

Failing that, just experiment on yourself for a few weeks - you'll surprise yourself and could save a packet!

PS Brad has some very interesting thoughts on protein supplements...

Eat Stop Eat

The single leg squat

I have a love-hate relationship with this exercise!

I love the effects on leg strength and hip/knee stability.

I hate how much concentration it requires to avoid falling off a table with a kettlebell shaped hole in the head.

The single leg squat and its variations should be one of the first players on your team sheet when designing a workout if you are looking to develop leg strength and power for sport or just functional strength.

Performed properly it will do wonders for developing strength through full range of motion on one leg - something sadly neglected in a lot of strength programs when too much emphasis is put on size and the 'big three' of squats, deadlifts and bench press.

Sport is not performed on two legs or lying on a bench, so why train like that.

These exercises clearly have their place in a strength program but they are not the be-all and end-all unless you're a powerlifter.

It takes time to learn and will require patience and significant amounts of flexibility and mobility work - so don't be impatient.

Here's me wobbling through my best ever in terms of weight!

You'll see me doing it off a high table - this is a good move for tall people who may not be able to get optimal results from working on the floor. Due to lever problems from having legs like a giraffe it can become rather awkward!