I'm writing a chapter about the exercise connection in weight loss. Please tell me in the comments: Do you exercise? Why? Would you take this advice?
Let’s put it all together now. To effectively diet,
and that means losing weight and keeping it off, you need to be mindful of more
than just eating. There’s not a diet program out there that doesn’t advise you to
exercise in conjunction with their plan. Unfortunately, this is the part most
often overlooked or ignored. Why? Exercising takes time and most people have
no idea how to exercise effectively.
Two exercise requirements:
·
Aerobic movement
·
Strength training.
Optimal time required:
·
30-60 minutes, most days of the week
.
Minimum time required (non-negotiable!):
·
30 minutes, 3 times a week of aerobic
exercise, like walking.
·
10 minutes, twice a week for push-ups and
squats.
Sample Beginner’s Exercise Schedule:
Day
of Week
|
Exercise
|
Duration
|
Where
|
Monday
|
Walking
|
30
minutes
|
Anywhere
|
Tuesday
|
Pushups/Squats
|
10
minutes
|
Anywhere
|
Wednesday
|
Walking
|
30
minutes
|
Anywhere
|
Thursday
|
Pushups/Squats
|
10
minutes
|
Anywhere
|
Friday
|
Walking
|
30
minutes
|
Anywhere
|
Saturday
|
Rest/Makeup/Bonus
Walks
|
||
Sunday
|
Rest/Makeup/Bonus
Walks
|
||
Sample Advanced Exercise Schedule:
Day
|
Exercise
|
Duration
|
Walking
|
45
min
|
|
Sweating
|
15
min
|
|
Strength
|
None
|
|
Tuesday
|
Walking
|
60 minutes
|
Sweating
|
None
|
|
Strength
|
None
|
|
Wednesday
|
Walking
|
30 minutes
|
Sweating
|
None
|
|
Strength
|
30 minutes
|
|
Thursday
|
Walking
|
30 minutes
|
Sweating
|
30 minutes
|
|
Strength
|
None
|
|
Friday
|
Walking
|
60 minutes
|
Sweating
|
None
|
|
Strength
|
None
|
|
Saturday
|
Walking
|
60 minutes
|
Sweating
|
15 minutes
|
|
Strength
|
30 minutes
|
|
Sunday
|
Walking
|
Bonus
|
Sweating
|
Bonus
|
|
Strength
|
None
|
Aerobic
recap:
- Walking – 30-60 minutes, 6-7 days per week. Done at a normal walking pace, approximately 3-4mph. Can be done on a treadmill, outside, or indoor track.
- Sweating (“vigorous” activity) – Spend 15-30 minutes, 3-4 days per week. Jogging, aerobic machines (stair stepper/elliptical/etc.), sports, aerobics class.
Strength
training recap:·
- Work all muscle groups twice a week.
- Use a weight that you can lift through the motions easily 12 times, but not 20. Perform at least one set of eight reps.
- Work your way to performing three sets of 8-12 reps.
I hope that you now understand what a good exercise
program is and why we must do it, unpleasant as it may seem. Once you’ve begun,
you won’t want to stop. This is your insurance policy for a long, healthy life.
But we’re not done yet! There are two other important co-factors that make
dieting successful: Sleep and stress. The next two chapters will discuss how to
even further improve your chances of making a diet successful.
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteI love exercise tbh. I've drastically changed what I do over the past year. Previously it was all bodybuilding/ hypertrophy type stuff. From what I've read in your blog above that's what I'd put reps in the 8-12 range as more hypertrophy than strength. Especially if chasing any sort of pump.
This year I've been using principles from pavel tsatsouline. I heard him on the Tim Ferris podcast and was intrigued. His principles include:
1. Exercise should be a suitable stimulus that we can adapt and benefit from. A hormetic stress if you will. This goes against what many gym goers do. They (my previous self included) usually work out at far too much intensity - no pain no gain mentality.
2. Reps should be 1-5 range, but not at a weight that you can't handle. The proper load using proper alignment has real benefits for strength and really caries over into everyday life. Key is not to use a weight you can barely handle and risk injury.
3. Work on maintaining or improving mobility else you will lose it...
I do 3 days 'strength' practise (Not training!) With the main compound lifts - deadlifts etc. (Only takes me 1/2 hour each day), then 3 days kettlebell stuff at home (again only 1/2 hour a time) - love doing Turkish getups.
On top of that I like some floor work each night - Only like 10 mins crawling etc. - just gets me off the couch!
I suppose to some it may sound a lot, but honestly because I'm not pushing the intensity like when I was younger I still feel extremely fresh aftwards - it is more just like a practise!
At the minute following this practise I have a comfortable 5 rep 300 lb deadlift. Not too bad for someone weighing 12 st 2lb
I should add I always practice fasted training - keeps me really quite lean.
Sorry if this is a bit rambling etc. Just wish I'd have known about this when I was younger. Feel great not killing myself all the time, but still improving
Hope someone finds it interesting
Great explanation, thanks! I've outlined a strength training routine suitable for beginners thru advanced.
DeleteI'm not really worried about the advanced group as they've progressed beyond wondering how strength training works. I'm concerned mostly about the average sedentary person who's failed at dieting repeatedly and has never tried strength training.
I'm on the fence in recommending 8-12 reps, but with a weight that's roughly 50% of 1RM, I think 10-12 is pretty good for basic strength/resistance training. The military loves doing basic exercises in groups of 10-20, "drop and give me 20!" lol, heard that many times.
What do you think? Is 8-12 reps for a couple sets the wrong advice to give to people trying to lose weight?
I think 8-12 Reps as a general recommended for beginners ain't a bad start. Different rep ranges fall into strength/ hypertrophy/ muscular endurance. I can see why army would recommend higher reps - presumably muscular endurance is much more important than any max 1 rep lift.
DeleteCouple of points I think would need emphasising to a beginner:
1. Technique. Especially with something quite technical like squats. E.g. do knees track the feet, not rounding the back etc. Poor movement patterns can really cause problems later on.
2. You can't out train a poor diet. I used to believe like many - I worked out therefore I could eat what I want within reason. This ain't the case!
3. Make sure you recover. Much macho crap is in media - no pain/ no gain! Comes back to what I wrote above - exercise should be enough of a stimulus for adaptation. But too much and you won't benefit - you'll burn out - listen to your body!
4. Mobility, mobility, mobility!
Hth
Yep, I advise against dead lifts, bench press, and squat racks unless trained and working with a spotter. Would totally suck to get injured.
DeleteAnd just twice a week with 1-2 minutes between sets.
I do most of what you recommend and also started doing this each day
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=VGhUNVAHr-A
I always see people on the beach doing this when we go to Hawaii. Nice. Looks relaxing.
DeleteI think it's a good program for beginners, I would have liked it. My first time trying to lose weight, walking was very important. When you are unfit, it seems daunting to start running or go to the gym. But walking is easy, and you can listen to podcasts while doing it. Also, it can be motivating to track steps with the phone, to strive to get to 10,000 steps. And if you track calories in an app, extra steps means a calorie bonus.
ReplyDeleteNowadays I do calisthenics to failure a few times a week, and running a few times a week. I find strength training to be important for body composition and looks. Also, it improves quality of life when you are stronger, and for me it has got rid of occasional back pain.
Running is great for feeling more fit and having more energy. It's also great for burning calories. It's not too hard to go out 20 mins and burn 300 kcal. But those calories mean a lot when it's time for dinner. You can indulge a bit, and that makes things easier.
Thanks. Yes, it's so hard to get on an exercise program by just winging it. I want to show people a really good, easy introductory program they can do anywhere that starts with walking and some bodyweight stuff. Hopefully they will progress to want more. I can say I really did not see the changes I had hoped for with diet, walking, and running until I added some very specific weight lifting exercises. I lift twice a week, takes less than 30 minutes, and it works all the major muscle groups.
DeleteThat advanced table was a cool way to break it down.
ReplyDeleteWe work out and also keep active when we can all day (gardening, vacuuming, going up and down stairs in house for things we need, squatting down to unload dishwasher rather than bending over, etc.). Our main work-out is almost always walking an hour or riding bike an hour. I like to do a little HIIT sometimes because it helps my brain feel great.
I think this is an interesting way to lay it out for people new to exercise. Never thought about it this way!
Nice. I feel sometimes that our app-driven lifestyles make people think they are getting more exercise than they really are. When the FitBit says 10,000 steps, people feel they've done enough that day, I see it all the time. I am trying to get people to stop counting their daily, normal activity as exercise and develop a program that goes above and beyond. Walking and some HIIT are crucial, I feel.
Delete@Paul Steel - thanks for that video, that looks like it would be so good for the body! Very natural movements, promotes flexibility and would be great to move lymph. I'm definitely going give that a go.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing sprint intervals (3x/week... barefoot) & various bodyweight exercises for the past 8+ years. About 7 months ago, I added a pull-up/chin-up program that has made a huge difference. I do it immediately after my sprint session. I'm now getting more of a complete body workout. It takes about an hour for the whole deal, but it's worth it for me. I'm now kicking myself for not adding this years ago... it's great for building strength & is also an incredible core workout. On top of that, i do a fair amount of speed walking (barefoot) throughout the week. It's all sustainable & fun. The main thing is to find something sustainable... If it's fun, even better.
ReplyDelete