So last week I mentioned that I’m dropping onto a little fat-loss phase up to Halloween weekend (at the very least, maybe I’ll extend through to xmas).

Thought I should explain this a little and go through what I”m actually doing. 

And also what changes I’m going to make going forward, to try and secure the goal even more so. 

Anyways, thought I’d run through a breakdown of whats currently happening in a little more detail and an idea to maybe help speed up the process a little. 

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DIET

So, this is the first port of call. 

Something worth knowing is that, contrary to popular opinion, you CAN outwork a bad/unwatched diet 

BUT
It’s much easier to not to that. 

So, I worked out my maintenance calories – this came out to 2500 calories (ish). 

Then I’ve applied a modest 500 cal deficit due to the need that I’ve not got a large amount of prep time for this. 

Theres nothing crazy regarding the macros but its worth saying that I kept the protein level the same as I would for 2500 cals, and I’m creating the deficit by lowering Carbs and Fats. 

Thats everything with the diet. 

My diet has been on point for the past few weeks and doing the MyFitnessPal approach has made this relatively easy for me to stick with.

Crazy, I know!

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ACTIVITY

The first thing I should say is that I changed my workout setup round so I can now train at home.

The downside is that I’m at a reduced variety of exercises and kit – and will be getting more so as winter will creep in.
But thats ok, training is training, and the variety I do have will carry over enough that when the weather/opportunity presents itself, I’ll go and do those exercises that I cant do regularly. 

Largely speaking, my activity schedule isn’t going to change – I’ll be rotating through the Body Prep, Travelling and the Skills session every day. 

BUT there are nuances that I need to manage.

I need to give myself the best chance to avoid constant fatigue, so I will be making 2 changes:

Body Prep Sessions
Firstly, I’ll be reducing the amount of Body Prep sessions I’ve been doing.
Too much fatigue and not enough recovery available whilst I’m doing this phase.
I think I’ll do one BP session every 4 days, rather than every 3.
Normally, its not an issue but its been a few weeks since I started and the fatigue is getting to me.
I’d rather make an adjustment now than try to push through and then fall off later.

This might feel odd at first but It think it’ll ultimately be a good thing.

In its place I’ll be putting another Running/Fighting session – I haven’t decided which yet, but I might just decide on the day.

Which brings me onto . . .

Skills and Cardio Sessions

Secondly, I’ll be doing lighter Skills and Travelling sessions. 
It’s a simple change to make – aiming for more reps than weight, essentially.
This should help avoid stunting my recovery whilst still allowing for movement to happen.

I can use the these different sessions to also target specific needs that my body might require that would maybe get missed otherwise

For example, theres no reason why I can change a skills session into a sweaty stretching session.
Still getting my activity in but in a slightly different way.

Again, lightening any training a touch to avoid extra fatigue will be a good move.

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TYPICAL FAT-LOSS ADVICE

When it comes to fat-loss, I find the fitness industry has been giving out a big message over the recent years:
DO MORE WALKING!

I get it.

Low fatigue inducing so, therefore, it can be done for long periods of time.

I will not argue its effectiveness.

HOWEVER

Where that falls flat though, is that quite often, due to work, I cant spare more than maybe a couple of hours max some days to walking.

And most days, not even that much!
I wish I could do more than that but its just not possible when I include work in my day. 

And my definition of “walking” is a very brisk intentional walk. 
As quick as I can maintain before it becomes jogging.

As a plan, walking as many miles a day as possible everyday is a good place to start as it generally generates little to no fatigue with a high caloric outgoing – even when doing 10 miles everyday.

I haven’t got that much time everyday!

So, thats out the question.

Strategies like tabbing – basically, alternating running and walking intervals – is a good move too.
Can cover same distance in less time.
But still takes the time.

So what can I do to solve this?

Quite simply, I approach the objective of the session from a different angle.

I want to raise the heart rate a little for as longs as possible without incurring more bodily muscular fatigue.

Same criteria as before.

The goal of these other sessions are about working as many muscles of the body as lightly as needed to get the heart rate elevated – which is easier to do AND maintain with full body exercises

As for the exercises, I tend to aim for anything thats rhythmical as I find that exercises that are easy in intensity and have an easy fluid movement pattern the best.

This change does appear to be quite generic, I know.
As does all my training when take at face value
BUT
As ever, it’s in the nuances that makes my sessions mine. 

Everyone normally wants to flat out at the training – thats not my goal. 
All of these avoid overtraining my muscles.
And if at any point they start to pump the muscles, I’ll dial back the intensity to avoid it.
Generally speaking, if the muscles are getting worked, then the heart rate is increased. 
My goal is to just increase heart rate, so I’ll slow it down.

So, Extra bit of sweating,
Minimal muscular fatigue.

Thats the idea. 

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CONCLUSION

So, nothing really that new or groundbreaking here. 

I’ve been making good ground so far to be honest but feel I need the change to help the muscular recovery.

I’m going to give these changes a try for the next few weeks and see how it goes.
Hopefully my recovery goes up whilst I still progress.
As a bonus, my cardio system should get even better too – the gigs I do are very dance heavy and are brutal on the lungs!
AND I have to do vocals at the same time!
Any extra lung work will surely help out!

Anyways, I’ll let you know how its going soon!

Train well,

Matt