How to Lose Weight to Become More Athletic
We take pride in understanding that technique trumps all when stealing bases. We are also not ignorant to the fact that the more athletic we become the more room for mistakes we will have.
On most teams you have two types of players those who need to put on weight and those who need to lose weight.
This will concentrate on weight loss and specifically the exercise portion.
Weight loss comes from eating healthy food and exercise – this is not groundbreaking news. The issue most people run into is that they feel this is an impossible task filled with hunger and miserable workouts. I would argue, if done right, it can be a easier than anticipated.
It really all comes down to perspective. I like working with my players/clients on the viewpoint of changing habits vs. dieting. We have all had to break a bad habit in our life and we are familiar with the concept of having to get over the hump and then we are in the clear. Eating and working out is the exact same way. Even if you are used to a particular style of exercise it does take some getting used to if you make a change.
We will talk about eating on another page. This is dedicated to exercise style. There are a ton of different ways to lose weight. The best way is the way you are truly going to believe in and stick with. My favorite method with people I work with is a 3 day a week lifting protocol with a 2 day cardio only protocol.
Here is the plan…
Assuming the person who is trying to lose weight is not a consistent exerciser we can use this to his benefit. I believe if we throw them into the deep end and force through it for a month we will increase the likelihood of burn out. I also believe we will plateau and have to change in a month. We are going to slowly get into this method for the first month.
This isn’t easy but isn’t ridiculous. Just takes some getting used to. There is also a lot of freedom for the person exercising – which makes it easier to get to the weight room.
Lifting days will be Mon-Weds-Fri. Cardio days will be Tues or Thurs and Sat or Sun (just not back to back).
How to build our lifting program?
Exercising to target fat can be handled from cardio and lifting. Building muscle helps rapidly burn the fat. This is why everyone has seen people who live on the stair climber never look like they have any results. We will do a combination of building muscle and burning fat from cardio.
Monday and Friday will be upper body – Push vs. Pull.
Our pushes match the arrows going away from our body, then our pulls would be the opposite.
Examples:
Bench press vs. a seated row.
Incline bench vs. a Lat pull down.
Military press vs. a pull up.
Decline press vs. a bent over row.
Dip vs. a shoulder shrug.
These are just one example from each angle. A bench press can be dumbbell press, push ups, cable press, machine press – anything that matches that angle. Having options makes everything easier.
Step 1: Know your options!
Start listing all the lists you know or can find from each push and pull angle.
Step 2: Lifting types
Choose 3 pushes and 3 pulls for your workout on day 1.
How to lift:
It is CRITICAL to understand that we want to be as efficient as possible. This means that we don’t want to have to do 5 sets of each or even 3 sets of each. If we are disciplined with our cadence we can get a good workout with 1 or 2 sets. This isn’t easy.
We want to count the weight down and up 4 seconds each. 1, 2, 3, 4 down, 1, 2, 3, 4 to the top.
We also want to find a weight that is appropriate for 12 reps. If we are two light then we are just wasting time. 10, 11, and 12 should be difficult to keep your cadence.
Step 3: Cardio
Choose a cardio method for your rest. Yes you read that right… we are going to use lifting rest periods to do our cardio.
I recommend listing all the ideas you have for cardio. If you are really out of shape this could be a slow jog.
Here are some ideas depending on where you workout.
- Treadmill
- Elliptical
- Stationary bike
- Stair climber
- Row machine
- Jump rope
- Run on the track
- Jumping jacks
- Running in place – high knees
- Burpees
The list goes on and on. Whatever gets your heart rate up.
Just like choosing a weight you need to chose something that pushes you. This doesn’t mean you are on the border of death but it does need to be challenging.
For example, the treadmill set at 5 and no incline will be pretty easy for most of us. If you can move the speed up that will help, changing the incline will help – then write down what you used and try to do better the next time.
We are going to set the target to be from 20-30 seconds. So these are sprint type exercises.
Step 4: Put it all together
Here is an example… Each lift 2×12, each cardio 1×20 seconds
Angle 1 push= Bench press x12 (4 seconds up, 4 seconds down)
-Resisted stationary bike sprints x 20 seconds
Bench press x12
-Resisted stationary bike sprints x 20 seconds
Angle 1 pull = Seated cable row x12 (4 seconds in, 4 seconds back)
– Resisted stationary bike sprints x 20 seconds
Seated cable row x12 (4 seconds in, 4 seconds back)
-Resisted stationary bike sprints x 20 seconds
Angle 2 push – Incline barbell bench – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
Incline barbell bench -1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
Angle 2 pull – cable lat pull downs – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
cable lat pulldowns – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
Angle 3 push – dips – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
dips – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
Angle 3 pull – upright rows – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
upright rows – 1×12
-resisted stationary bike sprints x20
NEVER DO THE SAME CARDIO twice in a week. YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO REPEAT THE SAME PUSH/PULL angle one 1 lift. So lets say you love the flat bench press, you can repeat this angle on Friday but that means you have to do 2 new angles for your other push lifts.
Wednesday – Legs/Abs
This is very important to our development. You simply cannot get the results you want without lifting big muscle groups. Your legs should feel sore the next day.
We will design our leg workout with our lightest cardio. This will be different for everyone.
Step 1:
List all the leg workouts you know.
- Quads
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Calves
Design your workout with 5 lifts – 2 x 12 with 4 second cadence superset with cardio x40 seconds (so it is easier cardio but a bit slower and longer).
Example:
Squat 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Squat 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Glut/Ham Raises 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Glut/Ham Raises 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Hamstring curls 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Hamstring curls 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Quad extensions 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Quad extensions 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Calf raises 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Calf raises 1×12
elliptical with slight resistance x40 seconds
Try to use ALL new lifts the following Wednesday.
Cardio Days
Tuesday or Thursday
Heavier cardio day.
I like to mix this up so I don’t feel like we have to go to the gym.
Sprints on a baseball or football field help break this up and allow you to get done quickly.
I also like to utilize the basketball court or football field to do shooting drills or run receiver routes. It is important to note this should have the focus to do your cardio so I would write down a plan.
For example:
Im going to shoot from each elbow non stop until I make 10, after that Ill immediately turn and run to the half court line, back to the end line, then make 10 again.. then rest. You can really make anything up. You just need to be covered in sweat by the time you finish.
You can also go for a long distance run, bike or swim depending on what YOU like to do. The goal is to push yourself without worrying about lifting. For athletes who are really out of shape you might just start with a half mile jog without stopping. This just really depends on them.
Saturday or Sunday
Long distance walk – this isn’t a stroll. Try to walk at a solid pace (you don’t have to look like a mall power walker). Walk 30 minutes out and turn around and come back for 1 hour total.
This will work!
This workout will really show great results. Literally every person who I have put on this workout has shown amazing results in just a couple of months. Toward the 2 or 3 month period we would then change it up. The cardio gets harder and harder but the person is in better shape to handle it.
Just remember, if you are going to put all this work in and then slug back 3 beers a night you are not going to see results. You have to put effort into your lifting, diet, and sleeping the equal amount. You lift to breakdown muscle so it repairs stronger… so you get RESULTS from your body REPAIRING. That means EATING and SLEEPING are as important than breaking the muscle down.
What do I eat?
Well, I will get into this a bit later. For now just stick with foods with nutrient content. Meaning fillers like pretzels, chips, or other junk only fill you up. They do not provide the body with nutrients to see results.
I will get into this in detail later.
Hope this helps! If you decide to jump on the program please let me know of results! I will not post anything but would like to know!