Fat Loss

Fat Loss

Its no good having strong, well defined muscles if they are covered by layers of fat, even a small layer of fat can hide well build muscles.

To truly show off your muscles one must try to have as low a body fat percentage as possible.

Here you will learn the basics of fat loss, how to determine your body fat percentage and how to determine how many calories per day you must consume to lose body fat

Basic principles of fat loss

Nutrition : See our nutrition section for more detailed information

Calorie Counting : YES you need to count everything you eat in your day, this means serious commitment but if you are serious about losing weight then it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Count the calories in everything you eat and drink from now on.

At the end of each day add up the calories you consumed for that day.

Now start each day from then on eating less calories than you usually would. This is done by subtracting calories here and there from every meal and finally ending up with 500 calories subtracted in the end.

Cardiovascular Exercise (Cardio) : You need to exercise on a treadmill, exercise bike or some other cardiovascular equipment to up your metabolism and power up your fat loss

See below for the types of equipment.

Weightlifting ( yes believe it or not regular weightlifting is a great way to help with fat loss), not only will you burn calories during the actual weightlifting session, you will also burn more calories for hours afterwards due to your metabolism being raised.

Water and Sleep : Finally be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day and get enough sleep.

Furthermore the more muscle mass you have the more calories you consume on a day to day basis even when you are resting.

This is more incitement to lift weights to pack on that muscle mass.

Cardio

Anyone hoping to lose fat must have a solid cardio routine in place.

A good 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week should do it.

For beginners start at 3 times per week, start of at 10 minutes a time for a week, then progress to 15 minutes for another week and so on until you get up to 30-40 minutes a week without killing yourself.

Equipment for fat loss include

The Treadmill: Everyone knows what a treadmill is, its simple to use, all you have to do is step on and go.

Before you do though be sure to set it at the right pace for yourself, not too slow or it will be a waste of time and not too fast or you will tire yourself out prematurely.

Exercise Bike: Also an easy apparatus to use, its particularly useful for people with bad joint as there is no impact forces on the body like on a treadmill.

Rowing Machine: A machine every gym should have, this uses the leg muscles and the upper body to great affect, 10 minutes on this machine should work up a sweat no problem.

Be careful not to set the resistance to high or to low and don’t round the back to much.

BMI (Body Mass Index)

There is a formula in place that takes your age, height and weight to determine if a person is underweight or overweight or at optimal weight based on their height. Using the results of this formula one can easily determine how much calories to consume and how much cardio to perform.

Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) using the following formula;

BMI = Weight (kg) Weight (lb)

Height²(m²) Or 703 x Height² (in)

An overweight persons BMI would be above 25

A normal persons BMI would be from 18.5 - 25

An underweight persons BMI would be under 18.5

So for example if your BMI is 27

you need to consume approximately 500 less calories per day to lose weight.

30 % from protein

50% from carbohydrates and

20 % from fats

Calories spent during exercise

The following chart show you approximately how many calories you burn in 60 minutes during exercise based on your weight.

Your Weight	54kgs	64kgs	77kgs	90kgs
Aerobics	335-345	390-405	480-490	560-570
Weightlifting	330-340	400-410	480-490	555-565
Cycling(Slow)	190-200	220-230	270-280	320-330
Cycling(Fast)	320-330	380-390	460-470	540-550
Hiking	330-340	400-410	480-490	550-560
Jogging(Easy)	590-600	690-700	830-840	980-990
Jogging(Hard)	730-740	850-860	1040-1050	1220-1230
Running	1020-1030	1190-1200	1450-1460	1700-1710
Spinning	550-560	640-650	780-790	915-925
Step Aerobics	480-490	595-605	700-710	810-820
Swimming	250-350	280-410	350-520	400-630
Walking(Slow)	250-260	290-300	360-370	420-430
Walking(Fast)	350-360	410-420	490-500	580-590

At the end of every week be sure to weigh yourself. You should expect to lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week. Any more and its unhealthy, any less and you are doing something wrong, either step up your cardio, eat less calories or just plain stop raiding the fridge at night.

Questions, comments or feedback? Feel free to e-mail at:

muscleandworkouts@muscleandworkouts.com