What Are The Best Workouts For Muscle and Fat Loss? The Secret To Effective Training

The Problem:
There are a million workouts available. Unlimited options for an unlimited amount of goals.
Where do you start?

Well it all depends on what your goals are because the truth is that you won't just get stronger, leaner by doing anything. 

What Most People Do:
Many will go online, maybe YouTube and search "best workout" and you will get a bunch of options. The problem is that this isn't specific to your goal.

They will buy a peloton bike or treadmill, maybe sign up for a class at the gym, join a boot camp, etc.

All of them useful and valuable in their own right. 

But...

You must define your goal before you know what the "best" workout is going to be for you.

So lets take a broad topic and break it down briefly.

I have worked with hundreds of people over a ten years career and most people want to accomplish a few things.

Get stronger
Drop fat
Improve flexibility/balance
Get better cardiovascular health
Improve lean body mass (increase muscle)

The problem is that not all exercise will accomplish all of these.

Zumba might improve cardio health but none of the others
Pilates can improve a few of these, the problem is it will plateau on all of them quickly
Running or biking will improve a couple but fail on a few key elements.

You see, none of these are bad and all of them are useful. They just don't check off all the boxes in one full swoop.


If you are a very busy person and you need to maximize all of these with one concept?

Its very simple.

Far and away the most effective is time sensitive resistance training or circuit training.

This accomplishes a variety of things I have touched on before. Something I refer to as the B's and H's
The B's and H's ensure that you are getting the metabolic response that is needed to accomplish the things listed above.

Burning muscles and breathless 
Heat (sweat) and Heavy resistance

Lets briefly define why each is important 

Burning= HGH and testosterone producing which burns fats and sugars. 
Breathless: Intense exercise demands that oxygen goes to the working muscles. To meet this demand the body releases adrenaline, which dilates the airways, increases heart rate and liberates glucose & fatty acids to fuel the movement. Breathless= adrenaline= fat release
Heavy: Adaptive stress that produces more HGH and testosterone. This is important in muscle building as well as body composition.
Heat: Thermal stressor that helps with immune system function, repair, and reduce inflammation.

The thing that many boot camps or programs ignore is the progressive overload element. Meaning that there is no added stress to the muscles after they've gotten used to lifting 5,10,15, 20 lbs DB's in the class. And because the weight isn't heavy enough, you wont build the muscle and lean mass that is so valuable as we get older.

The best exercises that accomplish all of the above are compound movements, or as I call primary movers.

Squats, deadlifts, pullups, presses (shoulder, bench, etc)
These exercises done individually can accomplish all of the elements we described above. In fact, pairing them altogether for a full body workout 2 or 3x a week is enough for most people to see amazing progress.

The key is working in the 6-12 rep range. This ensures the weight is heavy enough to accomplish what you need it to. If you can do 20,30 reps then the weight is too light and even though you might have burning muscles you wont be lifting heavy enough to get the full benefit.

Here's an example

Squats 10 reps/ 10 rep max
Pullups 10 reps
Bench press 10 reps

25 minute time limit, as many rounds as possible (AMRAP)

This demands max effort, volume, hits all major muscle groups in a short time which demands a quick and efficient pace. 

Obviously form is important and hopefully goes without saying.

Now of course you can add in other exercises.

I call these secondary movers or accessory lifts.

bicep curls, calf raises, lateral raises, tricep extensions.

basically all the smaller muscle groups that compliment the larger muscle groups.

Another example would look like this

Squats 4x8 
Walking lunges 4x8
Seated leg extension 3x10
Calf Raises 3x10

They key here would be keep the rest periods short to keep HR and breathing up and keeping a sweat. 

Or, you could do these in circuit fashion within a 20 or 30 minute time limit and make your rounds through.

No right or wrong but hopefully you are getting the point.

In short, any combo of primary and secondary movers can work as long as you are accomplishing the B's and H's.

These are the kind of workouts your favorite athletes are doing. These are the kind of workouts that lead to building muscle and decreasing body fat.

Further more, all of the programs and options I mentioned earlier are not bad, they just may not provide you the value you are might be looking for.

I have a free guide that elaborates more on the exercise combos and allows you to build your own custom workout that you can access HERE

I get that having information is nice but you may still be wondering how to put it altogether. If that's the case I have limited 1:1 space for new clients open enrollment in my collaborative coaching program. You can inquire into both at the links below.