Your Favorite Fat Loss Program

Training Bodybuilding
1

Hey, everyone!

Haven’t posted here for ages.

I’m a not-so-lean (12% BF) 185 pounds. I’ve been working out for almost 3 years, but could only maintain for a lot of 2009 and 2010. The past 7-8 months, I’ve been training a lot harder and My estimated 1RMs (based on tested 3RM sets) are:
230 lbs Bench Press
335 lbs Squat
410 lbs Deadlift

Nothing amazing, but all things considered, I’m doing fine. I finally found my “groove” and hope to get to 300-400-500 by 2012.

I also want to finally see some motha frickin abs :). I did the “6 weeks to superhero” program recently. It was super awesome and made me bigger, stronger and leaner!

Now I’m looking for something else to do, because I’m a little bored with the program’s 1h 20-1h 30 training sessions. Are there any awesome, challenging programs YOU like to do for losing fat?

2

[quote]G87 wrote:
YOU like to do for losing fat? [/quote]

Eating less.

You are 12% and can’t see your abs?

3

Get on a strength program.

You have about 160-165 lean body mass. Put on some weight first.

And I really want to see your numbers. You dead 410x3?

4

The one that gets me into a caloric deficit.

5

I wish I had 12% lol If thats not so lean I am lard…

6

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]G87 wrote:
YOU like to do for losing fat? [/quote]

Eating less.

You are 12% and can’t see your abs?[/quote]

I was gonna say this^^

I’d estimate myself to be around 12% in my avi pic (on the right) and can see plenty of abs, but everyone is different afterall.

But to answer your question… I prefer adding in low intensity FMC into your routine. If you tighten up your diet, lift hard and heavy 4-6 days a week and mix in 3-4 days of FMC you’ll get lean for sure. Guaranteed

EDIT: so you did the 6 Weeks to Superhero program and got bigger, stronger AND leaner but you’re bored of it? Whaaaat?

7

Most people seem to just yell out a number that sounds nice.

If you are a true 12% and can’t see any abs at all, you are likely one very unmuscular son of a bitch and need to eat more and gain some muscle first.

8

I like shitting in my diappy and the rolling around on the floor until someone picks me up.

I then throw my legs in the air in a supine position and hold them for about twenty seconds while I get a new diappy put on.

I giggle after that,eat,then sleep…poop in my sleep and cry,then repeat

I may do this up to 7 times in a day.

I call it DST7

Diaper Shitting Training 7

9

Seriously though

Train for hypertrophy while eating for fat loss

10

[quote]G87 wrote:
Hey, everyone!

Haven’t posted here for ages.

I’m a not-so-lean (12% BF) 185 pounds. I’ve been working out for almost 3 years, but could only maintain for a lot of 2009 and 2010. The past 7-8 months, I’ve been training a lot harder and My estimated 1RMs (based on tested 3RM sets) are:
230 lbs Bench Press
335 lbs Squat
410 lbs Deadlift

[/quote]

You might want to actually test some 1RMS, it’s useful. And also, there’s no good reason to post a body fat percentage. They’re useless, and incorrect most of the time. Pictures work better. I agree with X about what he said, although based on your picture in your profile of your back, you’re probably just fatter than 12.
As a reference point, I’m nearly 2 inches taller than you, 10 pounds lighter, And 70 pounds stronger on a tested, paused at the bottom bench press (my squat and deadlift are similar to yours). And I’d say I’m around 11 percent bodyfat.
The reason I mention all that is because dieting down from say 18 percent body fat to 12 percent is different from going from about 12 to 8. At 12, I can see veins in my shoulders and upper chest. You can’t see abs. Losing fat would be way easier for you than me. I would need cardio, you probably could just diet. But since you didn’t say a damn thing about your diet, how is anyone supposed to help you? If we don’t know what you’re doing now, how can we tell you what to change?

11

[quote]JFG wrote:
Get on a strength program.

You have about 160-165 lean body mass. Put on some weight first.

And I really want to see your numbers. You dead 410x3?[/quote]

Are you really questioning his numbers? 410 for 3 at that bodyweight is alright, not even in the “good” range I’d say. Definitely not worth questioning.

12

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
Are you really questioning his numbers? 410 for 3 at that bodyweight is alright, not even in the “good” range I’d say. Definitely not worth questioning.[/quote]

Wow, the T-Nation wolves are really going in on me :D. I only do 390 lbs for 3, 410 is what I think my 1RM is. You are, however, correct; while that number shows good progress for me personally, there’s still a long way to go.

[quote]gregron wrote:
EDIT: so you did the 6 Weeks to Superhero program and got bigger, stronger AND leaner but you’re bored of it? Whaaaat? [/quote]

Yep :). It’s been great, but I’d like to mix things up a little and do something else for a month or two. I want to train my back, give my shoulders and elbows a bit of a break from all the pushing, and train for +/- an hour each session.

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
You might want to actually test some 1RMS, it’s useful. And also, there’s no good reason to post a body fat percentage. They’re useless, and incorrect most of the time. Pictures work better. I agree with X about what he said, although based on your picture in your profile of your back, you’re probably just fatter than 12.
As a reference point, I’m nearly 2 inches taller than you, 10 pounds lighter, And 70 pounds stronger on a tested, paused at the bottom bench press (my squat and deadlift are similar to yours). And I’d say I’m around 11 percent bodyfat.
The reason I mention all that is because dieting down from say 18 percent body fat to 12 percent is different from going from about 12 to 8. At 12, I can see veins in my shoulders and upper chest. You can’t see abs. Losing fat would be way easier for you than me. I would need cardio, you probably could just diet. But since you didn’t say a damn thing about your diet, how is anyone supposed to help you? If we don’t know what you’re doing now, how can we tell you what to change?
[/quote]

[quote]Professor X wrote:
If you are a true 12% and can’t see any abs at all[/quote]

I should’ve been more clear about this. Sorry if I was misleading; I can see some abs. When I flex, I see the vertical line and the top 4 abs. But in a relaxed state, I can’t see much. The rest of me looks fairly lean, but I want to see all my abs and look “cut” in a relaxed state.

Picture in my profile is old; I hadn’t even realized it was still up there!

My diet is OK, I think; I eat lots of eggs, meat, fish, dairy and fruit/veg. I eat very little junk food, wheat, and sugary food. I need some carbs in me so I can go to sleep, but otherwise I’m happy with myself.

I actually think I’m going in the right direction; I’m getting leaner and stronger which is exactly what I want. In fact, I’ve been making better progress in the past 7-8 months of training properly again than ever before. There are no huge problems or plateaus. All I want to do is try a different program for a little while.

And that’s where the problem lies - I don’t know which ones to look at. Someone said, “train for hypertrophy while eating for fat loss” … Well, that never worked for me. I really like the training style of the Superhero Program, because doing the big movements at low reps twice a week (bench press, squat, deadlift, military press) worked. All I want is some variety!

13

TL:DR version:

I’m happy with the direction I’m going in. I can see some abs, just want to keep getting leaner and looking for other programs I can try to keep things interesting.

14

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
410 for 3 at that bodyweight is alright, not even in the “good” range I’d say. Definitely not worth questioning.[/quote]

Oh please.

We get it, you’re a super star, but in this thing we call “real life” a 410 pull is, in fact, good.

I don’t give a shit if OP can pull it or not, but to act like a 410 pull at 180lbs isn’t a good pull is just acting like an internet asshole.

Is it record breaking? No. Is it an “advanced” lift? no. Does that make him SuperCoolStrong like you? no. Is it a “good” lift, absolutely.

Fuck I hate the internet sometimes. God forbid we support each other. I sure hope you are smoking those numbers if you are going to be this condescending and toss around back handed insults about someone’s numbers in the BB’ing section of all places.

15

[quote]G87 wrote:
…But in a relaxed state, I can’t see much. The rest of me looks fairly lean, but I want to see all my abs and look “cut” in a relaxed state.
[/quote]

in order to look cut and have full abs showing in a “relaxed state” you are more than likely going to need to be VERY lean… well below 10% lean IMO. Obviously if you have great genetics for abs then they will show at higher BF%s but for the everyday gym goer, getting to 6 pack abs in a relaxed state is going to require you to be in an extremely lean state IMO.

16

Stay with your heavy basics 2 days a week and the next 2 days go for lighter, more reps without changing your diet and see where that gets you. If it is not where you want to be, decrease the calories in the evening before bed. It is not that scientific, it is trial and error for everybody. There is a lot you can change, but you need to stick with one change for a while to see if it works. There is NO MAGIC SECRET METHOD! Be patient, consistent and honest with yourself with your assessment of your progress.

17

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Seriously though

Train for hypertrophy while eating for fat loss

[/quote]

[quote]gregron wrote:

But to answer your question… I prefer adding in low intensity FMC into your routine. If you tighten up your diet, lift hard and heavy 4-6 days a week and mix in 3-4 days of FMC you’ll get lean for sure. Guaranteed

[/quote]

Thank you both.

18

abs in a relaxed state is proving to be quite the bitch… as for the OP, WSBB4SB & IF. I complete workouts in under an hour, keeping low rest between sets ,<1min ~30-45 seconds typically, is a bitch at first, but in turn i never do cardio. I’d rather sit butt ass naked on a cactus than run on a treadmill. (blaah blaah blaah HIIT training, i know, cardio still sucks.)

19

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]G87 wrote:
…But in a relaxed state, I can’t see much. The rest of me looks fairly lean, but I want to see all my abs and look “cut” in a relaxed state.
[/quote]

in order to look cut and have full abs showing in a “relaxed state” you are more than likely going to need to be VERY lean… well below 10% lean IMO. Obviously if you have great genetics for abs then they will show at higher BF%s but for the everyday gym goer, getting to 6 pack abs in a relaxed state is going to require you to be in an extremely lean state IMO.[/quote]

x2. Working on that now. Fucking hard stuff.

EDIT:

I prefer circuit-type conditioning. I’m using something right now that’s more or less Tabata format (8 x 20 sec work/10sec rest), but instead of staying on one muscle for that and frying the shit out of that muscle, I’m switching muscle groups every “work set” (upper body/lower body/abs/full body conditioning). I’m doing a lot of heavy lifting prior to this, so I prefer to get the metabolic/conditioning benefits of a format like that without using it as a hypertrophy routine.

My eating is kind of the bastard child of carb backloading and IF. I’m technically carb backloading, but I try to eat as little as possible before my workout. Sometimes I get through the day with only a dose of Flameout prior to my workout and it looks more IF-esque (I need at least minimal fats to take with my brain function boosting stack in the AM so I can’t go FULL IF), other days I’ll have 1-2 quick hits of protein.

I’m seeing great results with this. I actually seem to be losing fat and gaining muscle, which is a plus. I can give you more specifics if you want, but that’s the cliffsnotes lolz.

20

[quote]bigmac73nh wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]G87 wrote:
…But in a relaxed state, I can’t see much. The rest of me looks fairly lean, but I want to see all my abs and look “cut” in a relaxed state.
[/quote]

in order to look cut and have full abs showing in a “relaxed state” you are more than likely going to need to be VERY lean… well below 10% lean IMO. Obviously if you have great genetics for abs then they will show at higher BF%s but for the everyday gym goer, getting to 6 pack abs in a relaxed state is going to require you to be in an extremely lean state IMO.[/quote]

x2. Working on that now. Fucking hard stuff.

EDIT:

I prefer circuit-type conditioning. I’m using something right now that’s more or less Tabata format (8 x 20 sec work/10sec rest), but instead of staying on one muscle for that and frying the shit out of that muscle, I’m switching muscle groups every “work set” (upper body/lower body/abs/full body conditioning). I’m doing a lot of heavy lifting prior to this, so I prefer to get the metabolic/conditioning benefits of a format like that without using it as a hypertrophy routine.

My eating is kind of the bastard child of carb backloading and IF. I’m technically carb backloading, but I try to eat as little as possible before my workout. Sometimes I get through the day with only a dose of Flameout prior to my workout and it looks more IF-esque (I need at least minimal fats to take with my brain function boosting stack in the AM so I can’t go FULL IF), other days I’ll have 1-2 quick hits of protein.

I’m seeing great results with this. I actually seem to be losing fat and gaining muscle, which is a plus. I can give you more specifics if you want, but that’s the cliffsnotes lolz.[/quote]

I agree with this ^.
Diet: Carb cycling, sort of intermittent fasting with food at the end post-workout. See this: Cheat mode for Dieters - Nutrition Research - Fitness VIP

Training: Fasted cardio in the morning - zone out, watch tv, daydream/whatever, nice and relaxing, burns calories.

I like to do a 4-day split like chest/bis, legs/abs, back/tris, shoulders/abs, keep rest periods short, do some ‘conditioning’ movement like burpees in between supersets e.g.

DB incline bench - Drag curl - 20 burpees - change weight, repeat… John Romaniello calls these ‘dynamic interrupts’.

EDT is fun. Sprints are fun.

Also, complexes (e.g. military press> bent over row > pressups > deadlifts) are very fun to do, trying to do more rounds in same time/ adding time + rounds.

Basically, calorie deprivation is boring as shit, so i like to do an almost ADD-type level of variation to keep interested because it’s consistency that’s key. 12 weeks of something you enjoy and stick to will always beat 4 weeks of something miserable you find an excuse to quit doing.

Good articles/threads on this site: ‘romaniello traing programs - awesome’, ‘war room strategies to maximise fat loss’, ‘complexes 2.0’, ‘100 workouts to ripped city’

Hope that helps.