Fat Burner Exercise Rhythms

General Notes: Always start with 10 minutes cardio to warm up and one warm up set with lower weight.

You might say after seeing this, “Hey! I worked 9 months and my bench is the same!” Not true – there’s a huge difference in doing 2 quick, assisted reps at 225 and 4 slow, controlled reps at 225. At the end, should you choose to try, a max of 275 is definitely doable. Remember that the goal here is to build muscle to burn fat, not win bench press contests.

Also – adding weight slowly reduces the chance of injury which will set you back months, if not years.

This chest routine should include two other exercises that should vary and be relatively heavy, ie. 6 to 8 reps. Use flys and inclined dumbbell press one week, pullovers and flat dumbbell press the next. Try to vary at least one exercise per week while maintaining your bench press as a core exercise. The additional exercise will work those small parts of the pectorals you miss during the bench and help give you better endurance.

Even if you are working with a lower weight that day, always try to get one set to failure either by moving the weight a bit slower or adding a few reps. The middle or last set is best for this.

Is this a plan for everyone? Obviously not – this is an example of how to make a plan with a defined rhythm that will allow you to continue to make progress yet not burn you out.

Note that at any time you feel sore after 72 hours you need an extra rest day or even a full week off to let your body recover. Start back slow regardless of how you feel or you will pay big time in the pain department.

Cardio is a bit different. You don’t need to vary as much, but you need to keep slowly increasing the intensity to get the same workout since the adaptation process is at work.

Here's an example:

Again, this program can be customized to your particular needs and goals. It probably a bad idea to try increasing time, intensity or difficulty together – better to work with one factor at a time. This program can be repeated every 3 months, but going over an hour will help you very little and probably just make you too tired to get in your 3 to 4 days. Better to add an extra day and burn off those 300 to 500 calories of fatness!

Make your own program with This Spreadsheet
(Note: Click on the colored tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet for cardio or resistance).

Listen too your body because it hardly matters what your program says if you feel sore. Take a day off or go easy that day. Walking slowly is better than no exercise at all.

Notice that these difficulty increases are by the WEEK, not day. Better to move up slow than burn out early.

Try to stay in the fat burning zone – see this link for a cool calculator to get your target heart rate: Target Heart Rate Calculator

Make and work your own program – not somebody else’s. Don’t forget that a proper diet with enough protein is essential for building muscle, so eat right or burn out – your choice.