Fitness

This is what the majority of people want to know so here are my top tips for staying lean all year round.

Create a calorie deficit

Perhaps the most important tip I can give you is eating less calories than you are burning.  Put simply, eating to a calorie deficit.   If you can understand this then you are halfway there!

Lift heavy weights 3 – 4 times a week

Stick to compound movements and keep it varied.

This means your week could look something like this.

Monday Weights

Tuesday Weights

Wednesday HIIT

Thursday Rest

Friday HIIT

Saturday Weights

Sunday Rest

Include some low calorie days into your week

I don’t like to count calories but reducing your calories a few days throughout the week is something that works really well for me. My advice would be to complete these low calorie days on days where you don’t have too much on or maybe days where you aren’t exercising.

Here is an example of what a low calorie day might look like

Breakfast: Omelette with spinach, mushrooms and chopped tomatoes

Lunch: Marinated grilled chicken with edamame beans, peas and honey and mustard dressing

Snack: Handful of almonds and fresh blueberries

Dinner: Pan fried salmon with zucchini noodles, roasted cherry tomatoes and home made pesto

Stick to interval training as your form of cardio and push push push

If you are new to this type of training make sure you visit your doctor first and then start slowly and build up to higher levels of work and/or rest times.

I love intervals for a few reasons:

It burns fat long after the session has finished

The session is over in 20 minutes max

The feeling at the end of the session is amazing

Your fitness level goes through the roof

Your training session can be done anywhere

Reduce alcohol

You knew I was going to say this but alcohol can be a big reason as to why you aren’t seeing results. Drinking in excess is really going to slow down the fat burning process. However, don’t panic I’m not saying cut out alcohol all together, that’s not creating a balance.  Just be mindful and keep yourself accountable.

Drink lots of water

We all know the benefit of drinking lots of water but how many of us actually do it.  Try to drink between 2-3 litres per day and remember that any water you consume during your exercise session doesn’t count towards your daily target!  A great equation to help you along with water intake is your body weight (kg) x 0.0333 = litres to aim for each day.

Sleep more than you think

Sleeping is the bodies chance to grow, repair and recharge so try and aim for at least 8 hours a night. Think back to when you were a young teenager going through your growth spurts, you would have slept for days given the opportunity.  Fitting a solid nights sleep into your routine is key to making your goal a success.

Be patient

This isn’t going to happen over night.  Your body will start making changes but you need to be a little patient. Most people quit just as the body is starting to change because they don’t have the patience or will power to see it through. You can do this and when you do the reward is totally worth it.  Plus the longer you keep living a healthy lifestyle the more you will get to know and understand your body. You’ll know when you need to cut back, when to indulge and when to stay consistent.