Summer is here, it’s time to stay shredded and work on that six pack. Here are 5 research proven methods to shed the fat and get the six pack out.
1. Add in 20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 3x per week
You may already know HIIT is the fastest way to drop fat fast. If you’re in a hurry, then, for as little as 60 minutes per week, you can start that fat burning process. HIIT works by rapidly increasing your metabolism and providing a large “After burn”, which means you continue to burn calories over the next 24 hours. HIIT is also an extremely effective way to improve insulin sensitivity and lower muscle glycogen levels. This can produce what is known as Mitochondria Biogenesis, e.g. new mitochondria. Your mitochondria play a key role in energy metabolism at the cellular level; by increasing the power house of the cell you will burn more fat in a more efficient manner.
Here are two example HIIT workouts to get you started!
A: HILL SPRINTS: 30 second max effort hill sprint followed by a 90 second walk. Repeat for 5 – 7 sets.
B: PROWLER SPRINTS: Head to your local gym and load up the prowler with 6 – 10, 45lb plates. Perform 20 – 30 seconds of an all-out sprint push. Rest for 90 seconds and repeat for 5 total sets.
2. Intermittent Fast (IF) on occasions
Intermittent Fasting is a popular dietary approach where you go for a prolonged period of time without food. While this wouldn’t normally be a recommended approach for the bodybuilder, it can help you lose fat fast. If performed correctly, you can also achieve this with minimal muscle loss, if any at all. Here’s what to do:
Upon waking hold off from food until around 10am. At this point, drink 1.5 scoops of RE-KAGED and continue the protein modified fast until 2pm. At this point, eat a normal, high protein whole food meal. Continue the remainder of your day as normal, taking in plenty of fuel and nutrients around the workout. As long as your training is performed in the afternoon / evening you can repeat this process several times per week. Focus on pushing your food and nutrients around the workout to maximize both muscle gain and fat loss. Bonus tip: Pair this with point 4 for a super fat loss plan.
3. Increase your protein intake
Along with helping you build muscle, a high protein intake can help you drop the fat fast. A recent study by Philips et al. (2016) used 250g of protein per day combined with resistance training and participants dropped 4kg (9lb) of fat AND added 2kg (4.5lb) of muscle. Other studies have shown a very high protein intake can help you lose fat and MAINTAIN muscle.
If you don’t already, increase your protein intake to around 1g or 1.5g of protein per LB bodyweight. e.g. A 200lb individual would eat 200g to 300g per day of protein! If you are dramatically increasing protein, remember to reduce other foods such as carbohydrates and fats, this will help you drop the fat while maintaining the muscle.
4. Take a fat burner, such as CLEAN BURN
A well formulated fat burner such as CLEAN BURN can help you lose fat while maintaining performance and energy levels. The key ingredients used in CLEAN BURN will help in several ways. Firstly, specific ingredients such as green tea will help with fat oxidation, releasing the fatty acids from your stomach. The next phase is to shuttle these fatty acids into the Mitochondria (Discussed in point 1) for fat burning, which is achieved with L-Carnitine. This also pairs incredibly well with IF (2, above); the prolonged fast allows you to burn stored fat all morning.
5. Target your carbohydrates and add in vegetables.
Dropping carbohydrates isn’t always the answer. They are often needed for performance and maximizing muscle mass. However, in certain situations and shorter periods of time, a reduced carb approach can work wonders. By doing a low carbohydrate phase you can rapidly improve insulin sensitivity, fat oxidation rates and mitochondria function. This approach is also a sure fire way to reduce calorie intake. Just make sure you replace these carbohydrates with plenty of green vegetables for fiber, nutrients and satiety.
To maintain performance while dropping fat you should be targeting your carbohydrates. To achieve this, remove most of the starchy carbohydrates (such as pasta, rice, potato etc.) throughout the day and only take this form of carbohydrates before you train. By doing this, you can still maximize gym performance and just remove carbohydrates when you are resting, helping burn more fat.
Follow these 5 simple steps to get that six pack back. Remember, we all have great six packs waiting for us, we just need to burn the fat so they shine through. As the saying goes, beach bodies are built in the winter.
