This article was written by Cédric from the blog Natural Training . You can find it on Facebook , Youtube and Instagram.
Between strict diet and specific training, losing weight is not that simple. How to promote the loss of fat mass for the benefit of muscle mass? What are the main mistakes to avoid? It is with pleasure that I will answer these questions and share with you my experience of several years of coaching in physical transformation.
Focus on long sets
This is certainly the most common mistake in weight rooms. Most practitioners consider that losing weight rhymes with long series to burn as much as possible calories. It is a mistake ! Successful weight loss comes mostly from the plate.
Indoor training helps maintain good muscle mass. For this, you must continue to train with loads that physiologically increase muscle volume. Long sets tend to focus on strengthening and toning. They increase the duration of training conducive to catabolism (loss of muscle mass).
However, there are interesting intensity techniques that have long series. For example, the decreasing allows to deplete the stock of glycogen while maintaining loads promoting the increased muscle volume. This technique is widely used by dry bodybuilders.
For more information on this training, do not hesitate to download my free eBook: 5 bodybuilding programs to overcome stagnation
Working out too long
Sessions that are too long promote muscle catabolism. By training too much, you will lose a lot of muscles. Workouts of 60 to 75 minutes maximum. Note that peak muscle anabolism peaks around 45 minutes of training while peak muscle catabolism peaks around 90 minutes of training.
I often see people who train for 2 hours to lose weight by doing 60 minutes of strength training and 60 minutes of cardio. It’s absurd! By the way, we want to recommend to athletes nandrolon erfahrung To avoid these mistakes, avoid combining weight training and cardio in the same session. If you have to, do 50 minutes of weight training to finish with 20 minutes of cardio.
Doing too much cardio
Too much cardio does not maintain good muscle mass. By burning too many calories, you will eliminate a lot of carbohydrates, few lipids but greatly degrade the protein chain (loss of muscle mass).
Be fair and don’t overdo it! A diet lower than the energy expenditure is generally sufficient to lose weight. If this is not the case, I recommend one to two maximum sessions per week. Choose short and intense sessions such as 30 minutes of interval training.
Working with too heavy loads
This is a beginner’s mistake that I see frequently in the weight room. Many practitioners continue to train with too heavy loads (5-8 repetitions). They also complain that their performance decreases. Weight loss causes significant nervous fatigue which inevitably reduces performance. It’s normal ! Continuing to train with heavy loads further promotes nervous fatigue.
Take advantage of this period to ease your foot and lightly rest your joints. Train with lighter weights ranging from a range of 10 to 12 reps. Also be aware that severe nervous fatigue increases the risk of injury.
To find out more about weight training, find here the 10 fundamentals of a good weight training .
Completely ban lipids from your diet
Fat is essential for the proper functioning of the body. Some, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids even help to lose fat. Consume in reasonable amounts thanks to the many vegetable oils and oilseeds.
To promote weight loss, a 60 kg person should consume 60 to 90 grams of fat from unsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, banish saturated fatty acids such as red meat, milk, cheese, butter, etc. (for vegan it’s already done ? )
Do not calculate your energy intake
The metabolism and energy expenditure of each individual are different. Don’t copy your neighbor’s diet. Don’t act on gusto. First analyze your daily energy expenditure and your basal metabolism. This data will allow you to plan your daily energy intake. For the first few days, use a scale to accurately calculate the calorie intake from your food.
On this subject, do not hesitate to read my article: how to improve bodybuilding and eat healthy?
Wanting to lose weight too fast
When you start to lose weight, the results are often very effective in the first few weeks. This is normal because the leptin level is at its highest. Your metabolism is active or even very active. It expends a lot of calories while you decrease your calorie intake. Weight loss is imminent! However, after a few days, the leptin level will drop and make your metabolism sluggish. Your body will therefore spend a lot less calories and it will be more difficult to lose weight.
Despite your motivation and a strong mind, be moderate at the start of weight loss. As explained previously, this will decrease easily from the first days. Do not attack a diet that is too restrictive early on, or you risk losing a lot of muscle mass. For successful weight loss, I recommend losing 500 gr per week.
Step on the scale every day
Many of you have fallen into this trap. This is a very big mistake due to the impatience of the results. Weight varies daily depending on the amount of water and food in the stomach. It also varies in relation to the stock of glycogen present in the muscles. If you want to keep your motivation and avoid unpleasant surprises, I advise you to weigh yourself once a week.
