1. Caloric deficit
-Do not overcomplicate your diet. Losing fat only requires one simple concept, caloric deficit. This means you need to be consuming fewer calories than your body is burning. Figure out what your daily calories are at maintenance based on your age, height, current weight, activity level and metabolic health.
-Once you have your calories at maintenance, decrease that number by 20-25%, and that is your daily target. Do not go over that amount; do not go under that amount. Adjust this number accordingly on a weekly basis as you begin to lose weight.
-Download my fitness pal app on your phone and track everything you consume to ensure you are precisely hitting your target calorie amount.
2. Lift weights
-Contrary to what people think, efficient weight resistance exercises focused on muscle building is the best way to shred fat. This means you need to be doing compound exercises like the barbell squat, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, deadlift etc. Implement a training regimen focused on increasing body composition, this will add muscle and increase your metabolic rate. As a result you will shape a more sculpted physique and allow your body to naturally burn more calories at rest.
-High rep low weight exercises to shred fat is a MYTH! Do not follow this method. Lifting heavier weights requires your body to use more energy, resulting in more calories burned.
-Intensity and volume. In addition to body composition training, incorporate higher intensity exercises with more volume. Use set-extended techniques like drop-sets, super-sets and pause-sets increasing time under tension. By extending your sets, you are able to workout more muscle groups in less time and you are able to elevate your heart rate burning more calories.
3. HIIT Cardio
-High intensity interval training is a must. HIIT cardio has proven to be the most effective form of cardio to burn fat.
-Start off doing 20 minutes of HIIT 4-5 times a week with at least 5 intervals each session.
-Example: Walk for 2 minutes then sprint for 30 seconds. Repeat this 5 times within 20 minutes.
-Increase both interval amounts and total cardio time on a weekly basis as you increase your cardiovascular endurance.