“There aint no cure for the summertime blues.”
That’s what Eddie Cochran told us in 1958.
And a lot of people know all too well about that particular subject. I’m talking about less than two months from today when June 21st rolls around and it’s officially time to start shedding layers for all to see.
Those who aren’t prepared will inevitably be stricken with a fierce case of the summertime blues. That’s because they will be forced to keep their shirts on or live in embarrassment over the next few months, regretting that they didn’t lean down like they wanted to.
Girls will start saying things like, “I hate all my clothes,” and guys will just start making excuses and avoiding pool and beach parties at all costs.
Don’t let it happen to you. It’s not too late to lose another 10-15 pounds of bodyfat before July 4th weekend. But you’ve got to get started today. As in right now! Not tomorrow, not later on tonight, but right now!
First off, if your diet isn’t spot on there is no type of training you can do that will make much of a difference. So get that in check first. Lean, organic grass fed meats, wild caught fish, eggs and grass fed, raw whey protein powder should make up the bulk of your calories. Load up on the green veggies and get some healthy fats like coconut oil in on a daily basis.
To ensure that you’re getting adequate nutrition I recommend a serving per day of Athletic Greens, which is the best mixed greens product I’ve tried and eliminates the need for a bunch of other supplements.
One other good trick is to take a tablespoon of psyillium husks in water every night before bed. That helps clean you out and flatten your lower belly a bit.
Remember, getting lean is at least 85% nutrition, so don’t even think about starting a fat loss focused phase with a crappy diet. It just won’t happen.
Now For the Fast Fat Loss Workouts
The first thing I always tell people before they embark on a fat loss phase is to keep the heavy strength work in the program. Even if you train strictly with bodyweight that means you still need to keep high resistance, low rep (5-8) work in the program. If you immediately abandon strength work in favor of high reps you will lose muscle and strength. The end result is a small, soft physique. You definitely don’t want that.
The first thing to add in is high intensity, low duration conditioning like hill or sled sprints. If fat loss is your main focus right now you will only need two or three days of heavy training to maintain your muscle mass and strength. The other days should dedicated to more fat loss style training.
Let’s say you strength train on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you are currently doing zero conditioning start slow and add in two 15-20 minute sessions on Tuesday and Saturday. My first choice is hill sprints or sprints with a sled. Sand sprints on the beach are awesome as well. And you can never go wrong with the Prowler or a jump rope.
The intensity should be high and your heart rate should be higher. You don’t have to puke but it shouldn’t be comfortable by any means. So get comfortable being uncomfortable.
If you’re new to sprinting take it slow. A half dozen 20-30 yard sprints is a good start. Then, a few weeks later you can work up to ten 50’s. Six weeks later you could push it to somewhere around 1000 yards total for a good fat loss workout. In other words, ten one hundred yard sprints. Run the length of a football field up hill, on the beach or on flat ground with a sled then walk back and repeat.
Four hundred meter sprints are hard to beat for fat loss but that takes a long time to work up to and is definitely quite a bit riskier from an injury perspective. If you have a really long hill or a huge stretch of grass to run with a sled on you could work past 100 yards after about eight weeks of sprinting. If that’s not an option be very careful when working your way up to the 400 and make sure your sprint technique is spot on.
Two days of sprinting per week will be enough for most people. If you’re in shape and athletic there’s no reason you couldn’t get up to three or four, as long as least one of them is of lower intensity.
One option I really like is to bring a kettlebell to the beach and alternate sprints with a kettlebell exercise each set. So set the kettlebell down 50-75 yards away from your start position then sprint to it. When you get there do ten snatches per arm. The weight doesn’t have to be heavy. For most guys a 35 pound bell will be fine. It’s not really strength work, just conditioning. After the snatches walk back to the start line.
When you catch your breath hit the deck for ten Hindu or regular pushups. Again, this will be fairly easy, but in a winded state it will do the job. You don’t want to induce a lot of soreness or systemic fatigue but rather just keep moving and burning fat. After the pushups sprint back down to the kettlebell. Ideally you should launch out of your tenth rep and right into the sprint. Rest as needed and repeat for up to 10-12 sets. That’s a killer workout right there.
On top of your sprint workouts you could also add a 5-10 minute finisher to your strength training workouts. That would be something simple like sledgehammer swings, sled drags, Prowler pushes, battling ropes, jumping rope, hitting a heavy bag or kettlebell snatches. Just set a clock and get after it.
Another great option I use a lot is the following set up:
Monday- Upper Body Strength
Tuesday- Lower Body Strength
Thursday- Fat Loss Conditioning Circuit
Saturday- Fat Loss Conditioning Circuit
As a side note this is also a great template for combat athletes where the two days at the end of the week are more strength endurance/ conditioning days based on their specific needs. If you only have time for three days you could just do once circuit style workout on Friday.
A sample workout might look something like this:
1a) Low Box Jump- 15-20 seconds
1b) Spiderman Pushup- 10-20 reps
1c) Rope Slams- 15-20 seconds
1d) KB Overhead Squat- 5-10 reps per side
1e) Sled Rope Row- 10-20 seconds
1f) Mountain Climber- 25-50 reps per side
1g) Kettlebell Snatch- 10-25 reps per side
Repeat for three to five circuits with minimal rest periods. Set up a similar workout on Saturday. The exercise options are based on your strength levels and the impact that they will have on your heavy days. Keep that in mind.
So there you have a few fast fat loss workouts you can put to use immediately. Like I said, don’t wait til tomorrow. Get started on these today and let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way.
Good luck.
