[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In my first blog I showed you proof that you can get ripped in 6 weeks without giving up your life.

In the second editorial, we discussed goal setting, how to uncover your underlying motivational triggers, and how to keep motivated during your weight loss phase.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

 

This week you will learn about Bodytech’s top 30 exercise, nutrition, and life hacks (tips & shortcuts) to help you fast track your weight loss journey and get ripped up in no time.

There are plenty more hacks that we will reveal down the track. If you have any hacks that have worked for you and you would like to share, please email them to info@bodytech.com.au

 

Life hacks

1. Sync your clean food and training days with your work life. Work calls for repetition and habit, so include your nutrition and training into it.
2.  Schedule workouts into your calendar and treat them like any appointment or meeting you have. You are eliminating the ‘I don’t have enough time’ excuse that we all love to use.
3. You don’t need a gym to workout – you have a perfectly good street outside your home for sprints, or a lounge room for some circuit work.
4. Try to workout in the morning and get it out of the way. This way you wont umm and ahh after work about how much nicer sitting on the couch would be. Plus you’ll burn more body fat in the morning before fuelling up at breaky. Double whammy.
5. Enjoy your days off. Life is too short and if you’re going to put your heart and soul into 5 strict days in a row, then your mind and body need this release. Besides it’s amazing for your motivation as there is always something on the horizon worth looking forward to.
6. Write up a weight loss schedule and stick to it. Smaller, more frequent goals are easier to achieve and keep you on track. Click here to read more from last weeks post on scheduling.
7. Keep a before photo handy to remind yourself of your end goal and why you are doing what you’re doing.
8. Get 8 hours of sleep (helps the body recover and optimizes everything).

Nutrition hacks

1. Clean out your cupboards/fridge of all the bad food that will entice you. Will-power is all well and good but why tempt fate? Just get rid of everything you know is on the naughty list.
2. Do all your shopping at a farmers market if you can. This way you really only have access to a plentiful supply of veg, fish, poultry, meats, and eggs. They are generally of of a better quality, are cheaper, and have a better selection of organic than your big supermarket chains. Understandably farmers markets aren’t always accessible so stick to the fresh food section of the supermarket and don’t be sucked in by the strategically positioned, well marketed jumk that’s smirking at you from the isle to isle.
3. Remove carbs, sugars and dairy from your diet completely! Carbs: fill you up and are full of fiber but they are the devil. Sugars: do I need to elaborate? Fruits: whilst full of nutrients are also full of fructose, another form of sugar. Yes they are healthy, but they won’t aid in weight loss. You will get more than enough fibre, nutrients and vitamins from your abundant source of vegetables and nuts. Dairy: contains another form of sugar called lactose and it has a high concentration of fat.
4. Pre -prepare your meals on Sunday. here are some ideas. Prep veg like broccoli – cut it up and boil it, container it; lettuce -clean it, cut it, container it; 1kg of meatballs/patties (turkey, kangaroo, lean mince) cooked, cooled, and into a container; a dozen eggs – boiled, cooled and into the fridge. The list goes on. pack your lunch and snacks in the morning with whatever you feel like that day, and take it to work with you. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to eat clean, you’ll save money, and slim down!
5. Use the open palm rule: Your lean meat or protein portion should equal the size of your open palm. That’s 3 times per day with each main meal (including veg) and 2-3  protein only snacks per day. Weighing your food is simply too hard and fussy.
6. You can eat unlimited green veg. If it’s green, go for gold, especially broccoli, a favourite of anyone trying to get lean.
7. Have Metamucil (or similar fibre supplement) 15 minutes before your main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner). It’s a fibre supplement, fills you up so you don’t feel like eating as much, helps digest your food aiding in weight loss, and lowers cholesterol to boot.
8. If you’re going to buy canned goods, pre-prepped meals, yoghurts etc. follow the nutritional advice on the back. If carbs and sugar exceed 10g per 100g then get rid of it. You would be amazed how much this varies between brands and products. Do yourself a favour and have a look around next time you’re in the supermarket. Check out the label on the left and get familiar with it.
9. Forget your traditional breakfast of toast or cereal. Replace it with some poached eggs, nuts or lean meats. High protein meals will keep you full all morning and alert.
10. Snacks: always have snacks on hand. A small tub of almonds, a few boiled eggs, cans of tuna. When you’re hungry these are your go-to fillers.
11. Drink loads of green tea. Full of antioxidants and proven to spike metabolism briefly. Personally, I am famished after a pot of green tea which is an indication that my metabolism is racing, causing my hunger to increase.
12. Eating out. If you like fish order it every time. Fish portions tend to be smaller than steak or chicken and usually comes with veg. If you have a steak make sure it’s no more than 150g and have it with salad. Hold the dressing. Otherwise salad without croutons, noodles, or dressing is fine. A squeeze of lemon and olive oil on the side shall suffice.
13. Alcohol. If you have no choice but to have a social drink during the week then stick to vodka, soda, and fresh lime. Just remember you’re in your GO phase and shouldn’t be drinking at all. So this is treat enough.

Training Hacks

1. Forget cardio if you want to fast track your weight loss journey and get ripped up as quickly as possible.
2. Use weights every session and that includes you ladies (you aren’t going to look like Sarah Conner out of Terminator 2 without a very serious training, nutrition and supplement regime). Use compound movements that utilise larger muscle groups and incorporate movement through a number of muscle groups. If you are a beginner or not confident with free weights, just use the machines, or get yourself a good PT to show you how to use it.
3. Warm up with a lightweight version of the exercise you are planning on doing.  Running isn’t a warm up for an upper body workout.
4. Use a timer on your phone/watch and set it for 50 seconds. As soon as it goes off you’re back into the next set. If you’re not finished in 35 minutes you are resting for too long.
5. Superset exercises to reduce rest time and half your workout time. Working opposing muscle groups such as chest and back with reduced rest is an example of super setting. You should be in and out of the gym in 35 minutes if you’re training to your full potential.
6. Aim for 8-12 reps per. This means lifting a weight that you can do at least 8 reps but cant quite hit 12. 10 is the magic number. Adjust weights accordingly.
7. Log everything on your phone or paper diary. I find Evernote useful as it syncs directly to my computer and I can add photos, voice memos (not sure why I would bother though) and view it on my computer. If you have a log, next time you repeat a workout you know exactly what weight your hitting.
8. Replace cardio with HITT (High Intensity Interval Training). It is far superior to your standard cardio, and revs your metabolism for up to 24 hours after your session. It involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by a period of rest. You can do it wherever you want, e.g. sprints outside your home. However there is a catch… You need to give everything to your HITT. HITT should only last 15-20 minutes and you should have nothing left by the end of it. It is challenging, fun, and stimulates incredible results.

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You can achieve amazing results without sacrificing everything for the greater good of looking good.

If you can’t wait for next week’s blog you can read up on nutrition here. Nutrition will count for a good 70-80% of your fitness journey and a sound understanding and appreciation of it is fundamental to your success.

Similarly supplements are important if you want to get that little edge with you’re results. For the purpose of this 6 week cut down phase I utilised the ‘Ripped Bundle.’ Click here for more information.

Finally, if training with Bodytech is something of interest to you please have a look at our range of options. We have four different services that cater to all levels of fitness and budgets. Click here to learn more about our services.

There you have it. Hope you took away some good ideas.

Next week I will delve deeper into nutrition and show you what you need to change. A wise man once said,  ‘Ab’s are made in the kitchen,’ and they’re 100% correct.

until then,

stay healthy,

Jack Seymour

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