Athlete Workouts for the Fastest Fat Loss Results
The way I train changed for the BIG TIME when I started doing athlete workouts and found out they were the best for getting the fastest fat loss results. I was over doing the bodybuilding thing and was ready to take an alternative approach to my workouts and wanted to go back to my roots and do the more functional athlete workouts.
Then I started going even deeper into the research behind these workouts and was surprised to find that they burn 900% more fat than doing the old school bodybuilding and long aerobic runs. Here I was doing all the stuff that the mainstream magazines were telling me to do to get my dream body but none of them were talking about these athlete training protocols.
Like everybody, my time is limited and I don’t have all day to workout in the gym. I’m looking to get the fastest fat loss results possible and I never want to waste my time doing the wrong stuff. This is where the athlete workouts comes in…
If you ever check out the amazing physiques on professional athletes they just about all have lean muscular and low body fat bodies (and professional bowler’s don’t count). The way they train is what’s responsible for their very attractive and athletic bodies and that’s what we should be doing to too. When athletes workout they’re doing high intensity interval training and doing metabolic resistance training with speed, core and flexibility work all thrown in there.
But a lot of us just go to the gym and hop from machine to machine or just do bench press and bicep curls all day…so we’re pretty much just wasting our time. We really need to take things back to the athlete workouts that will get the fastest fat loss success.
Below are the 7 different components of athlete workouts for fast fat loss results
1. Dynamic Warm-Up
To warm-up properly means to get away from doing the standard 5 minutes on the treadmill and instead start focusing on actively preparing the body for an intense athlete workout. So in the dynamic warm-up you should be doing stuff like jumping jacks, skips, high knee tucks, carioca, etc instead of going on the elliptical and watching TV for a few minutes. No bueno.
2. Corrective Exercise & Movement Prep.
After you actively get the body warmed up it’s going to be time to get out all the imbalances and start activating the right muscles to prevent injuries and get the most fast loss results out of your workouts. Here is when you want to do corrective exercises such as bird dogs, 1-legged hip bridges, 1-legged SLDL, scapular push-ups, wall slides and all that other great stuff to keep the body strong and arm it for battle.
3. Plyometrics
Unless you have some kind of injury preventing you from doing so, just about everybody should be doing some form of plyometrics. And plyometrics are basically explosive power movements that will get the body to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, hit harder and also burn A TON more calories then 95% of other people’s workouts. So when you’re doing plyometrics try incorporating exercises such as jump squats, skater plyos, lunge hops, plyo push-ups, plyo pull-ups and broad jumps.
4. Strength + Speed
All athletes have to be strong and without doing metabolic resistance training you’re not going to build the lean muscle and have the fastest fat loss results you really want. And I found a little trick too, if you do a speed exercise immediately following the strength then you can get the biggest bang for your buck. It’s going to be 10x’s harder but the results you’ll get will blow your mind. So as and example of a strength + speed combination you can do walking lunges with mountain climbers.
5. Core
Have you ever seen Terrell Owens have anything less than a set of ripped six pack abs? Or a female professional athlete with a sexy flat stomach? Nope and for a very good reason. One is because they have a low body fat percentage and two because they do core training that gets them those results. It’s as simple as that. And all of these professional athletes are doing exercises that are functional and they don’t waste their time by doing 1000’s of sit-ups. Next time you’re doing abs try doing a hover plank followed by bicycle & rotates…it’s one of my favorite combinations for the core.
6. Metabolic Finisher
This is the Grand Finale and it’s important to finish off on a high note and get your heart rate cranking with a good old fashioned metabolic finisher. This is easily going to be the hardest part of the workout and it’ll make you push yourself that extra mile when you think you can’t go any farther. But when you bring in a metabolic finisher in to your workout you’ll get what’s known as the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) effect that will keep your metabolism burning fat for up to 38 hours AFTER you finish working out.
7. Flexibility & Regeneration.
Flexibility and regeneration are usually what most people skip out on and unfortunately is a very critical part of an athlete’s workout and getting the fastest fat loss results. Doing some self-myofascial release on the foam roller and stretching after training is going to be imperative to your overall success. You’ll also find you’re body feeling better and more relaxed than it was before you started doing the flexibility work. So the next time you finish training be sure to take 5 minutes and do some cats & dogs, pigeon pose, downward facing dog, kneeling hip flexor stretches and child’s pose.
Josh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Science. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and he’s a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) by American Council on Exercise. He’s worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the high school and college levels. He has over 15 years of experience as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. He strives to bring inspiration and results for people to live healthier lives through smart diet and exercise.