The Hierarchy Of Fat Loss. Here’s What You Need To Know

Getting lean takes time. Time being something that many of us don’t have a lot of. If you are only able to train a few days a week, here’s what you should do to maximize your efforts toward leanness: pay attention to the hierarchy of fat loss! Here it is:

1. Correct Nutrition

You’ve heard us say it before, you cannot outrun a bad diet. If your diet is poor, it doesn’t matter how much you sweat — you can’t overcome it. Nutrition is key. Nutrition is the place to start.

2. Activities that burn calories, promote muscle mass, and elevate metabolism.

The majority of calories burned are determined by our resting metabolic rate (RMR). The calories burned outside of this are far smaller in number and do not make up the bulk of what we burn in a day. Your RMR is a function of how much muscle you have and how hard it works. Adding activities that promote or maintain muscle mass will make that muscle mass work harder and raise your metabolic rate.

3. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism.

This is the next level of fat burning activity. Look for activities that burn calories and raise your EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption). This is the metabolic rate’s recovery to pre exercise levels. If you are doing light exercises, this recovery could take several minutes. If you do hard intervals, it could take hours. Find activities that make the return longer.

4. Activities that burn calories but don’t necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism.

These activities burn calories but don’t contribute to an increased metabolism. This is the least effective method as it doesn’t burn calories outside of the activity itself.

If time is a major obstacle for you, don’t spend it doing things that are not effective. Get your diet in order and go from there. Start with the activities listed above,  like number 2, that will give you the most bang for your buck and if you find you have more time, start expanding from there.

For more information on the fat loss hierarchy and fat loss training methods, head here.

What have you found that works for you in your efforts to get lean?

 

 

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