Real Fast Fat Loss Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Real Fast Fat Loss by Alwyn Cosgrove & Chad Waterbury May 30, 2007September 1, 2021 Tags Fat Loss Training, Metcon, Training This is a no bullshit fat loss article. There will be no motivational tips, no psychological analysis, no complicated nutritional plan, and no puny-ass exercises. In fact, just one of the exercises in this plan is probably more demanding than your entire, out-dated fat loss training program. And that's a good thing. Listen, your goal with each workout during any effective fat loss plan should be to rev up your metabolism and keep it revved up after you leave the gym. You need a tough workout to do that. Therefore, to lose fat and transform your body you must eradicate single-joint isolation exercises because they'll do nothing for fat loss. But there's more that you need to know. Let's break down fat loss into its five most important components. 1 Create a Caloric Deficit Without a caloric deficit, you'll never lose fat. Your metabolism must burn more calories than you consume each day. How do you boost your metabolism? By eating frequently with plenty of protein, healthy fats, and vegetables at each meal. In addition, you must create a large metabolic disturbance through an ass-kicking resistance-training plan that boosts Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). 2 Increase the Metabolic Cost of Each Exercise In terms of metabolic demand, there's a massive difference between a squat and an arm curl. The former challenges hundreds of muscle groups and stimulates your energy systems; the latter leaves you skinny and fat. Snatches, squats, and deadlifts have a very high metabolic cost. Single joint exercises, or machine-based exercises, don't. You're probably thinking, "Okay, this plan will revolve around compound movements because they have a high metabolic cost." Well, that's not good enough. We don't want the metabolic cost of each exercise to be high – we want itsuper high! How do we do that? By metamorphosing compound movements into complexes. So instead of just performing a dumbbell snatch, you'll perform a deadlift/snatch/lunge complex. In essence, these won't be just total body workouts, they'll be workouts made up of total body exercises! 3 Increase the Metabolic Cost of Each Workout It's important to take point #2 one step further. You must not only look at the metabolic cost of each exercise, but you must also look at the metabolic cost of the entire workout: the higher it is, the faster you'll transform your physique. That's why every exercise in this plan consists of a total body lift. 4 Perform High Intensity Interval Training HIIT HIIT burns more calories and stimulates your metabolism more than steady state cardio. Not only will you burn more calories while you're doing HIIT, but it also revs your metabolism higher than traditional forms of cardio by boosting EPOC. Do it, or else. 5 Surround Yourself With Social Support Is your boss forcing you to eat Krispy Kreme's at each meeting? Quit your job! Are your kids kicking and screaming for you to eat at McDonald's every weekend? Give them up for adoption! Is your wife feeding you Ben and Jerry's every night? Divorce her! You get the idea. If you don't surround yourself with an environment that's conducive to losing fat you'll have a helluva tough time finding your six-pack midsection. Stay focused on your goal and don't give any time to those who try to sabotage your efforts. Real Fast Fat Loss Plan Rationale To create a metabolic disturbance through not only total body training, but total body lifts. Sets and Reps Use the heaviest load you can manage with perfect form for all sets. Day 1: 5 x 5 reps Day 2: Off Day 3: 4 x 10 reps Day 4: Off Day 5: 3 x 15 reps Day 6: Off Day 7: Off Training Plan Structure he RFFL plan alternates between two different workouts: A and B. Day 1 starts with the A workout, followed by the B workout on Day 3 (Day 2 is off). Since this is a three-times-per-week plan, every other week will vary. For example, during week 1 you'll perform the A workout twice (Days 1 and 5); during week 2 you'll perform the B workout twice (Days 1 and 5). This ingenious structure allows you to follow this plan for 6-8 weeks without adapting or stagnating. The first two weeks will look like this: Week 1 Day 1: Workout A for 5 x 5 reps Day 2: Off Day 3: Workout B for 4 x 10 reps Day 4: Off Day 5: Workout A for 3 x 15 reps Day 6: Off Day 7: Off Week 2 Day 1: Workout B for 5 x 5 reps Day 2: Off Day 3: Workout A for 4 x 10 reps Day 4: Off Day 5: Workout B for 3 x 15 reps Day 6: Off Day 7: Off Workout A A Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Split Snatch plus lunge Rest 1 min. between each set. B1 Push-Up - feet on Swiss Ball with prone jackknife combo Rest 30 sec. before moving to 2B. B2 Bent Over Row - Back Extension Hybrid Rest 30 sec. before moving to 2C. B3 Dynamic Lunge plus Shoulder Press Rest 30 sec. before repeating the 2A-2C cycle. C 2 x 20 sec Squat Jumps 20 sec Squats 20 sec Squat and Hold Do jump squats for 20 seconds, followed immediately by conventional squats for another 20 seconds, followed immediately by squatting down and holding the position for 20 seconds. Rest 45 sec. between each set. D Tabata Bike Sprints Pedal hard for 20 sec. followed by 10 sec. of easy pedaling. Continue with this sequence for 8 rounds (4 minutes). Pedal easy for 5 minutes. Do another 8 rounds of the 20-10 sec. cycle. Workout B A Front Squat - Push Press Combo Rest 60s between sets. B1 Waterbury Dumbbell Row Rest 30 sec. before moving to 2B. B2 Good Morning - Reverse Lunge combo Rest 30 sec. before moving to 2C. B3 Squat Jump to Chin With Knee Tuck Rest 30 sec. before repeating the 2A-2C cycle. C Prone Plank Reverse Crunch Swiss Ball Crunch Description: hold the prone plank for 30 sec., followed immediately by 30 sec. of reverse crunches, followed immediately by 30 sec. of Swiss Ball crunches. Rest 45s between each set. D 10 minutes of Kettlebell Swings Description: This should be performed with a kettlebell or dumbbell that's light enough to allow for at least 30 continuous repetitions. The idea is to perform as many swings as possible within a 10-minute period. You can rest whenever you need a break. With each subsequent workout you should be able to perform more swings within the 10 minutes. Conclusion Final Words? We don't have any. After all, this plan is so effective for fat loss that any additional promotional bullshit would just muddy up the masterpiece. Now get to it! Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training New Associations New Muscle Lots of the usual solid folksy wisdom from Dan John, but in addition, this article contained so many great training ideas that we dropped what we were doing and ran straight to the gym to try them. (Sorry Ma, we'll fix your dialysis machine tomorrow.) Training Dan John June 26 Training Tip Make the Bulgarian Split Squat Even Tougher Use this exercise and you'll squat more weight for more reps. Here's how to do it. 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