Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

CHAPTER 9
Fat-Burning Programs
At this point we’ve talked a lot about the principles for gaining muscle and
strength. In this chapter we modify those strategies to help you retain your gains
while you shift your focus to burning fat. We then cover energy systems training,
which consists of both low- and high-intensity activity to maximize physique
and performance benefits. Finally, we end with three different programs that will
help you get the lean, strong body you desire.
230
Modifying Your Training for Fat Loss
In the last chapter we covered the principles of muscle building, and you saw my
programs for achieving that goal. Everything I said there still applies when your
primary goal is fat loss. The biggest difference is how much food you eat, a subject
we cover in chapter 11. It surely won’t surprise you to learn that successful fat
loss requires eating fewer calories, just as hypertrophy requires a caloric surplus.
The simplest approach would be to follow any of the programs in chapter
8 while eating less. If you can undershoot your maintenance level by a couple
hundred calories a day, you’ll lose fat. And for the first few weeks, it should
work exactly like you expect. It won’t be easy, but it certainly is straightforward.
However, problems begin after the first month or so. Sooner or later, you’ll feel
the effects of that calorie deficit. You’ll have less strength during your workouts
and slower recovery between them. With less total work in the weight room,
you’ll burn fewer calories than you did when you were eating more. You didn’t
do a lot of low-intensity cardio or high-intensity energy systems work when you
were trying to build muscle, since those additional exercise sessions would burn
calories you want to use for growth and repair. But in a fat-loss program, you
need more ways to burn calories. High-intensity intervals, used strategically, are
a great way to accelerate fat loss in relatively little time. Longer, slower physical
activity not only burns calories but also improves recovery.
Thus, you need these program modifications when training for fat loss:
• Perform fewer rounds of a circuit, or the same number of rounds with fewer
exercises in the circuit.