Dirty Trick Beats Fat Loss Plateau
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
I once had a training partner who would put more weight on the bar than I expected.
For example, if I planned to do 200 lbs for 8 reps, he would sneak on 210. And the thing is, I often ended up doing it just as easily as I expected to do 200.
The point to his dirty trick? He knew I was stronger than I let my mind believe.
Personal Trainer Tip from Stephen: Unlike a lot of personal trainers who count reps out loud – (ohmigod, that drives me crazy! Can’t their clients count?) – I never count reps out loud and I rarely tell the client beforehand how many reps I’m looking for.
When you announce, “Let’s do 10 reps” – (don’t you love how we trainers like to say, “let’s”?) – clients either find a way to reach fatigue precisely at 10 (when they could have done more) or they contort themselves in every way humanly possible to get that last rep when they should have stopped at 9.
[The latter is especially common with Type A personalities who won't stop regardless of what you say.]
(Note: Don’t try this at home. He was also spotting me during each repetition.)
But how can you benefit from this dirty trick? 2 ways:
1) Change your mindset and self-image.
If you are stuck at a fat loss plateau and keep telling yourself you are meant to be fat, then guess what? You’ll never win.
Instead, tell yourself you are meant to lose the fat. And believe it when you say it!
Picture yourself with a better body. Picture yourself buying clothes for your new, better body.
Here’s a great example of a fat burning mindset shift mentioned by SteveH on the member’s forum…
“Yesterday’s eating went well. I even resisted a plate of fries and didn’t order the burger I was wanting. I used the mindset that Craig mentioned – ‘I am a healthy person. Healthy people don’t eat Burgers and Fries.’ So I got a turkey sandwich with steamed veggies.”
Having a strong, positive thinking attitude will put you on the road to success.
2) Break a new record in the gym each workout.
Your body won’t change if you aren’t improving. My friend’s dirty trick ensured that I was always doing more each workout, and therefore, always making gains.
So for your fat loss workout, pick one area you can improve on each workout. Whether it’s one more pushup, a faster interval, or 5 more pounds on an exercise, break a record and you’ll bust your plateau.
Train for performance, and the fat burning will follow.
Note from Stephen: I’m sure my friend Craig would tell you need to mix in Active Rest and Easy Days into your long-term workout program, but you get his point.
Most people never get the results they claim they want simply because they never work hard enough.
Going for a new record in something in each workout is a great place to start.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines.
His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week.
For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Stephen,
Back in my powerlifting days (you may remember that my training partner at the time was multi-world champion Ed Coan), I also learned that when you’re choosing between weights such as, oh, let’s say 650 or 655lbs, your BODY doesn’t know the difference one way or the other. Ultimately you need a strong MIND to overcome ANY obstacle (in or out of the gym).
I guess the take-away message is that the only thing that can stop you is YOU.
btw: I might be swinging thru Baltimore one o’ these weekends… hopefully we can catch up!
-JS-
Thanks for the comment, my friend Joe at Morning Cup of Joe. (By the way, Joe’s a fellow personal trainer and co-author of mine at LiftStrong.com and Power of Champions.)
I didn’t realize weights even went up to 650 or 655 lbs.
It amazes me how many clients go up (okay, I “encourage them” to go up) in weight by five pounds, and suddenly they can’t seem to even budge the weight.
Obviously, their muscles haven’t gotten that much weaker in just a couple of days.
As Strother Martin said in Cool Hand Luke (that’s right, I’m that old), “You gotta git yo’ mind right.” – Stephen