By Tom Venuto, CSCS
NPC Natural Eastern Classic Middlweight Champ
EVERYONE who wants to get leaner should read this article. Yes, I know it says “Fat loss for beginners,” but sometimes we veterans forget what we once knew or we don’t practice what we now know. If you’re a beginner, this will be an introduction. If you’re experienced, let this be a reminder.
1. JUST GET STARTED – TAKE DECISIVE ACTION!
There are so many opinions about how to lose body fat that many people end up completely confused and they don’t do ANYTHING!
They’ve read about 27 ways to diet, 34 ways to do cardio, 101 ways to lift weights and 79 supplements to take. But they still don’t have a clue how to start.
You stuff your brain with so much information it feels like it’s going to explode, but then you never do anything about it. You’re like a deer stuck in headlights. Sound familiar?
I call this the “paralysis by analysis” syndrome.
The most important thing you can do is take action. Just begin the journey and figure it out as you go. Better still; get a coach or trainer right from the start.
Actually, losing fat is not that complicated. You don’t need a PhD in exercise physiology to figure out that any exercise is better than no exercise. You don’t have to be a genius in nutritional biochemistry to figure out that an apple is better than a pop tart. Getting lean is simple: Exercise. Eat healthier foods. Eat smaller portions. Isn’t this stuff just common sense? Didn’t your mother tell you this?
So what’s stopping you? What makes you freeze up?
If you’re like most people, FEAR is stopping you. You’re so afraid of doing something wrong, you choose to do nothing rather than make a mistake or look foolish.
What you must understand is that people who accomplish much and people who accomplish little BOTH have fears. The difference between the two is that the latter feels the fear and lets it immobilize them. The former feels the fear and does it anyway.
Begin the process. You can always fine-tune your program as you go. Naturally, it’s better to aim and then fire, but its better to fire and then adjust your aim later than not to fire at all. You can’t win a battle by hiding in the trenches.
2. WALKING IS A GREAT WAY TO START A CARDIO PROGRAM
Ok, so you’ve decided to forge ahead in spite of your fear and start working out. Congratulations. Now what? How do you choose between Stairmaster, Tae Bo, Lifecycle, Yoga, Kickboxing, Elliptical machine, jogging, swimming, etc.?
Any exercise is better than no exercise so stop over-analyzing: just pick something and start. Just do it.
If you can’t make up your mind, then here’s the simplest, easiest, most guaranteed way for any beginner to successfully start a fat loss program:
Walk!
Here’s why:
It requires no equipment
It requires no knowledge of exercise technique
It can be done by almost everyone, regardless of experience
It can be done almost anywhere
It’s safe
For all these reasons, walking is the perfect way to begin. However, the better your condition becomes, the more you’ll need to advance to higher levels of exercise intensity to reach higher levels of fitness.
I’m not saying you should abandon walking, but if you decide to keep walking, a casual stroll will no longer do. For an experienced exerciser, I would consider walking a method of locomotion more than a serious workout.
There’s a big difference between walking for health vs walking for fat loss. Even a 10 or 15-minute casual walk has health benefits. But if you want to turn walking into an effective, fat-melting workout, you’ll need to push yourself for 30 minutes or more. Walking briskly uphill (or on an inclined treadmill) is an excellent workout for anyone.
3. DON’T GET CAUGHT UP IN MINUTIA – FOCUS ON FUNDAMENTALS
Read any book about success and it will tell you “pay attention to detail.” Sounds like good advice – unless you haven’t mastered the fundamentals yet. In that case, it’s the worst advice you could follow.
Every day people send me questions like these:
“Should I use a fast acting protein powder like whey or would casein be better? What if I mix both and also add a little bit of Soy? If I use all of them, what ratio of the three would be ideal and when should I take them?”
“I want to do the ephedrine-caffeine stack and it says to take 20 mg of ephedrine with 200 milligrams of caffeine. The ephedrine comes in 25 milligram tablets, so should I chip a little bit off the tablet to get the right ratio?”
Do you see the problem here?
These are legitimate questions, but they’re completely moot if you’re eating doughnuts and sitting on the couch all day long. Fix your diet and get your butt moving first, then worry about the little things.
Emerson said, “The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of the base.” The heights you reach will depend entirely on how broad a foundation you build. Great coaches such as Vince Lombardi and John Wooden credited most of their success to drilling their players on fundamentals.
Forget about ALL the minutia until you have the fundamentals down cold!
Forget about supplement dosages
Forget about macronutrient cycling
Forget about tempo manipulation
Forget about glycemic indexes
Forget about the latest Bulgarian or Russian periodization program
Master the fundamentals first!
The fundamentals of fat loss include: (1) Do your cardio, (2) Lift weights, (3) Burn more calories than you consume (4) Eat 5-6 small, frequent meals and never skip meals, (5) Keep your fat intake low, but include small amounts of good fats, (6) Eat natural foods; avoid processed & refined foods, (7) eat more complex carbs, fruits & vegetables, (8) eat lean proteins with each meal, (9) Think positive: visualize yourself as you would like to be
If you’re not doing all these things, and you’re looking for the perfect supplement stack or the optimum periodization plan, I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree.
I don’t want you to think that details don’t matter – they do. The “Law of Accumulation” states that every success is a matter of hundreds or even thousands of tiny efforts that often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Everything counts. Everything either helps or hurts. Nothing is neutral.
The problem is when you get bogged down in minutia before you’ve even learned the basics. Minor details produce minor results. Major fundamentals produce major results.
Don’t major in minor things. Lay your foundation first, then move on to the finer points. And remember, as Jim Rohn says, always be suspicious of someone who says they’ve found a new fundamental.
