There are hundreds of different lifts you can incorporate in your routine but which ones really give you the biggest bang for your buck when your goal is fat loss?  It has been proven that by adding muscle your BMR  will increase which means you’ll naturally burn more calories.  Not a bad deal if you ask me!  The bigger the muscle, the more calories it will consume. 

With that knowledge, I am a firm believer that an effective routine for fat loss should include lifts that work the largest muscle groups in your body…and the most muscle groups in your body.  To me, it only makes sense and the results I’ve seen from incorporating these compound exercises into my routine prove it.  Of all of the effective fat loss routines I have personally used, these five lifts have given me the greatest return on my time investment.

Talk about confusing!  Check out some of the supplement sites on the Internet.  There’s a couple of things to remember about the supplement industry: they are not FDA regulated and their marketing write-ups make them sound like all you have to do to get in shape is dab a little bit under arms and you’ll be good to go!  Yes, I’m joking about the “under your arms” part but the write ups are truly an art form.  If you’ve ever read any, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

So where does that leave us?  Which of the 50 different protein powders is the best?  Do you need the fat burners?  What about the different types of creatine?  Yep, tons of questions.   Whether you’re just getting started with weight training  or you’ve been doing it for a while, here are a few pointers to help.

If you talk to anyone that has lost a significant amount of weight, they will most likely point to very specific events in their life that motivated them to make the life change.  Find someone that has lost the weight AND kept it off, and they will most likely point to A specific event.  This isn’t scientific research but this has been my experience in speaking with many, many people that have shed significant poundage.

Looking back on my trek, it took a cosmic 2 x 4 to get my attention.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought I wanted to lose weight and get in shape.  I tried many diets and they all failed miserably.  I tried exercising but it never ’stuck’.  I always had good intentions but never that one thing that kept me going day after day.  Here are some of the motivations I experienced.  Maybe you can associate with one of them.

I’ve been on vacation in Biloxi since last Friday.   In Biloxi, as you probably know, there are plenty of casinos which means plenty of all-you-can-eat buffets.  Not just for dinner but for breakfast and lunch as well!  How do you keep from falling off the wagon with all this temptation?  Here’s the simple answer.

You just do the best you can. 

Here are a few simple ways to stay on track and still have some fun!

I really am not normally one to complain (my wife may disagree) but in this case I am making an exception.  In listing my pet peeves, hopefully it will help new gym goers know what not to do.  There are some that may disagree with a few of these but these are MY pet peeves and therefore they can’t be wrong, right? Anywho…here goes:

1.  The Over Achiever

There is lifting heavy and then there is lifting too heavy.  Lifting heavy means that you are at or above 80% of your 1 rep max.  Lifting too heavy means you are over 100% of your 1 rep max.  The signs of lifting too heavy are easy to spot.  There are two signs that will tip you off.  The first is a small range of motion.  On the bench press, I call them ‘chest flinches’.  The funniest one I’ve seen is when a guy had a spotter and was, at the most, bringing the bar down 2 inches and then back up.  Really?  The second is when you see a guy with a spotter and he’s helping on the first rep…then he continues to help through the rest of the set at which time he yells, “Awesome set, dude!”  Ugh.