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Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

by | Jun 29, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

To look your leanest, you want to lose fat while not losing muscle.

Heck if you can even gain a bit of muscle in the fat loss process, even better.

And while this is hard to do, and diet is 100% key, too often the way we design our workouts actually sabotages our fat loss results.

We turn to cardio over strength, favoring the calorie burn.

And that deficit we create from doing more cardio while eating less can yield some fast immediate scale changes.

It is also what leads to us ultimately hitting a plateau, even feeling like we look softer and deciding all the hard work isn’t worth it as we become burned out and restricted and hungry.

Then the scale rebounds and we gain even more fat as the habits we were trying to implement just weren’t sustainable and our body adapts to the amount of cardio we were doing because we couldn’t keep trying to add on more to progress it.

That’s why I wanted to share 5 tips to help you accelerate your fat loss results while preserving your lean muscle mass to help yourself avoid metabolic adaptations and see lasting recomp.

And that starts with prioritizing strength work over cardio.

But then it isn’t enough to just focus on strength work, you want to be strategic and intentional which is why these 5 tips can help.

Because how you design your strength workouts when in a fat loss phase is different than during a muscle building phase.

While at both times you want your workouts focused on maintaining and building muscle, your fueling and therefore energy levels may be different making different training techniques even more beneficial.

It’s why my first tip is especially key to help you push that progression while in a calorie deficit…

#1: Use Rest-Pause Training Technique

To build muscle, you need to challenge yourself to progress and push in each workout. But sometimes we can’t just do a harder variation or more reps or more weight of an exercise.

Especially when we are in a calorie deficit, we can feel a bit depleted and like we aren’t as strong.

That’s where this rest-pause technique can help. It can help us use heavier weights or do a few more reps by implementing a short rest period or PAUSE in a single set.

Basically, where you feel like you’d have to stop, pause for 15-30 seconds and then complete more reps with the same weight and move.

You can then end up moving more weight in your workout while maintaining heavier loads and more advanced exercise variations for more volume.

An example of this could be a lunge. If you can only do 8 reps with the weights you’re using, and you’ve even been stuck at this amount for a bit, you may do your 8 reps. Pause for the 15-30 seconds.

Then do 2-4 more based on what you can do before fully resting.

This way you get out 12 reps with a weight and lunge variation you could only really do 8 reps with.

It helps you push that progression when stuck and even focus on maintaining quality reps instead of getting sloppy just to try to do more.

Then next don’t only focus on progressing moves through adding weight or reps. But also Vary Your Exercise Range Of Motion.

Increasing the range of motion you’re working through can help you improve your mobility and strength.

It can help you even load a muscle under more stretch to see better muscle gains faster.

But you don’t have to just increase the range of motion to load a muscle under stretch or drive growth.

Sometimes you also want to shrink the range of motion and do partial reps or pulses.

This can keep the muscle under tension for longer and even keep you just working the muscle while under stretch.

An example of this may be something like pulse RDLS.

With this move you’re keeping the hamstrings stretched and working in a smaller range of motion.

Combining this even later in a workout after a full range of motion RDL may be just what you need to really work your hamstrings to fatigue.

On the flip side of this, you may do a full range of motion or even extended range of motion abduction exercise to then include pulses at the end range of motion after.

Combining different ranges of motion can help you really fully work muscles while creating progression without just adding loads.

So don’t fear increasing the range of motion but also including partial reps at times strategically to isolate muscles further!

And not only do you want to play around with exercise range of motion, but you may want to adjust exercise order.

Often we think just compound moves to more isolated moves over the course of our workouts.

But sometimes by putting those isolation moves first, we can pre-fatigue an area to actually max out with lighter loads on those compound moves.

This can be key during a fat loss phase when we are a bit more energy depleted.

It’s why tip #3 is to include Pre-Fatigue Moves.

Try putting that leg extension exercise BEFORE your front lunges or squats.

You may be surprised by how much more you feel those quads working then in the compound move and by how heavy a lighter weight than usual feels.

This can really help you especially if you feel slightly stuck at a weight where you can’t do more BUT the weight isn’t fully maxing you out unless you keep adding more reps.

It can be key if you don’t feel those stubborn areas fully getting worked the way you need.

That little bit of fatigue helps you work a muscle closer to failure with the compound lift.

It can be that little gasoline on the fire to accelerate those muscle gains!

So for especially stubborn muscle groups you really want to target and grow, consider at times a little isolation work first in your workout to really feel those areas already working before you go into those compound lifts.

Just be conscious when you do the pre-fatigue work you don’t then compensate in the lift.

This may mean starting a bit lighter than you think with the compound exercise because the areas are already tired going in!

With all of these techniques, it is about maxing what you’re doing. We don’t just want to keep adding more.

While volume is key, too often we just add more to our training, which becomes slightly wasted work as we are too tired by the end of the session to be as intentional and maximize every rep.

So instead of just trying to add in more moves for an area to a single session or do more rounds, consider less work per session but more training frequency for especially stubborn muscle groups over the week.

This is why tip #4 is to Favor Weekly Frequency.

If you have a stubborn area you want to build muscle in, train it 2-3 times a week.

Don’t do 8 moves on one day, spread out your volume over the week.

This can be key during a fat loss phase as we are in an energy deficit so tend to fatigue more quickly.

That move you’re doing right now at the end of a long upper body day for your shoulders may FEEL like it is getting 100% effort, but your 100% at that time is far less than it would be if you did that move second on another day.

This volume spread out means we can do less on a day so we aren’t just going through the motions on the final rounds to get in more work on a single day.

Think about that 4th exercise you’re doing…you’re way more tired for it than the first exercise.

So instead of doing more on a single day, spread that work out.

Give yourself still days to recover between, but allow yourself to be fresher for those moves by not just stacking more into a single session.

If your shoulders are a stubborn muscle group, include 2-3 shoulder days a week.

Make one the more intensive one, with maybe two other days you even include just a single move for your shoulders over adding those two extra moves onto one day.

It will surprise you by how much more you are actually able to do with certain exercises when you aren’t tired trying to cram them in at the end of a session!

This will also allow you to include more diversity of movement for muscle groups over the week to really hit every aspect and see better muscle gains!

And by increasing training frequency over just doing more for a muscle group in a single session, you can often also be more strategic with tip #5…

Stop Skipping Rest.

Our body only rebuilds when it has time to repair and the fuel to do it.

When in a fat loss phase, your gas tank is already low. You need to allow for proper recovery to optimize how you do use the fuel coming in.

So do not skip days off.

But also don’t skip rest during your workouts.

The rest allows you to optimize each set and really maximize your output on reps.

Because the more fatigued you get over your workout, the more you feel like you’re working hard but not able to push progression in the same way.

And cutting out all rest, while it can make you feel like you worked harder in a session because your heart rate gets up, can also turn your strength workouts into more cardio sessions.

While this may feel good, it can also backfire and hinder the muscle gains you’re working hard for.

It can put you into that viscous cardio weight loss cycle.

So include rest and allow yourself to recover to lift heavier. Even just 1-2 minutes between moves or rounds depending on the workout design can be key.

And don’t forget about even the short rest of rest-pause technique to really push yourself.

But this is also why favoring weekly training frequency can be key.

Doing less for one area on a day and even hitting a few large muscle groups in a session can allow you to get in more rest while continuing to work and be efficient with your time. By cycling what is working, another muscle group can rest as you continue to use your gym time efficiently.

Rest doesn’t have to mean just scrolling on your phone. Heck, even get in some extra steps moving around the gym instead.

But don’t demonize rest if you want to push to build muscle.

Remember, muscle is key to metabolic health and ultimately looking leaner as we lose fat.

For amazing workouts you can do anywhere to build strength, muscle and improve your metabolic health to see fabulous recomp, check out Dynamic Strength!

–> LEARN MORE

The 3 Phases Of Fat Loss (And How to DO IT RIGHT!)

The 3 Phases Of Fat Loss (And How to DO IT RIGHT!)

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

To lose fat you don’t just do one thing the whole time. There are phases and cycles.

Your diet and your workouts should EVOLVE.

That’s why I want to go over 3 different phases you can cycle through during your fat loss journey to see amazing results that LAST and know you’re progressing over time.

Because we have to trust the process…but that is easier said than done.

Not to mention our body needs and goals evolve over time and we have to meet them where they are at, which means at times what was working may not work based on what we need right now and we need to adjust.

That’s also why these 3 phases aren’t just a step 1, 2, 3 kind of thing.

You may go in and out of these phases based on YOUR progress and even desire for faster results at times over more of a lifestyle balance.

And you may return to even phase 2 at points as you even maintain your new lean, strong look!

So the 3 phases I’m going to go over are….

The Lifestyle Build

The Mini Cut

The Diet Break

Let’s start with the main Fat Loss Phase where you’ll find you spend most of your time…what I call the Lifestyle Build.

I just want to be clear about one thing…

What you do to reach your fat loss goal is not what you will do to MAINTAIN your results.

There is a transition to maintenance which I’ll go over more with Diet Breaks.

But you DO want to be creating sustainable habit changes as you lose fat because you can’t just do one thing to lose then go back to what you were doing prior.

And so often our desire to lose faster leads us to doing practices that also ultimately backfire in metabolic adaptations and mental burnout.

This is so often why we end up just losing weight to regain it and even more right after.

That’s why I recommend you most often START with this phase and spend most of your time in the Lifestyle Build.

With this phase, you’re slowly tweaking your nutrition and workouts in a way that truly meets you where they are at in a way that is based off of 1% improvements.

You’ll often track your current diet and workouts first.

You’ll focus on what feels like a realistic schedule to train based on what you easily can do right now.

You’ll take a hard look at your current habits and truly OWN what you’re doing now to adjust.

Then select a small change that feels like it is so silly simple you could do it on the worst of worst days even.

Too often we base changes off what we can do when life is perfect.

But because life often is NOT perfect, we create habits we can’t maintain over ones that we can get disciplined with quickly because they are just only slightly pushing our comfort zone over completely outside it.

This then builds momentum to do MORE and see results snowball faster and faster.

But it helps us ease in over overwhelming ourselves with habits we’re willpowering our way through.

Because too often we do so much we overload ourselves and mentally rebel.

We feel restricted. We feel like nothing will work for us because it’s too much.

The excuses pop up because we have other priorities fighting the changes.

In this phase, you’ll want to start even with a minimalist macros approach and a very small calorie deficit.

Once you see what calories you’re maintaining, or gaining weight with by tracking your current diet, you will cut out 100-200 calories and focus on nutrition by addition and adding protein.

You want to work to get your protein to 30-35% of your calorie intake to start.

This focus only on calories and protein simplifies with a clear focus.

It also helps us find our balance including foods we love while also fueling our body in the way it needs.

It’s about true changes to our lifestyle over forcing ourselves into a mold and demonizing foods.

From here you may begin to cycle macros and even adjust carbs and fat.

You want to adjust macros over cutting calories further, using those changes in energy source and even higher protein, up to 40%, to help you continue to see fat loss happen.

However, if you find your current calorie intake, while you aren’t losing and even gaining, is 1200 or below, you may want to start with phase 3, a diet break first!

And with these diet changes, you will also focus your workouts on a balance of strength and cardio.

We can’t out exercise our diet, but both need to work together to help us lose fat while not losing muscle and avoid metabolic adaptations.

Cardio especially with this deficit may be more focused on sprint intervals and walking while we focus on still lifting heavy.

We don’t want to turn to cardio only!

During this phase, you will also want to continue to push and challenge yourself with weights in the gym. Doing everything you can to build muscle while in a small deficit will help you better maintain your results.

Workouts may be slightly more metabolic strength though with things like circuits or even some interval strength training.

Now how can you know things are going well…

I will tell you the scale is NOT necessarily going to be your friend.

Because you’re after fat loss, not just weight loss. And slow progress on the scale doesn’t mean you aren’t losing fat – it means you’re not losing muscle too and creating unsustainable changes.

So often when we start our fat loss journey, we do so much we deplete our body completely, leading to fast scale results, only to see every little deviation from our diet or workouts lead to massive gains.

And of course, we regain the weight…which is what has brought you to this video to finally see the fat loss results you deserve.
So with seeing true fat loss results you can expect to see these signs during the Lifestyle Build…

#1: You will see inches being lost while the scale will be SLOW to change.

#2: You may lose up to 1lbs per week but no more.

#3: Your energy can dip then level off as you adjust to changes in your macros and that initial little deficit. Your calorie deficit will be small so you shouldn’t be starving if you do this right! You may even feel FULLER with the change in macros!

#4: Workout numbers should still consistently improve.

But you shouldn’t see massive swings in how you feel or like you’re starving. So often we try to lose fat, end up hangry and just then binge on whatever we can find when we can’t stand the restriction any longer.

That won’t happen if you do this right because you’re creating that very small calorie deficit!

Just note…tracking is key! And one day off plan, the “I was good all week” to fall off on the weekends, can have a massive impact because you’re creating that smaller calorie deficit over the week.

So be aware of those patterns to make small adjustments!

But also note, results are consistent but fat loss isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight.

If you do know that you need that initial bigger change to stay motivated, while you will spend most of your journey in this phase to prevent metabolic adaptations especially through a higher calorie intake and balanced training, you may start with phase 2…

The Mini Cut.

The Mini Cut is an intensive fat loss protocol…

And not fun.

It is more restrictive, going to be tougher macros and a bigger calorie deficit.

It is a kickstart or plateau buster.

It is a short term, quick fat loss sprint to be used strategically.

While I prefer to start with the Lifestyle Build to ease in to change and create more motivation to do more, sometimes we need that extra little push to see results happen then dial things back to embrace the process.

We need the motivation of that quicker result to help us want to keep going.

That’s where Mini Cuts come in.

Generally done for 7-14 days, these kickstarts will put you in a 500 calorie deficit off what you’re maintaining your weight at.

They will also mean tracking EVERYTHING PRECISELY and adjusting your protein, carb and fat with a full macro breakdown.

They are not fun ratios either. Your protein is going to be 40% at minimum and often up to 45-50%.

Your fat and carbs will often be in that 20-30% range.

And food quality matters. This isn’t the time to work in foods you love. Or to include your alcohol or lifestyle balance.

This is a CUT.

Your energy may take a hit.

This won’t be the time to focus on performance goals.

Mentally this will be harder. BUT you know it is short term.

And unlike fad diets, this is still based off the fundamentals of macros and a training progression and you have an EXIT STRATEGY.

Your workouts should also shift away from cardio during this time aside from walking.

The big deficit puts you at risk for losing muscle, which is why protein goes up and intensive cardio goes down.

Workouts should be very focused on strength!

And rest between rounds will be key. Don’t cut it out.

Then after your Mini Cut 7-14 days, you will slowly increase calories over the weeks, 100-200 at a time to get back to either your maintenance or small Lifestyle Build calorie deficit as you drop your macros back to something more sustainable.

Mini Cuts are a great way too as you reach your fat loss goals to maintain the level of leanness you want year around.

Because even as you maintain, you can throw one in if you’re going to travel or have been a little lax around the holidays.

They can be that push for balance with the ebb and flow of life.

If you do a Mini Cut…some signs you’re doing it right…

#1: The scale may change up to 5 pounds during this quick protocol.

#2: Bloat will go down fast.

#3: Energy may dip.

#4: Workout numbers may not improve.

#5: Some hanger and cravings may pop up but remember it is a short sprint!

While Mini Cuts can be satisfying in the faster progress you see on the scale, doing MORE of them will backfire and not lead to faster fat loss and even potentially metabolic adaptations where you see weight creep on as you eat less and less.

So be conscious not to extend them out past 21 days and to slowly increase out of them.

And do not do them if you’re currently eating 1200 calories or in a big deficit already.

If you are in a deficit already of 100-200 calories, consider cutting no more than 300 off and even consider a Diet Break before or after!

Which brings me to Phase 3…Diet Breaks.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is do less to achieve more.

Slow down to speed up.

Sometimes our body, and mind needs a break!

This is where Diet Breaks can be key.

After an extended time in a deficit, our body adjusts.

And too often we cut calories lower when this happens. But then we adjust again. And unless we end up eating nothing, we can’t keep cutting calories lower and lower.

Not to mention if we cut calories too low, our body will actually find ways to reduce our energy expenditure to match which is why we can stop losing and even start gaining as we eat less and less.

This is why I recommend cycling macros.

But if you’re finding that isn’t kickstarting progress and you’ve been in a deficit for 3-6 months, consider a Diet Break.

Especially before or after a Mini Cut.

A Diet Break is like a mini maintenance period.

You’re focus is on maintaining your current results while eating more and training harder.

It is not only a break for your body, but even mind.

Because while you’re trying to create sustainable changes in the Lifestyle Build, you’re still in a deficit.

You’re still pushing to lose and tracking and often doing workouts when you’d sometimes like to be lazy.

Achieving results is hard.

So sometimes we need the break to care less, even if just because life priorities have shifted so we’re feeling burned out.

But during this phase, you want to slowly try to bump calories up even by 200-500 from where you are. This may be done all at once, or you may do it slowly over a few weeks.

A diet break will range from 7-21 days.

You will often also return to the minimalist macros approach, working in foods you love and focusing even just on protein hitting 30% of your calories.

You want to work in foods you maybe haven’t.
You want to also cycle carbs and fats up if one has been lower.

And in your workouts, you want to combine strength and cardio, even using some steady state cardio especially if you enjoy it.

You want to focus on pushing in your workouts and you should really set performance goals during this time.

You’ll know you’re doing a diet break right because you’ll…

#1: See your energy increase and feel extra fueled.

#2: Feel like performance goes up and you’re lifting heavier and setting PRs.

#3: You may feel bloated to start as you increase those calories especially if you choose to do it in one go.

#4: You will first see the scale jump but even by the end see your measurements go down.

#5: You may see the scale fluctuate LESS daily.

Your body won’t be depleted of anything in this phase, that’s why you may see a jump in the scale to start especially the quicker you up calories.

But this will level off. And you may end up losing, but don’t be surprised if you do stay up in weight just slightly.

Take measurements during this phase as you may be surprised to see inches come off even while on a break. Gaining muscle as you lose fat during this phase often happens.

This is a great little muscle gaining phase even to help with avoiding metabolic adaptations and even help you LOOK LEANER as you lose.

Just eating at this level of maintenance or slight surplus can be the muscle boost you need and help you learn what maintenance will even look like for you after!

But embrace the balance to get remotivated and kickstart things when you go back to that Lifestyle Build even.

And if you’re thinking, “But I’m so far from my goals!”

We still will often need a diet break and even all the more because we will need longer deficits.

This also recharges us to keep moving forward!

Remember these phases aren’t steps to do in one order, but phases you will cycle through even many times over your fat loss journey.

Where are you on your fat loss journey? Which phase are you in or will you be moving to next?

Want guidance and support to navigate these phases and see the LASTING fat loss results and muscle definition that you want?

Learn more about my Private Online Coaching!

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5 Tips to Burn Fat (NOT MUSCLE!)

5 Tips to Burn Fat (NOT MUSCLE!)

by | Apr 7, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

If you feel lost as to what to do and like your hard work in the gym isn’t showing, I want to help you avoid common body recomp mistakes with 5 tips to dial in your workouts and your diet to help you lose fat NOT muscle!

The first key component for fat loss is adjusting your diet to not only fuel your training but better help you recover from it.

Because we can only train as hard as we can recover from! 

And our nutrition is a key component of our recovery! 

Now…this tip is one most of us know we should be doing…yet we often try to find a reason NOT to do…

It’s why I really want to take a second to explain the WHY behind it.

While we often just want to know WHAT to do….

Knowing the what without the why doesn’t help us truly embrace the changes, especially when we don’t…well….like them to some extent. 

So what is probably the most important thing we can be focusing on nutrition wise if we want fabulous body recomp no matter our age?

Increasing our protein! 

You’ve heard me harp on this before, but that’s why I want to really focus on WHY higher protein is so key.

First reason why protein is key…It’s the building blocks of muscle. 

By increasing our protein, especially when in a calorie deficit, we are making sure we’re getting our muscles the fuel they need to repair and rebuild from our hard training sessions.

If we aren’t getting our muscles what they need, we risk losing more muscle as we try to lose fat, especially the harder we train and the more cardio we include. 

And we want that muscle!

Building and retaining lean muscle helps us look more defined as we lose fat.

It also helps us avoid metabolic adaptations to burn more calories at rest.

And when we are getting our body the fuel it needs to truly repair from our workouts, we are preventing the catabolic environment that can often occur during a fat loss phase, leading to us losing not only fat but ALSO muscle.

Now you may have heard that you can only use about 20-30 grams in a meal for muscle protein synthesis. 

And tried to use this as an excuse to not eat higher protein.

But protein isn’t just used for building muscle….we are literally made up of protein.

So that 20-30 grams you’re eating, isn’t just going to cover your muscle needs. It’s being used for other body functions as well. 

And as we get older, we also aren’t as able to utilize protein as efficiently.

So the harder you’re training as you’re trying to see body recomp, especially as you get older, your protein needs increase. 

Second, protein makes the fat loss process easier not only because of it’s muscle building benefits but also because of it’s thermic effect and satiating effect.

Higher protein diets have been shown to increase satiety, partly because they even help you create higher volume meals. 

And higher protein diets also lead to a daily higher calorie burn because it requires more energy to digest protein than the other macros. 

So you can feel fuller with technically a higher calorie intake, and ultimately create a bit more of a deficit through the fact your body has to work harder to turn that protein into the fuel you need!

Not to mention…it’s way easier to create and maintain your calorie deficit with higher protein for many people. 

We just don’t want to eat more of the protein than we have to so we are less likely to overeat!

And if you do happen to overeat your calories, high protein diets are the only diet shown to help you avoid gaining unwanted fat with a slight calorie surplus. 

High protein diets give you that extra wiggle room!

With increasing your protein, and the extra flexibility it can give you in your calorie intake, you also want to fight to keep your calories as close to your current maintenance as possible. 

Creating a SMALL calorie deficit is key if you want to lose fat and not muscle.

Our body doesn’t like change.

The more we can adjust from what we’re currently doing, the better as our body won’t rebel as much. 

And if you are currently under eating protein, you may even keep your calories where they are at as you increase your protein first.

Because even by increasing protein, due to the thermic effect, you could put yourself into a slight deficit. 

With also building muscle from your training because you are eating enough calories for muscle growth, you may then find what was your maintenance is now a small deficit.

So with calories, fewer isn’t better.

Extreme deficits put us at more risk for muscle being lost NOT better or faster fat loss results. 

And this can lead to us looking softer and needing to slash our calories lower and lower to see further progress. 

Keep your calories as high as you can, first changing protein levels. 

Then consider even starting by subtracting 100-200 calories from what you’re consuming CURRENTLY to create that deficit. 

These diet changes then need to be paired with your workouts strategically.

Especially the harder you train, the more you need to avoid extreme deficits while focusing on increasing protein.

And you want to make sure your workouts are designed with a focus on muscle.

Yes, muscle. 

Even if your goal is fat loss.

This makes sure you’re retaining lean muscle while in a deficit to lose fat as efficiently as possible.

And KEEP IT OFF.

Now, there are lots of workout designs that can work. 

But your focus when you design your workouts is on how you can lift more quality loads during your session. 

Too often we try to add more quantity, more training volume.

Instead we want to focus on the QUALITY of the volume we are doing. 

Not only does this help us get more out of short sessions, but it truly challenges our muscles with the intensity and progression they need to be forced to adapt and grow stronger.

More reps and sets, more volume, can just lead to training we don’t recover from without actually pushing us to the extent we need to create that stimulus for growth. 

We need more quality loads lifted over the session.

That’s where cluster sets can be a great technique to use. 

If you’re struggling with going heavier, only able to do a few reps with your current weight in a row…

Or even slightly fear your form breaking down as you begin to lift heavier so hesitate…

Cluster sets can be a great technique to use.

They can help you get out 8 reps with a weight you would only usually be able to use for 4 or even 5 reps. That’s a lot more weight lifted over the workout! And it’s all because you broke down those 8 reps into mini sets.

With cluster sets, you are breaking up your traditional set of 8 reps, mini sets of 2 or 3 in a row, with just 10-30 seconds of rest between those mini sets, before you rest longer and do another round.

Because you are only performing 2 or 3 reps before the short rest, you will find you can use more weight for the full 8 reps than you would have been able to if you had tried to just do 8 in a row. 

Using this technique to lift more weight for quality reps will lead to faster muscle growth in a safer way and us losing fat NOT our muscle! 

It’s a great way to really create the needed stress and stimulus for muscle growth even as we get older and don’t have the same anabolic hormonal environment we did when we were younger.

But no matter what techniques you include, and especially the more advanced an exerciser you are, the more you have to really focus on pushing yourself in your training sessions. 

This doesn’t just mean adding more loads.

It means creating progression in different ways.

And one way we often don’t discuss as a way to create progression in our training is exercise order!

The order of the exercises we include can have a huge impact. 

Ever become aware of how much a muscle is actually working in a move because of another exercise you recently started including before it? 

That can be used to your advantage!

Include an isolation move before a compound lift and you can use “pre-exhaust” or pre-fatigue technique to your advantage. 

You may find you better activate the muscle you targeted with the isolation move in your following compound lift for more quality of movement.

Or that you are able to fatigue the prime mover in your compound lift with lighter loads and better quality of movement.

If however fatiguing the muscle with the pre-haust technique leads to you compensating, you may find that using an isolation move right AFTER a compound lift works for you better.

This post-exhaust training technique can be a great way to push a muscle past failure.

You’ll do the compound lift to fatigue, compound then use an isolation move to further target a muscle involved in the lift to work to failure.

You can also use BOTH techniques over progressions, especially to help you both take muscles past fatigue but also fully fatigue prime movers that usually won’t hit failure with a compound move because you’re usually limited by smaller, weaker muscles fatiguing first! 

But they are both great ways to progress and create that stimulus for muscle growth without just focusing on adding more weight!

Then remember, we can only train as hard as we recover from.

When you’re working hard toward a goal, you’re going to get burned out.

That’s why planning in breaks is key!

And breaks are not only rest days every week, but also strategic diet breaks and recovery weeks.

This doesn’t have to mean, and honestly shouldn’t mean, just lying on the couch doing nothing.

Nor should it mean excuses completely blowing your calories and macros.

The goal of these breaks is to help you mentally and physically have a break from the grind.

It’s like refilling your gas tank.

You don’t want to end up on empty by the side of the road.

You want to pull into a gas station when the light comes on. 

This allows you to keep moving forward faster.

These strategic breaks can help you from avoiding hitting burn out or letting cravings get the better of you.

So don’t fear sometimes backing off to ultimately do more!

Take time where you include more foods you love and even increase your calories out of a deficit. 

Take time at points to lower your workout intensity or recharge with workouts that are new and fun and address any weak links. 

Embrace even doing the minimum as you shift your priorities to come back wanting to keep working toward your goals! 

But stay focused on the fundamentals and use these 5 tips to help dial in your diet and your workouts together to lose fat and NOT muscle!

The best results happen when we follow a “recipe” – a clear plan…

Learn more about my 3-Step Recipe For Results”

–> Watch now

If You’re Not Building Muscle, Try These 5 Training Techniques

If You’re Not Building Muscle, Try These 5 Training Techniques

by | Jan 28, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

We can’t out exercise our diet.

HOWEVER, while many of us have heard that diet is more important, I’d actually argue they both matter equally especially in that both need to work together.

And so often we don’t place enough importance on proper training because we’ve only seen our workouts as a chance to burn more calories.

But our training shouldn’t be about the calorie burn.

It should be about building muscle.

When we focus on better movement and building strength and muscle in our training, we create true muscle growth.

Without proper stimulus, no matter how you eat, you won’t build muscle.

So while our diet is especially important to lose fat, and important to make sure we fuel our training sessions to gain…

Our workouts have to be designed strategically if we want to improve our body composition.

And this honestly means going against what most of us have always done to lose weight…

Instead of more cardio, we often need less.

And we need to stop turning our lifting sessions into simply cardio workouts – cutting out more rest and adding a ton of volume.

Now note…I’m not telling you that cardio isn’t important to your health and that you can’t do it if you enjoy it…

I do want to make it clear that to build muscle so we can lose fat faster, we can’t default back into this cardio, calories, do more training mindset.

That’s why I want to share 5 training techniques to help you build muscle, which in turn will boost your metabolic rate and help you look leaner faster…

Training Technique #1: Focus on double progression.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

But just because your workout feels hard doesn’t mean you’re creating a consistent progression so your muscles have to adapt and grow stronger week after week.

That’s why it’s key we not only progress the movement, adding weight, slowing down the tempo, doing a harder variation, but also adjust our exact reps to create that week over week progression.

Using these two forms of progression to complement we can ultimately move more loads over our training sessions, resulting in faster and better gains.

Often when we have a workout there will be 8-12 reps listed.

Let’s say right now you’re doing 12 reps of front lunges with 20lbs dumbbells and you manage that for all 4 sets you have assigned.

It feels hard.

Good.

But you’re at the top of the rep range so next week, GO UP in weight or progress the move in some way.

If you can still do 12 reps that first round, go up in weight for that next step until you can’t do 12 reps.

Let’s say on your 3rd round, you hit 8 reps with 35lbs dumbbells. Maybe you stick there for the final round.

The next week instead of going up in weight, you try to get out 9 or 10 reps. Once you can again do 12 reps, you again want to go up.

This double form of progression is the perfect way to max out the loads you can lift with volume and truly make sure you’re challenging yourself to create that muscle growth!

Training Technique #2: Train areas more frequently with the same but different.

Studies have shown that training an area 2-3 times a week can be optimal for muscle growth.

This doesn’t mean do 1000s of reps multiple times a week. It means definitely dropping volume a bit per session to increase the frequency and spread it out.

This allows for often more QUALITY volume as you may notice you are fresher for all the exercises and sets spread out over more days over doing that same volume in one.

This also allows you to use a diversity of movements and tools to work the same muscles.

And this can be key because changes in posture and position alone can impact even what aspects of a muscle are worked.

For instance a Romanian deadlift works the hamstrings through hinging at the hips. A seated leg curl works the hamstrings with knee flexion with flexed hips while a bridge and curl works the hamstrings with knee flexion with extended hips.

All three are different postures that address different aspects of that hamstring muscle group. And including three different moves over the 3 days can be key for optimal gains.

So don’t repeat just the same move 3 times a week. Consider different types of movements, ranges of motion and even different tools!

Training Technique #3: Combine rep ranges in a single workout.

If you want to gain muscle, you want to use a variety of rep ranges combined.

This can not only help you build strength and improve your strength and endurance and recovery, but even target stubborn muscles and push them past failure to see better results.

Some of you may have seen my 6-12-25 workout progressions in previous YouTube videos and podcasts, but this design is so fabulous because it does include maximal strength, hypertrophy and strength endurance rep ranges in a single series – moving from compound to more isolation exercises.

This helps you get in that quality of movement while isolating those more stubborn areas.

So don’t fear higher reps. Don’t fear lower reps.

Include a diversity in a single session even.

But be conscious of the types of moves you use with each.

Often in our workouts we want to go more compound to more isolated, with heavier lower rep work first and the higher rep, more isolated work later to work a muscle fully to fatigue.

However, like in the 6-12-25 and even compound burners, you can use 2 or even 3 rep ranges combined to lift heavy for lower reps then right after isolate that muscle that is already fatigued to recruit more muscle fibers with higher rep work.

And note, while you will go “lighter” with higher rep work, you aren’t going light.

Especially when you are working with higher reps, to push yourself, consider using a weight or variation you have to pause to get out 5 more and hit in the middle or top of the range.

That need to pause and do 5 more past failure is so key to those amazing gains!

Training Technique #4: Do more timed workouts.

Too often when we want to lose weight, our workouts get longer and longer as we add in more and more.

But this often just burns us out and leads to a lot of wasted volume.

By doing intervals or work or even timed sets, we can increase our training density without our workouts getting longer.

We can focus on that quality work and create that density by just trying to do MORE in the time set out.

I find that often when I use intervals over having do count a certain amount of reps, I eek out reps I wouldn’t have done had I been able to stop at 6. I end up doing 8 because I have the time and have to work through it…even if I have to pause for a second.

I also find I’m focused and more intentional over just rushing through because I can’t finish any faster.

And when it comes to timed sets or circuits, like Density Sets, you can lower the reps and increase the weight and keep moving the entire time to actually lift more quality loads without your workouts getting longer.

So consider timed intervals of work or timed sets to help yourself really push with each rep over simply doing MORE.

Especially since so many of us complain we don’t have enough time, why not plan for what you have and really be intentional and focus on quality with every rep!

Honestly the only reason our workouts should ever get longers is because we have the time and do more mobility work OR have increased rest periods to lift heavier with lower reps or to do more high intensity true sprint work.

Workouts become longer because of recovery not because we’re doing more work!

Training Technique #5: Vary intensity of workouts and type of drivers.

For the best results, some workouts should feel easy. Not every workout should slaughter you.

Because if you don’t recover, you can’t train at a true 100% intensity.

Not to mention, if you’re tearing down muscles constantly, they can’t regrow stronger.

It’s a cut. If you’re constantly working and picking off the scab, it’s not going to heal back!

You’ve got to give it time to heal…although unlike a cut we do want to reopen the wound to make our muscle feel pushed to adapt more and more!

So over the course of your week, vary what areas you are working. Give muscles time to recover.

And vary the intensity of your workouts. This helps areas recover while still driving growth. And it also helps you MENTALLY stay focused and push hard when you need.

We can’t mentally make ourselves extremely uncomfortable every session or we will burn out. So having a workout or two each week that isn’t taxing, especially programmed on busy days, can actually help you get more quality work done overall for the week.

And those recovery sessions can help you move better in future workouts.

So vary intensity!

And this doesn’t just mean easy or hard workouts. It also means varying the types of movements and what driver of muscle growth you use as some create more muscle tissue damage and take longer to recover from.

For example, maybe one day you do a deadlift, another a hip thruster and the 3rd day you include only mini band work for your glutes.

These all use different drivers of muscle growth and allow you to train your glutes 3 times that week and go hard in each session without just constantly beating your body down!

So consider the types of movements you’re using and even the tools!

WARNING: Stop seeking to be sore.

I mean this because if you vary intensity and use different drivers or muscle growth, you won’t be sore all of the time.

GOOD!

Soreness is not an indicator you worked hard enough.

And while it can feel good and satisfying at times to know you pushed, not being sore doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard.

Honestly, you shouldn’t constantly be sore if you’re truly creating progression to build.

Over the weeks of your workout progression, you should feel like you can even do more, more easily without getting sore.

Because soreness is often just an indicator we did something new or different.

That we didn’t give ourselves enough recovery.

That we focused only on the eccentric and mechanical tension as a driver of muscle growth.

That we aren’t eating enough.

Or hydrating well.

Constant soreness actually means we’re probably not doing something we need to see results.

So focus on that clearly mapped out progression you repeat and track those numbers to see progress instead of just pushing to be sore!

Looking for amazing workouts to take your training to the next level and help you see fabulous body recomp results?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

 

Weight Training To LOSE FAT Faster (5 Proven Methods)

Weight Training To LOSE FAT Faster (5 Proven Methods)

by | Apr 23, 2023 | Blog, Exercises

“My weight loss results are so slow! I should probably just do more cardio!”

Many of us have turned to cardio in the past to try to see better results faster.

But not only may this additional cardio actually be SABOTAGING our fat loss results, we may see better results by simply adjusting our weight training routine.

And if you’re about to say that diet is key, yes it matters most for fat loss.

However, the most efficient results, and most lasting, happen when our diet and workouts work together. 

And when it comes to amazing body recomposition, weight training wins out over cardio in terms of the biggest benefits! 

Better fat loss happens when we see our training as a chance to build muscle! 

So how is cardio sabotaging your fat loss and what are 5 ways to see better results? 

First let’s ask Why do we turn to cardio in the first place?

We turn to cardio in an attempt to burn more calories.

And it does…At least to start.

But not only do we adapt to not actually burn as many calories over time as we get used to the distance and pace, but we can also end up creating too extreme a deficit to start between our training and calorie intake, which can result in metabolic adaptations. 

We can lose muscle mass through this overtraining and underfueling. 

Not to mention we can send our body into survival mode, which means we will actually find ways to expend less calories during the course of our day. 

This ultimately NEGATES the increased calorie burn from our training.

Now if you’re a runner or cyclist or endurance athlete, I’m not telling you to stop doing what you love. 

I’m just saying that if your goal is fat loss, don’t jump to doing more cardio just to try to burn more calories.

What we also don’t realize is that doing more, training for longer and harder, especially if we are in a calorie deficit, can simply make sticking to our diet even harder. 

Ever notice you’re HUNGRIER when you start adding in more training sessions, especially more cardio?  

Another big thing we don’t consider when we add in cardio is how much HUNGRIER it can make us, especially if we are already in a deficit to lose.

So while the under eating while overtraining itself can create metabolic adaptations and hormonal imbalances, it can double sabotage us by making us feel like our body is fighting the deficit even more.

And ultimately, often we not only give in and eat more, but we end up overeating. And overeating for awhile. 

This quickly leads to us falling off our new healthy routine and makes us feel like we’ll never have the willpower to make a change.

Plus we end up gaining the weight back and usually more…and let’s face it, it’s not muscle we are regaining. It’s fat. 

When we repeat this yo-yo dieting cycle, each and every time it becomes harder and harder to lose. 

While we start to blame getting older or hormonal changes, often it is simply these previous attempts to out exercise our diet or time that have added up! 

So how can you stop this cycle and dial in your STRENGTH workouts to see the results you deserve? 

Tip #1: Address all of a muscle’s functions!

When you think about a specific muscle group, you have a “go-to” move. And often, they are go-to moves for a reason.

They work!

However, the more experienced a lifter you are, the more you want to consider including a variety of movements to work specific muscles to challenge yourself. 

This can lead to better muscular development and definition because you’re addressing all of the actions a muscle performs.

We need to focus on retaining and building muscle if we want to look leaner and lose fat. You aren’t going to become the hulk lifting heavy.

So if you want to see the best results, consider implementing different moves for the same muscle group over the course of the week.

If you want to work your hamstrings, maybe you include an Romanian Deadlift, but also a seated hamstring curl or a glute bridge and curl. 

Not only do these moves then address the fact that your hamstrings work during hip extension , but you also address their ability to flex or bend your knee. 

And then even while addressing the hamstrings ability to flex your knee, you are putting your hips in two different positions (extended with the bridge and flexed when seated) to again work the hamstrings in different ways.

Use those different postures and positions, not to mention even single leg vs two legged movements, to progress exercises and challenge your muscles!  

Tip #2: Extend rest periods.

Now this doesn’t mean standing around on your phone for 3-5 minutes looking at instagram between sets.

But it does mean realizing that if we want to keep working at a true 100% intensity, we need to give ourselves TIME to recover between rounds.

Often when we are short on time or want to make workouts FEEL harder, we cut out rest.

But this also causes our intensity to dip. 

If you want to really challenge yourself to really work muscles, you’ve got to be able to push each and every round.

So use that rest between sets!

But this doesn’t have to mean full rest.

You can even make sure a muscle group is given time to recover by alternating areas worked in supersets or trisets. 

This can help you work more areas efficiently, resting one area while working another, especially if you need a quicker training session.

And by working more muscle groups in a session, while being able to push hard, you will even increase your calorie expenditure during your training session.

Tip #3: Push to failure.

If you’ve ever just thought to yourself, “I’ll do 10 reps” and stopped at 10 because it felt hard enough, you need to push harder.  

Now this doesn’t have to mean you literally can’t lift the weight or you faceplant in a push up. 

But you need to push to that point where you wanted to stop 2 reps ago but could complete the round while still engaging the correct muscles.

You need to push closer to that point of failure.

Don’t be afraid, if your workout says 8-12 reps, to even have to put the weights down at 6, rest for 15-30 seconds then finish even 2 more reps to push slightly past what you could have done in a row. 

This push almost past failure will help you see really efficient muscle gains and will help you challenge your body.

If you want to lose fat, increasing your lean muscle mass is the best way to boost your metabolism and see lasting results! 

Tip #4: Use a variety of rep ranges.

How many reps and sets? What rep range is best?

The simplest and best answer is, use a variety.

Focus on building strength and working with those big heavy lifts in the 3-5 rep range. 

Focus more on muscle gains with compound movements that make you max out in the 6-12 rep range. 

Or focus on that strength endurance by working up toward 20 reps even! 

All of these rep ranges benefit each other, allowing you to lift more to drive muscle growth or even have better endurance to recover faster while lifting heavier!  

The key is making sure you challenge yourself for the reps you do.

No load should ever feel “light.”

And what reps you assign may even be impacted by the muscle group and type of exercise you’re including. 

For isolation moves, like bicep curls, you may do slightly more reps, working in the 10-15 rep range, over attempting a 5 rep max.  

For a heavy compound lift like the Barbell Row, you may try to hit failure at 5 reps when including it first in your workout.  

Both moves and rep ranges could be included in the same workout as you go from heavier more compound movements to more isolation exercises to target stubborn areas! 

Tip #5: Focus on intensity over doing more. Quality not quantity.

Too often we think we don’t have time to get in the workouts we need to see results. 

And sure, having a bit more time for training can have benefits.

But if you design for the time you have and focus on the QUALITY of your training sessions and giving your 100% effort, you are going to see results.

So stop making that excuse. And stop wasting your training sessions just going through the motions! 

Too often we increase the number of rounds or res to increase the difficulty of the workout, instead of focusing on maximizing the intensity of each round.   

Rather than feeling like you have the capacity to do more, figure out how can you push yourself to make the existing rounds feel more challenging.

Be intentional and get the most out of each rep. Don’t just go through the motions.

This will help you build that lean muscle!

And because diet is key, I want you to check out this video with tips to adjust your nutrition and a full day of eating next. 

–> Meal Plan To Lose Fat 

And guess what? One of those tips WILL be about one specific macro. 

Because if you want to gain muscle while being in a deficit, macros, and specifically this macro, matters most…

Check out that video to learn why! (I know you want to know now ;-P )