I never thought I would have to write a post about this. I genuinely thought that the knowledge was spreading around the general populace and the crappy marketing plays of fitness professionals, equipment suppliers and supplement companies were no longer working. Turns out they are though and since lockdown begun, I have heard so many questions about products, special exercises, and special diets. The answer to every question (besides this is a waste of time and money, right?) is no. No the ab blaster 4000 won’t help with your belly fat, no the carrot detox diet wont remove all the impurities and toxins from your body and no this is not a fat burning exercise (whatever magical movement it is they’re doing).
It’s almost as if there has been a resurgence of these things lately. I get it for the most part. We are bombarded with pictures and videos of all sorts of stuff online and eventually something will come along with good enough material to convince us that maybe this is the real deal. I saw a video the other day which was trying to suggest that this ‘magical fluid’ had the ability to instantly burn fat. There were what looked like doctors or scientists pouring a fluid over what was supposed to be body fat and it literally just melted and vanished. I was very impressed however the only thing I think that could actually do that would be extremely potent acid and I certainly would not recommend you supplement it. The product was then a pill which was all part of a broader diet plan which started you off with a detox.
Of course, we all know that in order to start losing weight you need to detox first. After all the crap we eat day to day we are wandering around like iron man. We are full of potentially harmful and fat harbouring metals and toxins that we need to purge from our body by having a juice drink that essentially contains all the fat burning superfoods around. Yeah sure. Quite sure your liver and kidneys have the role of cleaning the bloodstream and you then excrete any unused energy that isn’t stored. But luckily you bought this juice stuff and pills so they can take a week off.
Once that’s done it’s onto the fun and games of exercise. Luckily through the marvel that is social media you don’t even need to search to find a number of exercise plans and home workouts that are designed to burn fat, some by using one secret trick that Hollywood doesn’t want you to know… But if that’s not for you then why not get yourself some sliding rotating bouncing unstable thing that you can use indoors, outdoors, upside down, back to front and while on the go! How can you possibly go wrong with all this? and it’s probably only cost you a couple of hundred quid.
Well as you may have guessed I’m not actually advocating any of this. I got asked the other day if a trampoline is good for weight loss. I said yes but only on the way up. They didn’t get my joke. The reality is that there’s no simple answer to your simple question of will this help? or will that help? Without a calorie restricted diet, nothing but surgery will help you with fat loss. We can’t get into gyms right now so unless you’re lucky enough to have your own squat rack, bars and weights, you’re going to struggle to keep building strength. You’re best chance in this situation is to utilise tempo, sets and rest times so as to maximise glycogen usage (see my post on supercompensation). But even this isn’t going to help you burn fat on it’s own. The goal here is to maintain muscle strength as much as possible by maximising the usage of fast twitch muscle fibres until the gyms open and you can get in to move some heavy stuff.
The big secret is the thing we all struggle with. Even more so when we are sat at home with nothing to do and can raid the fridge so easily. It’s a secret that isn’t supposed to be a secret and Hollywood actors and actresses have been using it for years. No not surgery and performance enhancing drugs! Diet. You will not lose anything if you aren’t in a negative calorie balance. You can do the hardest and most entertaining workout in the world and it will not get you to lose fat if you are in a surplus. I know it’s crappy circumstances and we are all feeling weird and struggling. The temptation is to go and eat something bad or to drink. But if you are training and are wanting to come out of the lockdown having made some improvements to your health status then look at your diet.
By the way I’m not knocking any of the trainers that are posting home workouts for people to do etc. But anyone that claims that workout is tailored for fat burn or to get you 6 pack abs etc should be unfollowed instantly. THERE IS NO MAGIC EXERCISE OR FOOD OR GADGET OR PILL!!! this is click bait and is a completely unfounded claim unless they’re also monitoring your food intake for weeks before and after you do their session.
So, to sum up, 30 seconds of activity, full body compound movements like squats, press ups, pull ups all done slowly. Then rest for 2 minutes and repeat, all while maintaining a negative calorie balance (but not too low as you will need some immune function given there is a deadly disease floating around). There you go, £200 of complete fad crap that does nothing for you or two sentences of actual useful advice. That’s as simple as it is guys.
Stay healthy.
James