15 Fabulous Tips to Help You With Your Fitness for Weight Loss Goals

Nothing better than staying fit to fight off weight gain, but how do we get there?

Fitness for weight loss can be a very complex subject especially if you read all of the information on the internet but let’s talk a little about what rules to follow and some rules to keep you progressing.

First of all, fitness is not an all or nothing situation. We understand, you have a very busy life and have a hard time squeezing fitness workouts in and are discouraged that you cannot keep up with a definite routine, so let’s talk of a way to fight this, but first some rules.

1. Fitness or Fitness for weight loss is not an all or nothing situation.

A lot of people set up an ambitious fitness program, which, with motivation, they can keep it up for a while. But we know things happen and prevents us from going all out in our routines. So what do we end up doing? We do nothing. Yes instead of scaling down we do nothing. So the gains turn into nothing.

Nothing wrong with just climbing the stairs, taking a walk around the block at lunch, taking a walk around the building during your break, simply skip the elevator (always) and if there are too many stairs then just go as much as you can tolerate. Air squats done slowly without locking your knees at the top are a great way of building your legs.

Taking 2 minutes to do; some crunches, leg raises or planks. Is easy enough to do and can energize you for a while, push up’s are the old go-to exercises, for the ladies if need-to on the knees done slowly is plenty, be imaginative and come up with something to do.

To tell you a little story; I was driving down the coast (driving not running) when I stopped at a light and saw this guy just finishing a run and was picking up rocks by the side close to the beach. He was gaging the weight of the rocks; I am assuming to find equally heavy rocks, and then started to do overhead presses with the rock. I thought that was a great improvisation on his part. Let’s improvise when we have little time-off or no equipment.

2. Minimal equipment but master the equipment:

There is no need to jump around from one set of equipment to another just because it is a new piece of equipment. There are so many new styles of lifting and exercising that it can be enticing to try new routines. Each time you change a routine you start at a lower level of tension in the muscles and are not going to gain from it for a while, so you disrupted your progress. Each time you switch to a new routine you have to master the routine and figure out what is your new baseline with this routine, so that takes time. When considering switching routines alternate similar routines during the same week and make sure you are progressing with both routines.

3. Cardiovascular exercise, decide how much and do not increase it:

Cardiovascular work is what most women shoot for, while men try the weights but let’s talk about CV exercising. My best tip is to pick a certain amount of time that you can handle consistently 2-3 x/week. Shoot to be able to complete your CV workout within that period of time.

For example, if you are dedicating 20 minutes to CV work then slowly progress to the 20 minute:

If you can do 4 min jog and a 10-minute walk, then that is your baseline.
Add 1 to 2 minutes every other day to your walk until you can complete 20 minutes.
After you can complete 20-minutes of jogging/walking add 2 minutes to your jog and decrease 2 minutes of the walk for a 20-minute workout.
Continue this way until you can run 20 minutes.
After you can run 20 minutes, start to add a little speed toward the middle third of the run.
Do a 6-minute regular jog and 6 minutes of a slightly faster jog, then return to your normal jog speed and finish this up.

Be creative this way; make sure you do not add too much.

4. Improve on one thing and one thing only at a time.

If you are working on adding time to your run, do not try to improve your speed at the same time. The body is not capable of such quick recovery, and you will pay the price. This situation I have encountered hundreds of times and still do while working with Marine. Marines can be as hard as nails and can handle a great deal of exercise workload and pain, but they too break down while trying to improve two things at the same time. Weight exercise can be improved all the time but do not add more weight and more repetitions at the same since it will spell disaster. One little bit of interesting info; Marines also struggle with their weight and many of them work on their fitness for weight loss and primarily for weight loss.

5. Become more professional and carry a notebook.

I learned to use a notebook a long time ago, and this habit has proven invaluable almost every single time I have used it. It is surprising to me when I go to gyms and see seasoned weightlifter exercising without the use of a notebook. How can you remember what you did last time and what progression you should attempt this time around? A lot of individuals do improve but by sheer determination and motivation and as we know sometimes motivation will fail you. You can see a lot of the big guys tend to stay the same level for a very long time and not improve. You might have noticed some muscular guys in your gyms, and you see them day in and day out but the weight s do not seem to increase, and their bodies do not seem to change. Well, they have reached their motivation plateau and not able to push more out of themselves since they do not have a systematic approach to gain muscle. You want to be a “consistent improving machine,” get a notebook. I work with a lot of Marine in Southern California. I have spoken to quite a few Marine gym rats that are older and younger ones too. The older Marines marvel at how the young Marines do no longer use notebooks. The old Marines ask, how are they are going to progress if they do not know what they did last time and what goals have they set for this particular day? One last rant about gym guys and how come they tend to plateau and not improve; if they see a friend and then ask them what body part are they working on and then decide to do the same even though they are scheduled to do something else just that their buddy is doing something “cooler.” Not a good way to progress!

6. Do not think about your workout throughout your day.

You might be surprised to find out that if you think too much about your workout throughout your day, you might feel unmotivated while exercising. You become what is called “flat” which means lack of energy and motivation. Conserve your emotional and physical energy by not thinking about the workouts. Every time you get excited about the gym when you are away from the gym it takes a little bit of energy from you. You might still be able to get a good workout, but the energy and joy of the weights will not be there. Decreased mental/emotional energy is explained well by the great research about motivation, which states that motivation is like muscle energy. You only have so much muscle energy (or motivation), and if you use it early, you will not be able to replenish it soon after. Whenever you find yourself thinking about your workouts and getting excited, try to erase it from your mind and remind yourself to get excited when you enter the gym and start your workouts. After you have completed your workout, do not think about it anymore. We can only function intensely for so long, and if we are burnt out for thinking too much about the subject, you might just be shooting yourself in the foot. If you are constantly lit (enthusiastic about it), then you will decrease your energy and slowly debilitate yourself and stop working out. I know this sounds wrong but after dealing with hundreds of people in all walks of life (related to health and fitness for weight loss) I have noticed this pattern, and I avoid it and coach other to take charge of it. Once you have experience with your body and mind for at least 12 consecutive months, you can start to show your emotions toward it. By this time your habits will be set and are very difficult to dislodge your positive actions so, get happy!

7. Coffee or caffeine.

I know this is a stimulant and most people, I am happy to say, do not want artificial stimulants. Once in a while after you have become a seasoned gym person, a good shot of coffee before a workout can make you feel like a million dollar. Surprisingly your energy level will be greater and feel more joy but your output might still be normal (fells good but same results). No, I am not a stimulation addict or push this to everyone, but every once in a while a shot of coffee might lift your spirits or energy for the gym.

8. Take some time off.

Ever 6 week or so take time off and I recommend this for many different reasons. First reason is that your body needs a little break from the workouts and you might feel better when you get back to the workouts. Another important reason which most people do not talk about is that exercising can become addicting to the point of exercising even while injured. Taking 1 week off helps you progress, feel better about weights and not become a gym zombie. Also taking that time off make you more enthused about exercising since you will start to miss it when you are away from it. Consistency is great when you are rested and miss your workouts. It is also well known fact that the body has a 6 week repair cycle so it might not be a bad idea to use this cycle in our favor.

9. Use a Personal Trainer a few times a month.

There is nothing better than having a really good Personal Trainer help you polish your routine and this does not just means in the gym this could be a home workout routine, an office routine or an outdoor routine.

However, I personally do hate the idea of a Fitness Trainer next to you every single time you work out. This does not teach you anything and it ends up someone holding your hand. You need independence and to learn how to do it yourself at the highest level. First start with 1x/week and do 2 workouts on your own. After 1 month of this it is time to loosen up the cord a little and use the PT 2x/month. After 2 months of this it is time to let go of the safety harness and only use them 1x/month. Do this for 3 months. After 3 months then have 1 quality training sessions every 3 to 4 months to help you analyzing your progress, your goals, how you are doing and what needs to be done next. I know we do not want to let go of our perfectly beautiful Trainer that is there for us with a great word of advice but we need to grow up, become adults and become independent. You will develop habits that will last you a lifetime. Thank me later.

10. Never follow a diet unless it is prescribed by either your Doctor or a Nutritionist.

I have 30+ years in fitness and sport medicine experience but I do not have a Nutrition degree. I have a good nutritional background but could never call myself a nutritional expert just a little nutritional savvy. Most Personal Trainer also falls in about the same category as me, not to diminish their education.

Look for those that have a degree in Nutrition not just a certification. Nutrition is more complicated than what most people say and the diets that pop up are so convincing and rational in our minds that 2 completely opposite diets still make sense to us even though they dispel each other. Hire a nutritionist for a couple of sessions a month similar to a trainer and follow their advice. Make sure they have at least a 4 year degree in Nutrition before you follow their advice.

11. Pick the absolute best time of the day for your workouts.

Nothing can ruin a workout as easily as work fatigue, grocery shopping or laundry that needs to be done now to be ready for tomorrow morning. Yes decide what is the best time for your workouts that you will have minimal interruptions. On occasions that might be lunch if no one will interrupt you and have enough time to do a short but efficient workout. Or rig it at work to leave a little later at the end of the day but take an extra-long lunch so you can get your workout in. I used to take an extra-long lunch and used to take it from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm so the gym would almost be empty and I could do everything I wanted to do with little interruptions and still get a shower in (you do not need to shower if time is of the essence). I of course would have to leave work a little later but by that time I was done with work and workouts, yeah! Mornings seem to be the best time to work out especially at home but you decide. When I was first married (I am divorced now) and started work at 8:00 am and was fairly close to work I would get up at 6:00 and do a run come back home and do some extra little exercises, shower and be ready for breakfast. This routine I find was the absolute best for me but if you have a different work schedule you have to make it work for you.

12. Train on your own or do not depend on a partner.

Women tend to work out beautifully with other women partners, and I have always admired how women can have a long deep conversation while still being able to focus on their workouts. I am a die-hard focus centered workout person, and that is how I teach it, but I still marvel at how ladies have this tremendous power to multitask, and I sometimes want to go over and congratulate them on a wonderful and efficient workout. However, and there always seems to be a, however, if for whatever reason one of the partners does not make it to the gym the workouts might not happen. We are animals of habit, and if we break the loop of habit, the good habit might not happen. I see it all the time, and I still see it in my Sports Medicine office with my colleagues that if one of the main ladies cannot make it to the workout, the other might just not show up. We need to be more independent and create social time at other times. Sorry ladies, but I do honestly appreciate your polished workouts and your very deep personal conversations.

13. Vary your workouts, not only to eliminate physical fatigue but mental fatigue too.

Create two similar weight routines same with CV routines and alternate them. You will almost always feel fresh each time you get to all your routines since you have not done that routine for about four days. So you are fresh to it and are constantly progressing. Writing down your progress is a great emotional simulator since you see yourself progressing. E.g., on Mondays do barbell bench press, Wednesday do dumbbells incline bench press and on Friday go back to barbell bench press. The following Monday you will do dumbbell inclines. I will leave it to your imagination but try to get three workouts with the same exercise in 2 weeks’ time. For CV workouts you can do a steady run for 20 minutes on Monday and Wednesday you can try stairs and Friday back to runs. The following Monday, stairs.

14. Do not confuse workouts with recreation.

If you play racquetball, basketball consistently you might start to think of it as your overall exercise workout. I have a very strict rule about recreational activity and exercise. You will always do your exercises, but you might not your recreational activities. Exercising fitness workouts are for our overall health and well-being, and nothing or very little should interfere with it. Recreational activities are in addition to your workouts and are primarily entertainment that is physical. Recreational activities tend to happen every once in a while or can be consistent, but if there is a problem and needs to be dealt with immediately, then the recreational activity can be surrendered but not the exercise workout. There will, of course, be situations that prevent you from participating in both events, in the most tragic times exercising can get you through your misery by being an emotional outlet but recreational activity might not. Some people might not agree with me, but I do separate both. Enjoy, and you decide.

15. Muscle building exercise tempo.

I know, not too many people talk about tempo, what is tempo anyway? Tempo is the speed you take when doing your weightlifting exercises. I like the whole idea of slow weightlifting to increase muscle mass quickly. Lately, the trend tends to be more swing of weights and going through movements that are fast and with the added weight. It can be an exhausting workout, and great results can develop from that, but I would not attempt that without instruction. The way I approach fitness for weight loss and weightlifting is to move slowly throughout the entire movement:

To stimulate the muscles and make them work extra hard you can do the up movement in 3 seconds and take 3 seconds in the down movement and pause at the top and bottom for 1 second:

As an example we will use a squat:

Hinge the hips first, then the knees, pause for 1 second
Descend the first 2 inches very slowly
Lower yourself to the lowest point with a count of 3 seconds
Pause at the bottom portion of the squat for 1 second
First 2 inches of the up movement is very slow
Take 3 seconds to get to the unlocked knees position
Pause at the top for 1 seconds
Repeat 20x

Your leg muscles will fire and contract correctly since there is almost no momentum generated here, so it is only muscle work.

Progression: after you can do 20 repetitions add some weight. For legs, I like to add a total of 5# and no more and start at 15 repetitions.

Every workout session add 1 to 2 reps until you get to 20 repetitions then continue with the cycle of adding 5#s.

As an example for upper body we will use Dumbbell Bench Press:

On your back on a bench body straight, arms overhead pause for 1 second
Descend the first 2 inches very slowly
Lower dumbbells to the lowest point with a count of 3 seconds
Pause at the bottom portion of the bench for 1 second
First 2 inches of the up movement is very slow
Take 3 seconds to get to the top position
Pause at the top for 1 seconds
Repeat 12x

For upper body, the weight repetitions can be from 8 to 12 and add only 2.5#s. After you increased weight start at eight reps.

Done as explained and you will gain muscle mass and strength with minimal chances of injury. This probably one of the best fitness for weight loss programs.

Here you go, some tips to help you navigate this sea of information.

Look at all of the information and digest it slowly. It has taken me almost a lifetime to learn all of this, and I hope you can use it to your advantage.