8 Week Accelerated Fat Loss Shred: Complete Workout & Nutrition Plan

They say the only time you're excited to run a marathon is when you start and when you finish. The murky middle is when you want to give up.

The same goes for training and nutrition. The only time you're stoked to start a new training program and a tailored nutrition plan is when you start it and when you finish it. In the middle you are vulnerable to coming up with all kinds of excuses and giving up becomes very tempting.

Maybe you started the new year out with bravado; hitting the gym consistently and eating well. But slowly, the enthusiasm waned and you somehow fell off your routine. Happy hour was once pulling the bar off the floor, but now it's pulling a chair up to the bar. Meal prep was once a scheduled appointment, but now ordering take out from your favorite Chinese joint is on speed dial.

So why is it that you tend to start so many times, but struggle with finishing a program and following through on your diet? Why do you decide to skip the gym or have a 3rd doughnut when you know you shouldn't?

The answer lies in your finite willpower reservoir. Willpower is like a muscle and they both get fatigued when you use them over and over again. Each time you make a decision, it's like doing another squat in the gym. When your muscles start to give out from heavy lifting towards the end of a training session, so does the strength of your willpower at the end of a long day filled with decisions.

This leads to decision fatigue.

In psychology, decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual, after a long session of decision making. It is now understood as one of the causes of irrational trade-offs in decision making. For instance, judges in court have been shown to make less favorable decisions later in the day than early in the day.

It's estimated that we make about 35,000 daily decisions. That's a ton of choices. And you're busy enough as it is. You shouldn't have to add more decisions to your day when it comes to training and diet.

That's why this 8 week program will automatically increase your adherence rate. By taking the decision out of your hands on what to do and what to eat, you won't have to think about anything. Just show up and #dothework.

If you've dabbled through the first part of this year with lackluster results, it's time you take things to the next level to finish this year off with a bang. Jump and crush this program to build your best body yet.

Methods You'll Use

4x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath.[/caption]

To prevent muscle adaptation from turning into a plateau, you need to bring in some methods to expose your muscles to different stimulus. By calling in these time tested methods into your program, you'll jack up the volume and intensity to your training as a sure-fire way to build an amazing physique.

1. Compound set training

Compound set training is done by executing two movements, back to back, for the same muscle group. The major benefits of compound set training is intensity and time. Training one muscle group, back to back with no rest in between allows you to place much higher demands on the muscle fibers being trained.

2. Running the rack

Start with a weight that's about 50% of what you'd usually use for a 10 rep set. You'll perform 10 reps, then with no rest, grab a weight that's one increment heavier. Perform 10 reps. Continue working your way up until you can't execute 10 reps. Then reverse the process by descending down the dumbbell rack with lighter weights and completing as many reps as possible per set. Keep moving down until you've completed a set with 15 pound dumbbells.

3. 28 method

To avoid accommodation, you constantly need to vary your exercise technique, angle and rep scheme to shock the musculature system. This is why strength athletes cycle their training, utilize different loads, diversity their volume and use different tempos for each lift.

You've probably done 21's before with the EZ curl bar. You know the drill: 7 reps halfway up, 7 more halfway down and then finishing it with a full 7 reps. The pump was incredible. Even though the 21's method is still a good choice, the 28 method takes the intensity and the pump to another level.

The 28 method requires 7 regular reps, 7 slow reps, 7 top half reps, 7 bottom reps. The result? 28 ball busting reps. The blood in your veins will look like their about to undergo spontaneous combustion.

4. Bottoms-up

You'll be using the bottoms-up method for the squat. It's great alternative to improve positioning in the hole and increase time under tension.

First you'll want to set your rack up. Sit safety pins at a level where you are at the bottom of a front squat, and then load your bar at this level. The movement will start at a dead-stop. By doing so, you automatically train yourself to get tight as you explode out from the hole. You'll ascend only half way up then return to starting position. Arrive at a dead stop by allowing the barbell to rest on the safety pins before initiating your next rep.

5. Giant set training

Giant set training is similar to tri-set training in that multiple exercises are done for a single muscle group back to back with no rest between sets. The difference is that giant sets include 4 or more exercises. This is a great way to blast any muscle group from a variety of angles. In your program, you'll be utilizing giant set training with your ab work.

6. Nubret Pro-Set Method

This method is named after Serge Nubret of France. You'll incorporate a progression that increases the number of sets done on an exercise with each workout. It also requires that you do that in the same amount of time as from the previous workout.

Essentially the progression lies in doing more work in the same amount of time over the course of the program. For example, if you do hammer curls for 3 sets of 10 in workout one in 6 minutes, you have to do 4 sets of 10 in 6 minutes in the following workout.

7. Heavy light method

This method initiates with a heavy set that falls in the 3-5 rep range, followed by a moderate load set of 10-20 reps. The theory is that the heavy set will stimulate the fast-twitch fibers while the moderate load will promote capillarization of the muscles and induce fatigue.

8. 6-10-20 method

Most tri-sets will perform equal reps on all three movements. However with the method, varied rep ranges are employed to induce different adaptations. For the first exercise, you'll perform 6 reps to boost strength. The second exercise you'll perform 10 reps to build muscle. On the third exercise you'll do 20 reps to improve muscular endurance.

9. Max effort

Twice a week, you'll go heavy and find a 3RM on one of the big lifts.

10. HIIT and LISS

It's no longer a secret that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is superior for fat loss when compared to LISS (Low intensity steady state). So you'll be doing HIIT work in your program for sure. However, since the paramount adaptation is to lose fat and maintain muscle, overdoing HIIT is a real possibility when you're following a high volume training program. Therefore, we'll be including LISS to ensure physical activity stays high and for improved recovery.

8 Week Fat Loss Workout Routine

Here's a sample schedule:

• Monday & Thursday: Legs
• Tuesday & Friday: Chest & Back
• Wednesday: Arms & Abs
• Thursday: Legs
• Friday: Chest & Back
• Saturday: Shoulders & Abs

* Notes: Each week rotate your max effort from the deadlift to the squat. In doing so, your next movement will change as well. For example, if you max effort on the squat, your follow up movement of 8x8 will be the deadlift.

* Notes: Each week rotate your max effort from the bench press to barbell row. In doing so, your next movement will change as well. For example, if you max effort on the barbell row, your follow up movement the next week of 8x8 will be the bench press.

Conditioning (HIIT & LISS) For Fat Loss

you'll perform 2 conditioning session per week. you'll do two HIIT session for 20 minutes and two LISS sessions for 30 minutes.

For your HIIT, keep it simple. Perform 30 seconds of work, followed by 60 seconds of rest for 20 minutes. Hill sprints, sled pushes, kettlebell swings, airdyne sprints - you get the idea.

For you LISS, hop on a bike, an incline treadmill, walk with a weighted vest, jump on a rower. Go for 30 minutes.

Fat Loss Nutrition Plan

Everyone's needs will look slightly different, but below we'll break down the process on how to arrive at a diet that fits your needs perfectly.

First, determine how many calories you should be eating every day. An accurate way to measure how much energy you're burning is to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and multiply it as follows:

• By 1.2 if you exercise 1-3 hours per week.
• By 1.35 if you exercise 4-6 hours per week.
• By 1.5 if you exercise 6+ hours per week.

This gives you a good approximation of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which is simply the total amount of calories you're burning each day.

Now, to create the mild calorie deficit, you're going to simply eat 20% LESS than that number every day.

For example if your TDEE is 3,000 calories per day multiply it by 20%. Take that number (600) and subtract it from your TDEE which is 3,000. You get 2,400. That is your daily caloric intake at a 20% deficit.

The next step is to work out the ratios of your macronutrients (proteins, carbs and fats). This is important because the ratios will help maximize fat loss and help keep as much muscle on your frame as possible.

Once you've figured out your specific intake, determine your macronutrient ratios. This breakdown is general but works well. When your exercise is based on strength training and sprint intervals, a higher protein, sufficient carb and moderate fat intake is universal. As you progress and start getting into the very lean stage, specificity will have to take place.

• 40% Protein (There are 4 calories per gram of protein)
• 25% Carbs (There are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate)
• 35% Fat (There are 9 calories per gram of fat)

If you're intake is set at 2,400 per day, here is what it would look like:

• 2,400 x 40%= 960 calories/4= 240g
• 2,400 x 25%=600 calories/4=150g
• 2,400 x 35%=840/9=93g

Daily Intake: 2,400 calories, which equates to:

• Protein - 240g
• Carbs - 150g
• Fat - 93g

Tracking Your Fat Loss Progress

Below is a practical way to manage your progress. Keep in mind everyone rate will differ. Adherence to your plan plays a big role, however, if you find yourself hitting a plateau for more than two weeks you can do a few things.

• Drop your intake by another 10%
• Increase your training volume (in this case it would be cardio)
• A little bit of both

For most doing both is usually the solution. But before you do any of them, be sure to check how well you've stuck to your current plan before letting the wheels fall off and diving into panic mode. Give the program some time to work before you take any drastic measures.

Here is a solid way to measure your progress:

• Excellent: Losing 0.5-1% bodyfat every 2 to 4 weeks
• Average: Losing 0.5% bodyfat every 4 weeks
• Slow: Losing less than 0.5% bodyfat every 4 weeks