4 Must-Do Exercises to Build Muscle and Burn Body Fat

If you opened this article thinking there were magic exercises that would solve all of your muscle-building and fat-loss problems, I’m sorry to disappoint.

There is no such thing as an exercise that magically builds muscle and/or burns body fat. However, there are exercises that can make both of those process far easier.

Before we get in to specific movements, we need to briefly discuss what is at the root of muscle building and fat loss in order to fully understand and appreciate the contribution that these exercises can make.

THE ROOT OF MUSCLE-BUILDING

I’ll be honest, building muscle is far more complicated than losing fat. Luckily, there are some things we can keep in mind to keep from over-complicating the process.

Your body builds muscle when it is in the right environment and when it is given a proper signal. What is the “right environment?” Sound health, good sleep, proper nutrition/nourishment, and good hormone function all play a role in have the right environment. What is the “proper signal” that the body should be receiving? The proper signal is a signal that is telling your body that it must get stronger and build muscle. This signal is provided through weight training. There are many factors (sets, reps, rest, etc.) that go into using weights to send that signal. In general, lifting weights with the intent of getting stronger (heavier weights and longer rest periods) and setting personal bests can lead to strength and muscle gain.

THE ROOT OF FAT LOSS

You may have heard of calories in vs. calories out by now.

Calories are the units we use to measure the amount of energy in foods. When we consume more calories in the day than we burn, we gain weight. When we burn more calories in the day than we consume, we lose weight. Eating more than you burn is what is called a caloric surplus. Burning more than you eat is called a caloric deficit. Eating enough to maintain your current body weight is what we call caloric maintenance.

Although it is possible to lose body fat without being in a caloric deficit, being in a deficit may make fat loss far more likely.

Now that we understand the basic concept of building muscle and burning body fat, let’s talk about four exercises that can greatly contribute to your fat loss and muscle building goals.

EXERCISE #1: BARBELL SQUAT

The squat is one of the most revered exercises in fitness.

The squat is a compound movement, meaning the squat involves more than one joint. The ankles, knees, and hips are all involved during a squat. Since this is a compound movement, it involves multiple muscle groups including the glutes, quads, and a little bit of the hamstrings. Outside of the direct muscles that play a role in getting you from the bottom position to a standing position, other muscles are at work.

In order to keep the load (weight) from negatively impacting your spine, your entire core must be braced. The obliques, abs, and many other muscles help you maintain a tight and braced position as you move the weight.

Due to the involvement of so many major muscle groups, the squat likely burns a large amount of calories in comparison to say, a bicep curl. The squat also asks a lot of the heart as it needs to be able to pump blood and get oxygen to the major muscles of your lower body. Do a set of heavy barbell squats for 12-15 reps and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

In regards to building muscle, the squat carries lots and lots of potential. Remember that the movement involves more than one joint. This will allow you to apply a heavier load to the bar, potentially sending a louder signal (that’s the thing we talked about earlier) to build muscle.

Squatting - and squatting heavy should be a regular, consistent part of your training routine.

EXERCISE #2: Barbell Overhead Press

One of the things that shocked me most as a personal trainer was so many people’s inability to reach their hands over their head without pain, pinching, or complete breakdown in posture.

It may seem strange to you to think that some people can’t reach over their head well. But take a second to think about how often the average person needs to reach over their head. Almost never. We often need to reach up and out to grab a cup from the cabinet, but almost never straight up to the sky.

This causes many dysfunctions in posture, as well as a lack of shoulder mobility.

My years of personal training allowed me to fall in love with the overhead press as I saw it transform the way my clients felt and moved.

Aside from posture and a higher quality of life, the overhead press can involve many similar benefits that the squat does.

You see, the overhead press is a compound movement, too. The shoulder joint and elbow joint are both involved, causing the triceps and deltoids to take over a majority of the work. Not only is the upper body benefiting from this movement, but the core is as well. In order to properly press overhead without breakdown, the core, glutes, and legs, must be engaged.

Again, being that this movements involves multiple joints, it brings great potential for muscle building as a heavier load can be applied. More muscles being worked means more calories burned, too.

EXERCISE #3: BARBELL DEADLIFT

Thankfully, the deadlift has become so popular in recent years, as it should. The deadlift has so much to offer.

In our modern lifestyles, we spend a lot of time using the muscles on the front of our body. We reach forward, we slouch, we sit and stand from a chair, and we press some things from time to time. We don’t have enough actions in our lives that call us to use the backside of our body. Thankfully, the deadlift helps us make up for all that work on the frontside.

A barbell deadlift requires the entire back to be at work. It calls for the glutes and hamstrings to fully engage and fire, too. It is a wonderful exercise for the backside. Performing a proper deadlift on a regular basis can help you regain and/or maintain good posture, as well as send one of the loudest muscle building signals to the body.

EXERCISE #4: BARBELL BENCH PRESS

Ahh the bench press, loved by bros and hated by most females, this exercise did in fact make the list.

You may be thinking, “wait a minute, bench pressing works the front of our body. If we spend so much time working the front in everyday life, why do more of it in our workouts?” It’s because most people don’t do the bench press properly.

A proper bench press calls your entire body to be engaged, even your back. Keeping your glutes and shoulderblades engaged will reinforce good posture as you work you chest. As a result, your chest, triceps, and shoulders can get stronger without risking poor forward posture, otherwise known as upper crossed syndrome.

The bench press is also one of the better muscle building exercises. Remember, multiple joints means more load which meals a louder muscle-building a strength-building signal to your body. More muscle also means more calories.

I’d like to wrap it up with this:

For those of you reading, thinking that it seemed like these exercises were only for muscle-building, they’re not. Remember that there is no such thing as a fat-loss exercise, but rather exercises that have a bigger contribution to fat loss. If you don’t know, the amount of muscle on your body is one of the biggest contributing factors to the amount of calories your body burns in a day. The stronger you get, the more lean muscle that your body has, the more calories you automatically burn. Burning more calories automatically is a fat-loss goldmine. And I’m not talking about bodybuilder muscle here. I’m talking about the muscle that gives you that lean, defined, and toned look. Even if your goal is fat loss, focus on getting stronger, as you get stronger, the fat will come off easier.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.

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3 Reasons Guys Aren't Seeing Results

In the last article, I went over 3 reasons girls aren’t seeing results. The article got quite a bit of attention, and helped quite a few girls see what they needed to be doing in their health and fitness in order to see results. So I thought, “Hey, let’s write one for guys! There are a ton of things guys can be doing better in order to see progress and results.”

So here we are.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I would like to get something off my chest. If you are a guy and you are reading this article, DO NOT BE A DINGUS. What I mean by “do not be a dingus” is, do not read this article, say to yourself, “those are good ideas”, and then continue training and eating like you have been. You’re better than that. You’re smarter than that. Take these principles and apply them! I dare you. See what happens. The only thing you’re risking is a bit of effort for a huge reward. Why wouldn’t you give them a try, right?!

Right.

So, knowing that you’ll not only read this article, but apply the principles I tell you about, let’s move along.

There are many different reasons people don’t see results. The list goes on and on and on and on. However, some of those things aren’t as important as others. Having said that, this article contains only 3 of those reasons, as these 3 reasons are major reasons guys aren’t seeing results. Here they are.

Reason #1: Improper Nutrition

If you just read the reason and thought to yourself “That’s not me, I hit my macros every day!”, then this segment definitely applies to you.

When I first started coaching people, it was right as the surge of IIFYM came out. If you’re unaware of what that acronym stands for, it stands for “If It Fits Your Macros”. IIFYM is a way of eating that allows poor food choices as long as they fit your daily budget for protein, carbs, and fat. Basically, it doesn’t matter if you eat 100 grams of carbs from pop-tarts, or 100 grams of carbs from rice, carbs are carbs and 100 grams are 100 grams. This is when the whole “a calorie is a calorie” thing came about.

This thought process is insane and is keeping you from better health and fitness.

Sure, calories are calories, and 100 grams of carbs from pop tarts is the same in energy as 100 grams of rice. However, both of those sources of carbs play a very different role in your internal health. Your body’s internal systems and health will react in a very negative manner to 100 grams of pop tarts. Your blood sugar will spike with a guaranteed hard crash to come. The processed sugars will cause you to crave like crazy. The processed carbs in pop tarts are not satiating, making you feel like you’re still hungry. Your gut will hate you and your digestion will suffer.

Get the point?

Macronutrients are extremely important when it comes to health, building muscle, and burning fat. However, micronutrients as well as wholesome sources of macronutrients are just as important. When you are internally healthy, your external fitness (getting jacked and having a six pack) has far greater potential. When your internal health is garbage, you can get so far.

A good rule to follow when it comes to fueling yourself well is the 80/20 rule. 80% of your daily food intake must come from whole, natural sources and contain plenty of micronutrients. Do you need some steak and eggs to reach your protein and fat goal? Great, but throw some spinach in there too so your gut and digestion will thank you.

20% percent of your daily intake can come from poo-poo sources like Girl Scout Cookies (tis the season!) and cereal. I will say this, though. Although the 80/20 rule is a good rule to follow, I believe it’s a little lenient. I would recommend taking it to 90/10 in order to heavily prioritize your body’s internal health and digestion.

Reason #2: Not Enough Sleep

I’d say that sleep is the number one reason many people are seeing their health slowly deteriorate week by week. Sleep is hands down one the most important things we need as humans. It allows our body to rest, repair, and grow. Without sleep, we have nothing.

When it comes to guys, a lack of sleep is an epidemic. After training tons of people for years, I’ve come to the assumption that the average working man gets 5-6 hours of sleep per night. If someone comes to me for coaching and tells me they get 7 hours of sleep each night, I am completely blown away.

Here is the truth. You MUST be getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep each and every night. If you get a night of 7 hours of sleep or less, it is a sign that you better get yourself in check and get more the next night. Without sleep, your body will not reap the benefits from all your hard work. Not only will extra sleep get you your results, but it will also allow you to be a better person. Your mood will be better, you will be more attentive, and your friends, co-workers, and family will be relieved to not be around a total ass all the time.

There are a few things that you can be doing to get plenty of sleep.

First off, create a nightly routine. Our bodies absolutely love routine, especially when it comes to sleep. Find the time at which you will begin your nightly routine, and stick with it on a consistent basis.

Second, get rid of all electronics a few hours before bed. I know, this one is a struggle for me, too. But I tell you what, the nights where I choose to turn my electronics off and keep them away from me for a few hours before hitting the hay, I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow and I am out like a rock all night long, feeling completely renewed in the morning. Find a place where you can put away your electronics as well. Charge your phone in another room other than the bedroom. Out of sight, out of mind.

Lastly, make your bedroom a place where sleep is bound to happen. Keep it dark and cool. No electronics in this place. Do not read in this place. Do not do anything other than sleeping in this place. Your bedroom is a sleeping place, ok?

One other thing, if you are absolutely putting your foot down on electronics, you can get some blue blocking glasses to aid your eyes while you’re answering emails late at night. It’s not nearly the same as being off electronics, but it can help.

Reason #3: Improper Programming

Programming is hands down one of the most underrated principles when it comes to reaching your health and fitness goals. Most of us guys think, “what’s it matter what my workout looks like, as long as I’m pushing myself, right?”

No.

Well, yes and no.

Pushing yourself in your workout is very important, but it is secondary to proper programming. A good training program is centered around the big movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, and overhead presses. A good program also includes room for volume to be increased through proper intensity and frequency.

Volume is one of the key signals that tells our bodies to build and grow. Volume is weights x sets x reps. As your training volume increases, your body will adapt, grow, and get stronger. Volume can be manipulated with intensity (how hard you’re working) as well as frequency (how often you train each muscle group). Most of the time, frequency and intensity should be inversely related. The higher your intensity is, the lower your frequency should be. The lower your intensity is, the higher your frequency should be. The key is balancing them well without doing too much frequency and too much intensity, or too little frequency and too little intensity.

Here are some guidelines that apply to different levels of trainees.

If you are a beginner and you have very little experience exerting your body with weights, you should train your entire body with full body workouts three times per week at a low intensity.

If you are an intermediate trainee, you should train your body parts two times per week with a moderatel intensity. This can look like two push and two pull workouts per week.

If you are an advanced trainee, you can train your body parts two times per week with a high intensity. This can look like two push and two pull workouts per week with extra sets and effort in your exercises.

Whatever your training program looks like, it is important that it gives you enough time to rest each muscle group between training sessions, and still provides room for volume to increase month after month without overtraining.

THE TAKEAWAYS

Here is your short version of this article.

Eat nutritious foods that contain high quality macronutrients as well as high quality micronutrients. No processed crap. Au naturel, baby.

Get an absolute minimum of 7 hours of sleep per week by turning your room into a cave, turning off electronics early, and following a routine.

Follow a training program that allows you to train each muscle group 2-3 times per week with plenty of opportunity to rest in between workouts.

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends and family!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.

3 Signs You're Sabotaging Your Training Program

When people ask me what I do (I hate that question) and I tell them I'm a fitness coach, their response is usually full of questions they've wanted answers to for such a long time. Some of the most common questions are:

"What is the best diet for fat loss?"

"What should I eat to build more muscle?"

"What supplements should I be taking?"

The list goes on and on.

Although I get questions regarding nearly every aspect of health and fitness, there is one area of fitness that I feel is extremely overlooked, and that area is training programs, or programming. There is a lot of thought that goes into nutrition, diets, and supplements, but not nearly enough when it comes to programming.

What I'd like to do today is go through three signs that you're sabotaging your training in order to give you an opportunity to reflect on your training program and figure out what you need to change.

Let's do this.

SIGN #1: NOT ENOUGH FREQUENCY

Adding frequency to your training routine is hands down one of the best things you can do to increase your strength, build muscle, and lose fat.

Here's why:

The reason we lift weights is to increase protein synthesis. Increased protein synthesis puts our body in an anabolic state, creating an environment where building muscle and losing body fat is much easier.

A majority of the natural population (people that don't use performance enhancing drugs) have protein synthesis that stays elevated for about 48-72 hours after a resistance training session. Once protein synthesis drops it goes all the way back down to baseline, if not, lower.  Because of this, it is best for most of us to train muscle groups more than once per week.

Those that are using performance enhancing drugs can have their protein synthesis stay elevated for far longer. Therefore, they can only train each muscle group once per week without having to worry about protein synthesis dropping.

Since most of these people are jacked and lean, we often go to them for training ideas. And that's where things go wrong.

Just because something works for someone else, that doesn't mean it works for you.

If you are a natural that wants to build muscle and/or burn fat, it is best for you to train body parts multiple times per week. It will be far more beneficial for you to have 3 full body workouts per week, than to train chest on Monday and wait a whole week to come back to it. Not only does this allow you to keep your protein synthesis elevated longer, but it also allows you to spread your volume out throughout the week, which has been shown to improve results. Whatever you're doing, take your volume and spread it out throughout the week.

Let's say you normally have 20 sets when you train your chest. Studies have shown that you will see more results from spreading those 2o sets throughout the week, than to do it all in one day. This obviously changes a lot based on how advanced you are, but here's the takeaway: Increase your training frequency by taking your current volume and spreading it throughout the week.

And with that, we move to number two.

SIGN #2: NO PROGRESSION IN TRAINING VOLUME

Based on all the studies we have available to us, we know that increases to training volume cause our bodies to change and improve.

Training volume is total poundage based on this simple equation: weights x sets x reps = total volume.

Therefore, there are many ways you can increase your training volume. You can increase the amount of weight you lift, the amount of sets you do, the amount of reps you do, or all of the above.

When thinking of how your body changes and adapts, think of a really steep and tall staircase. Imagine a staircase of walls, so to speak. Climbing up the wall in order to get to the flat platform represents your body changing and being challenged by a new stimulus (more volume). When you finally reach the top of the wall and get to the flat platform, your body has adapted, and it's ready for a new change. You can introduce a new change by adding weight, sets, or reps, whatever is best based on what you've been doing. When I say "best", what I mean is finding the sweet spot between having a challenging amount of volume and frequency in your routine, but still having the time and ability to recover for the next workout.

The easiest way to add volume and create an environment where your body must change is by adding sets or reps. If you're challenging yourself properly, changing reps and sets should cause you to naturally adjust your weight properly. Most studies tell us that our bodies take 2-4 weeks to adapt to a new stimulus. Therefore, adding sets, reps, or both every 4 weeks or so would be extremely beneficial.

I'll give you a quick example.

Right now, I'm currently performing 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps on my strength days, and 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps on my muscle building days. The next time I need to add volume to my training routine, I'll add a set to my strength days, and bump my rep range to 10-12 reps on muscle building days. Both of those additions will increase my overall weekly volume, causing my body to change in a positive way.

At this point, you know that training frequency and volume are two of the most important things to manipulate in order to see results. Increasing your training volume and spreading that increase in volume throughout the week will spark a great change, but what if you don't even know what you're currently doing?

SIGN #3: YOU'RE NOT TRACKING

Everyone knows about tracking food intake, but no one seems to care about tracking a training program. Tracking your weights, sets, and reps is just as important as tracking your protein, carbs, and fats.

Based on what you've read up to this point, you know that increasing your training volume and spreading it out throughout the week with more frequency is one of the best things you can do for your goals. But, how good is that information if you don't know what you're currently doing?

Just like most things in health and fitness, figuring out the best way to track your programming and make proper adjustments will take some trial and error.

There are a few pieces of advice I can give when it comes to tracking your training.

First off, start somewhere. I'm guessing you have some sort of usual rhythm or routine you're in. Start with what you know, and take notes. Whether it's on your phone, in your notebook, or through your online coach, record your usual workouts. Write down your exercises, how may sets you do, how many reps you do in each set, and how much weight you use for those reps. From there, figure out where you'd like to add volume based on your goals.

Second, identify your weak points. Weak points can be areas of your body that are underdeveloped, as well as movements that are not utilized enough. Let's say you have shoulders that are rolled forward from your desk job. Adding volume to your back muscles can help you improve your posture by awakening and strengthening those muscle fibers. Maybe you have a strong squat but your bench is weak. Increase your volume and frequency by practicing your bench press three times per week as opposed to once per week. There are so many things you can do to change your body, and identifying weak points is a great start.

Third, have a vision. Does your dream body need more bicep and tricep work in order to make your arms stand out? Do you dream of having a 400-pound squat? Well, it's time to create a path for that to happen by adding volume and increasing frequency in your training routine. Tracking and adjusting your training program is great, but it's potential isn't fully utilized until you have a vision of what you want to achieve.

Whatever changes you make to your routine, track them. Take notes and make observations on how your body changes. You'll learn more about your body than you ever have before, and you'll save yourself years of fooling around because you took some time to figure out what causes your body to make the change you desire.

THE TAKEAWAY

There are three signs that will tell you you're sabotaging your training, and three solutions to make sure you're headed in the right direction.

Sign #1: Not Enough Frequency - You're training everything once per week.

Solution #1: Improve your results by training body parts and movements multiple times per week.

Sign #2: No Progression in Training Volume - You've been doing the same amount of volume for over 4 weeks

Solution #2: Once you begin to see your body adapt to the routine you've been doing, add some volume by increasing weights, sets, and reps. Switch up some exercises if you'd like.

Sign#3: No Tracking - You're not tracking your workouts

Solution #3: Track your workouts, and identify what changes lead to the best results. Learn more about your body and what's best for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.