The Complete Fat Loss Plan for Former Athletes – T NATION+ – COMMUNITY

Are you a retired athlete who has gained weight and is struggling with exercise and recovery? Here’s the diet and training plan that’s right for you.

If you’ve ever been an athlete trying to lose body fat, you’ve probably felt frustrated, especially if you’re over 30.

• Workouts that used to work well for you now wear you down.
• A diet plan that used to always leave you burnt out now leads to stress, depression, and barely noticeable changes in body composition.

Despite feeling like you know what to do, your current plans aren’t cutting it. After all, once you’re strong, lean, and athletic, anything below your peak will be disappointing.

So how can you get strong, lean and athletic again? The key is synergy. Synergy is the balance between your training, nutrition and lifestyle.

As we age, stress in all areas of life increases. You have more personal and professional responsibilities, and sleep becomes harder to come by and even more valuable.

If your stress exceeds your ability to recover from training, then you are digging a recovery hole for your training. So the key to losing fat and looking great naked again comes down to a new approach, one that balances training, nutrition, and lifestyle.

Former athletes want to look great and perform well. Go to war now? Manages cumulative fatigue and joint stress. To get the best results in the world, Olympic sprint coach Charlie Francis’ “Lightweight” workouts are the way to go. His high-low principle is a novel progression strategy that allows you to keep improving without burning out.

Heavy-light training is also known as “intensive-extensive” or “high-low” training. It bases workouts on the neural demands of training and schedules the most demanding work on non-consecutive days.

A “high-intensity” or high-intensity training day is when you do a more demanding workout on your central nervous system. Think sprints, weightlifting, and power training.

“Light” or heavy training days are based on higher training volumes and lighter weights – more of a bodybuilding or metabolic stress focus.

By adjusting the intensity, you can manage joint and general fatigue while maximizing your training economy. The result is increased protein synthesis while adding enough variation to allow muscle recovery and mitigate overuse injuries, leading to more muscle growth and better fitness performance.

On two Zone 2 cardio days, you can lift weights four times a week.

Here’s the split:

• on Monday: Reinforced – Composite Lifts
• Tuesday: Broad – back and biceps
• Wednesday: Zone-2 Aerobics

Zone-2 cardio is only moderate intensity work. Use the talk test: You should breathe harder, but not so hard that you can’t carry on a conversation. You will have 30 minutes of this training. Cycling, jogging, brisk walking, the elliptical, or whatever activity is your least favorite.

• Thursday: Fortification – Compound Lifters
• Friday: Broad – chest and triceps
• Saturday: Zone-2 Aerobics
• Sunday: leave

You can also complete this workout with three days of training and two days of cardio. Just alternate the same sequence of Zone-2 cardio between your weightlifting days and your weekend break.

Here is a quick review of some of the exercises in the program:

notes: For weightlifting, do 1-2 warm-up sets. Increase each set load to 1 high end set.

* Do 1-2 warm-up sets, then increase the load to 1 top set per set.

* 100 groups as few as possible

If you’re like most athletes, you’re still mentally active enough to put a little more in your diet and still be exhausted. Well, Old Man Time has different plans for you!

I like to keep my fat loss phases short, aggressive and simple. That’s what you do.

1. Multiply your weight in pounds by 10. This is your calories.
2. Consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to support lean tissue maintenance to maintain metabolic function.
3. Divide the remaining calories evenly between carbs and fat.

Here’s what a 220-pound man looks like:

Calories: 220 lbs x 10 = 2200 calories per day

protein: 220 grams. (220 grams x 4 calories per gram = 880 calories from protein)

Fat and carbohydrates: First, subtract the calories in protein from your total calorie intake: 2200-880 = 1320 calories remaining. Divide that number by two (split carbs and fat evenly) and you have calories from carbs and fat:

• Fat: 660 calories (660 calories at 9 calories per gram = 73.3 grams of fat)
• carbohydrate: 660 calories (660 calories, 4 calories per gram = 165 grams carbohydrates)

So your daily macro is:

Calories: 2200
protein: 220 grams
fat: 73.3 grams
carbohydrate: 165 grams

If there is no change in the scale after two weeks, use “weight x 8” and repeat the same process. Don’t go below this. If you’re not losing fat right now, there are bigger factors at play. Or you’re not being honest about your dietary intake.

Your stress levels may be higher right now. Actively manage stress with meditation or a daily walk. Reduce stressful input from angry porn police (aka mainstream media). If you don’t work hard at reducing stress, you’re going to be a cortisol-ridden mess, and no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to help.