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Endomorphs and weight-loss
An endomorph is someone that generally carries more weight and fat, and struggles to lose weight. Their main concern is to cut body fat to reveal the muscle that is underneath.
I suggest performing cardiovascular exercise for 45-60 minutes at least 5 days a week in order to lose enough body fat to appear defined.
Rest times should be kept as short as possible in between sets. Moderate weight should be used.
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear about training for the endomorph and for weight-loss is that a higher rep range with regards to resistance training is necessary. This is not true. You need to stimulate as many muscle fibres as possible to build muscle, and in the best way possible. This means using heavier resistance with high reps and low reps as well. Doing HIIT* is one of the best ways to burn fat fast. Just remember that if you aren't sweating like crazy at the end of your workout, you have rested too much. It’s that simple.
Even after you're done with cardio and HIIT resistance training, your metabolism will still be up for a few hours.
Training for fat-loss
Bad Fat = Trans fat and saturated fat.
Good Fat = Monounsaturated/polyunsaturated saturated and unsaturated.
*HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training involves performing an exercise or cardiovascular work, such as running, while alternating between high and low intensities. (ie start with a 10 minute jog, and then the following 9 minutes, alternate 1 minute sprinting with 1 minute jogging, and for the last minute; walk as a recovery period.
Now I’m sure you have heard the phrase: "muscle burns fat”. Let me explain... Muscle doesn't exactly burn fat but more accurately it raises your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Fat takes no energy to sit on your body, that's why once it's there; it will stay there until you exert enough energy to start using it as your energy source. Skeletal muscle tissue is called "active tissue" because it requires energy to maintain itself. Basically, by your body just being active, it is burning fat. And the higher your RMR is, the more fat you will be burning just going about your day. So thus, to increase RMR, you must build and strengthen your muscle cells by doing moderate to heavy resistance training.
Try performing resistance training at least 3 times per week.
Muscle tissue needs to be constantly shocked and needs to have pressure applied to in order for muscle to grow. Most women have a fear of “bulking” their muscles. This cannot happen since women do not have enough testosterone to get the physique of a bodybuilder.
Light weights work better for endurance training, and not necessarily for building muscle and for peak fat burning purposes.
Training to build-muscle for Men
Men, when bulking or just trying to build muscle should try aim for 1g to 2g of carbs per kg body weight per day. The carbohydrates will keep your muscles full and hard. And by sticking to complex carbs like sweet potatoes and rye bread, you can still stay vascular and muscular and not bloated or fat.
Stick to moderate to heavy weighted resistance routines.
For people who have been training for long, stick to split muscle groups routines.
Keep rests between sets to 30 seconds or less.
Add in drop sets, supersets. Compound sets, tri-sets and antagonistic training to really “shock” the muscle and recruit as many muscle fibres as possible. This is how your muscles will grow. (These terms will be described further in part 3 of Training 101)
(Kilo2Kili, Ariel Navarro December 2011)
