In five years, I managed to accumulate as much as eight kilograms of fat. This was facilitated by moving from the countryside to the city. In the village, there is always something to do, a good half of the day is spent on my feet. Anyone who has lived or lives in a private house knows that there is always something to do there. In the city, the rhythm of life did not allow me to easily maintain the same level of physical activity as before. But the most insidious thing was that the fat grew very slowly, like a scout approaching a point meter by meter. In the first two years, I gained 1.5-2 kg from strength, which was really difficult to notice. I assumed that this was the same payment for reduced activity. But the process did not stop. The process went on, and in 5 years I gained a total of 8 kg of excess weight.
For me, this figure was noticeable, because all my life, starting from the age of 25-27 and before moving to the city, I weighed 78-82 kg (summer/winter), and I felt the weight of almost 90 kg quite strongly. It also affected the fact that due to the decrease in physical activity, endurance and strength fell, which together created a feeling of bulkiness, and my stomach seemed to have absorbed 60-65% of all the weight gained. Since I moved to the city for work, there was no time for the gym as such: work, repairs, children and hobbies took up all my free time.
The lifeline was an old kettlebell, with which I decided to conduct an experiment: every morning for 5 minutes I worked with a 16 kg kettlebell. In addition, I spent the first four hours after waking up on an empty stomach, which, combined with morning workouts performed after a night of fasting, created optimal conditions for activating lipolysis. During this period, the body, not having energy from food, uses its accumulated fat deposits to a greater extent to meet its energy needs, which is key to reducing fat mass. This does not mean that calories are not used, but rather that the source of these calories is shifted in favor of its own fat reserves.
As it turned out later, the choice of kettlebells was a very successful solution for the time-poor conditions. Since kettlebells are a unique multifunctional equipment that allows you to develop strength, endurance, coordination and flexibility at the same time. Its unbalanced center of gravity forces the stabilizer muscles to work more intensively than when using dumbbells or a barbell. Training with kettlebells is often high-intensity and can effectively replace longer workouts, providing the so-called “metabolic shock”.
It was decided to alternate the exercises: one day for the bottom, the other day for the top, without breaks. Despite the fact that the training took only five minutes, it was quite energy-intensive. The goal of the training was simple: a constant increase in tonnage. It is calculated simply: the weight of the projectile multiplied by the number of repetitions per training session. On the first day, I managed to do 50 squats in five minutes, which with a kettlebell weighing 16 kg is equal to a tonnage of 800 kg. Ten months later, this result increased to 2,800 kg (150 squats with a kettlebell in 5 minutes), which indicates a threefold increase in the effectiveness of the training. During the approach, I could stop and rest, but by the end of the fifth minute I always woke up with a second breath, which helped to break the previous record and move on.
The principle of constantly increasing “tonnage” is a great example of “progressive loading” – a fundamental principle of strength training. It involves gradually increasing the demands on the body so that it adapts and becomes stronger. This can be increasing the weight, the number of repetitions, the number of sets, reducing the rest time or increasing the difficulty of the exercise. Of course, for kettlebell squats, in addition to tonnage, technique is also important.
The most interesting thing is that such an intense but short workout combined with intermittent fasting had an effect. After the workout, for the next three to four hours, I did not feel hungry, only pleasantly light. This is explained by the fact that in the absence of food in the stomach and low insulin levels, the body more actively uses its accumulated energy reserves, in particular fat deposits, rather than the calories just consumed.
Under normal circumstances, if you exercise in the morning on an empty stomach, but eat a bowl of soup 30-40 minutes later, your body will switch to using food for energy. This will temporarily suspend active fat burning at that particular moment, as it is easier and faster for the body to get energy from recently consumed carbohydrates and proteins than to break down fats.
However, it is worth noting that while training on an empty stomach may increase fat oxidation during the workout itself, long-term studies do not always show a significant difference in overall fat loss between training on an empty stomach and after eating, if total daily caloric intake is the same.
It is important to understand that the body is a very complex system, and my own practice shows that the feeling of hunger is very individual, and what works for me will not necessarily work for you. For me personally, short-term fasting (for example, 14-16 hours) helps to better control appetite and feel light, but I always listen to my body and do not allow excessive fasting.
The second exercise I chose was alternating one-arm kettlebell lifts. This allowed me to switch arms over the course of five minutes and work longer, as unlike my legs, my arms are much weaker, which means I have to rest more, and five minutes is five minutes, they're not rubber.
The exercise was performed the day after the legs, but it is important to remember that strength sports are an adaptive type of exercise. We are not talking about ordinary injuries, but about microtraumas of muscle fibers, which are part of the process of adaptation and muscle growth. This means that even the next day after training, the effect of increased energy consumption for the restoration of muscle fibers due to microtears remains. In this regard, for the effective restoration of muscle fibers, which will be able to do more work and spend more energy, it is advisable to optimize the diet.
To do this, you need to not just “remove excess fat”, but choose sources of healthy fats (e.g. avocados, nuts, fatty fish) in moderate amounts, which are necessary for hormonal balance and vitamin absorption, and significantly increase your intake of high-quality protein.
The principle of alternating “down/up” days allows you to give your muscles enough time to recover, which is important for preventing overtraining and achieving progress. If your muscles are too sore, it is worth taking a rest day.
Training has a cumulative effect: every day you burn more calories as you get stronger. The most difficult stage is the beginning, when you are relatively weak and cannot train effectively. Don't give up on the training process and expect quick results, it took me ten months to transform.
In ten months, I managed to increase my performance in two key exercises by 3-4 times and lose 7 kg of excess weight. This means that in a month I lost only 700 grams of weight (including fat and excess fluid) – that's only 175 grams per week – I drank a cup of water, and the scales no longer show progress. But in the long run, it pays off. Don't try to lose excess fat or get stronger in a couple of months – this is a road to nowhere.
Give yourself time and remember that he who goes far goes long, not fast.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice, and you should consult your doctor before beginning any exercise or dietary changes.
Джерело: ukr.media
