? for Alwyn or Adam

[Kaiser]

Regarding Alwyn's fat-loss series in May and June/July's MF: given the limitations of the article (I would imagine you wanted to create a program with minimal equipment that could be done at home), if you had to create a different gym workout, would you create one using sets of Oly lifts with heavier weights for a more experienced lifter? I'm curious since JP just shed his fat using a program of heavy weights, low rep Oly lifts and Lou often mentions that Olympic lifts with heavy weights will stoke up the metabolism more than anything else he knows.

Not trying to start any issues here, as I know there are more ways to lose fat than just one.... just curious if you would recommend a different program to an experienced lifter with no equipment limitations who understood good form. I guess I am really interested in why you pick a particular program for magazine readership.

[Alwyn]

Originally posted by Kaiser:
I guess I am really interested in why you pick a particular program for magazine readership.

I think that's pretty much it Kaiser. The magazine gurus decide what would make a good piece and they assign it accordingly.
For example I 'think' that the fat loss workout you are talking about was assigned as a "minimal equipment" routine and because of space limitations was only able to be six exercises. So there are restrictions for each article, that may make the finished product a little different than what I'd do in the real world.

As far as heavy weights / lighter weights etc -- it's not as important as you might think. The question is NEVER - "what works ?". It's always - what works best ?
The key is to create a caloric deficit through diet and exercise and train to ensure that the weight loss comes from fat and not muscle.

So I use moderate to high reps to create a lactate effect (similar to the fat loss programs used by Alessi and Poliquin) which helps lean guys out quickly. I also use heavy loading with other situations because I can recruit more muscle and therefore burn more calories. The afterburn program on my site uses a combination of those methods. A fairly typical routine that I use is combo lift based that was in the MH muscle mag.

The trade-off with the heavy lifting approach is that the heavier you go, the longer your rest periods really need to be -- which can effect the density of the workout - another important factor. So you have to manipulate all the variables constantly.

So it's always an individualization issue. It sounds cliche but I write EVERY single program in my facility with the individual in mind. This can't be expressed in a magazine article -- it's just a taster of what I do.

AC

[Kaiser]

Thank you Alwyn. That is exactly what I was interested in and gives me a good overview of how the mag's edit the programs for space and readership. Much obliged.

[Alwyn]

I think it's important to bear that in mind whenever you read anything in the magazines. There are ALWAYS restrictions on space, photos, equipment etc that change what the workout ends up being, and it's important not to misinterpret that.
(Case in point - Craig Ballantyne once asked me my thoughts on aerobic training for FAT LOSS. I told him I think it's way overrated. This has since been misinterpreted that I feel all cardiovascular exercise for any reason is useless. That's not what I said !) [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

The other thing is the original assignment may be a six exercise routine with Dumbbells only - for leg development. However when it hits the newstands - it's just a leg training article -- the 'restrictions' aren't mentioned.

Also too - from the magazine viewpoint, they'd quickly go out of business if my monthly column on lower body training just said "Squat" every month.


AC