In a culture of instant gratification, you don’t just want to reach your goals, you want to smash them – and now. That’s why we’ve compiled the quickest, most effective training hacks to help beat your personal best in three key areas: weightloss, speed and strength. After all, who has time to wait around?
How to Get Lean
If you still think a lean body requires punishing cardio and dietary deprivation, it’s time to quit the self-flagellation. Update your fat-loss rule book and you’ll burn away the excess faster than ever. Who knows? You might even enjoy it
Not all PBs are performance-driven, but that doesn’t mean your pursuit of a fitness model physique is any less worthy. Or, for that matter, any less achievable. Whatever shape you’re currently in, the good news is that no man is inherently unable to acquire a lean body. With a little insider knowledge, your six-pack could arrive long before the summer does – and it needn’t cost you your sanity in the process.
As the lead trainer at Embody Fitness in the City of London, Chris Walton specialises in fast transformations. “We often see clients losing 1 per cent of their body fat every week,” he says. That’s enough to take you from over-padded to ultra-athlete within 12 weeks.
If the mere mention of fat reduction has you composing a farewell note to all things soft and starchy, that’s your first mistake. Cutting carbs may trim your midline for a fortnight or so, but beyond that it starts to work against you. “Everyone’s quick to hop on the anti-carb bandwagon,” says Walton. “But if you cut out carbs completely, the body down-regulates its production of T3, a thyroid hormone responsible for metabolism, and increases your levels of fat-storing cortisol.” Instead, carb up after each of your workouts so your muscles stay fuelled.
As for your training, think less about your calorie burn in the gym and more about how much you’re using up outside of it – your ‘afterburn’. Working at high intensity releases enzymes that keep your body burning fat for 24 to 36 hours after you’ve towelled down. Work every muscle in every session, concentrating on challenging full-body movements such as squat presses and burpees. You’ll still be torching calories while you’re sleeping it off later.
Leaner Exercise
High-intensity interval training is the holy grail of fat-loss workouts, but your approach may be too gentle. “What most people do – 30sec on, 30sec off – is quite aerobic and continuous,” explains Walton. “For it to be considered high intensity, you need to have rested long enough to work at your maximum on the next rep.” Bolt this finisher move on to the end of your next session. You’ll feel the difference.
Exercise: Airdyne Bike
Sets and reps: 6 rounds, 6sec on, 54sec off
With its moving handlebars, the Airdyne works your arms as well as your legs. (A SkiErg will do the same job.) Push as hard as you can, then spend the rest of the minute at a slow recovery pace before repeating. Good things come to those who wait.
Your Equipment
It’s easy to use a lack of equipment as an excuse for quitting early. With a skipping rope in your kitbag, you can fit in a calorie-torching workout at any time. The MH model has customisable lengths and rubber grips for comfort, so you needn’t stop after the first set.
Your Instant Upgrade
If you’re serious about shedding fat, stay off the mats in today’s session. “Performing abs exercises sitting down will make your heart rate drop,” says Walton. Swap crunches and seated twists for cable work and loaded carries.
Your Fuel
An over-reliance on pre-workouts can cause adrenal fatigue, stunting your fat loss. While
a caffeinated pick-me-up has its place, a daily magnesium supp will deliver better-balanced benefits. It has been linked to improvements in muscle oxygenation, aerobic capacity and insulin sensitivity.
Your Numbers
500kcal
Your ideal daily calorie deficit (kcal). “Restrict much more and you’ll start to break down muscle tissue,” says Walton.
0,5L
Drinking half a litre of water over 30 minutes’ training increases the production of fat-
burning HGH by 48 per cent, reports the European Journal of Endocrinology.
How to Get Faster
Running isn’t just an endurance sport. Sure, an element of stamina and fortitude will stand you in good stead, but there’s a lot more to it than that. “Too many people believe that cardio is the only training they need to do to beat their time,” says Courtney Fearon, a Nike coach and instructor at the London gym BXR. “But if you focus on getting stronger and developing power, the distance will quickly feel easier.”
This is particularly true for a 10K – the UK’s most popular race distance and the smartest marker of your ability. Excelling at this distance will both sharpen your acceleration over shorter races and prime your lungs and muscles for harder runs. That preparing for it won’t take up all your free time (as with marathon training) is just a bonus.
As a starting point, Fearon recommends building your hip drive with weighted full-body exercises such as squat presses and deadlifts. “These should be a staple of any training programme, but they are especially important for runners,” he says. Bulk won’t hold you back, so opt for heavier weights and perform sets of four to six reps.
For some, however, the biggest wall to smash through is the one in their minds. You won’t go faster if you don’t believe your body is capable of it. “When I used to sprint professionally, I did a lot of downhill sprints,” says Fearon. “With gravity supporting you, you’re not exerting much force – so your foot turnover is higher. It forms a crucial body-mind connection, tricking your body into thinking you can run at that intensity and move that quickly.” Let’s see what a little self-belief can do.
Faster Exercise
Building speed isn’t all about your legs. “Arm drive is the forgotten movement of running. Your legs can only go as fast as your arms, because they’re working together in synergy,” explains Fearon. “If you can make your arms more powerful, it’ll enhance your speed. It’s also really good for improving core stiffness. As you start to fatigue during a run, your body will start to rock, wasting energy.” His go-to move, below, will train you out of it.
Exercise: Banded Arm Drive
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 30sec
Tie a resistance band around a post, then hold an end in each hand. Sink into a half squat, facing towards the band, then pump your arms, so you’re mimicking a running motion from the waist up. Rest for 20sec after each effort. “Being mentally connected to the run is crucial,” says Fearon. To add a meditative element to your 10K, try to keep your footfall quiet. Developing a lighter step also means you won’t be putting the brakes on every time your foot hits the ground.
Your Eqipment
Most people have a slight anterior (forward) tilt in their hips, which hinders running performance. Targeting the area with a massage ball will ensure your form doesn’t falter.
Your Instant Upgrade
“Being mentally connected to the run is crucial,” says Fearon. To add a meditative element to your 10K, try to keep your footfall quiet. Developing a lighter step also means you won’t be putting the brakes on every time your foot hits the ground.
Your Fuel
Not all sodas are off-limits. Add a pinch of bicarbonate to your water bottle: the University of Copenhagen found that taking 20g 90min before exercise is enough to buffer the production of lactic acid, reducing the burning sensation in your legs and helping you to push harder.
Your Numbers
12 per cent
Boost in speed when male athletes inhaled mint oil before racing. A fresh tip for your next attempt at a PB. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
5 minutes
Aim to maintain a pace 4 per cent faster than your target for the first five minutes. It’s your smartest pacing strategy (Strength & Conditioning Research).
How to Get Stronger
If the bench, squat and deadlift are the Holy Trinity of weight training, the last is surely God Almighty. “It uses a huge amount of muscle mass,” says strength coach Jason Coultman. “Not only is it the truest test of full-body strength, it’s also the best test of maximum output, as typically you can lift more than you would with other movements.”
But there’s a lot more to training than ripping the bar from the floor as often as you get the chance. Before you even look at a weight plate, you need to address your physique’s fragilities. Weak glutes are a common limiting factor and an area often overlooked by men. To unlock the PB-breaking power you need, Coultman advises putting your backside into it with a set of warm-up glute bridges, while stretching out your hip flexors.
It’s equally important to know when to give your body a break. Most people miscalculate their recovery time. “If you’ve been lifting heavy weights, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to shift as much two days later,” says Coultman. Forget linear progression and introduce a little variety: “For example, on one day a week you might lift 90 per cent of your max, then for the next session switch to 60 per cent with a higher rep count.” Use these lighter sessions to focus on your form. If your posture is bad, you’ll reduce your biomechanical efficiency and burn up extra energy through unnecessary movement. It’s time to take your power back.
Stronger Exercise
Practising the full lift is fine, but tailoring your training to address your weaknesses is smarter. For example, if you struggle to get the bar off the floor, try lifting it with your feet on a low box to increase your range of motion and activate more muscle in the initial phase. For most people, it’s the lockout that’s a sticking point, says Coultman. For this, you need to make block pulls your go-to. Let’s take it from the top.
Exercise: Block Pulls
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 6 reps
“Work at a range below the sticking point. If you fail from above the knee, work from just below the knee,” says Coultman. With the bar on two raised blocks, keep your core tight, drive your hips forward and pull your shoulders back to deadlift the bar.
Your Equipment
Flex your jaw muscles to boost your strength. In a study by Ramon Llull University, men who bit down on a mouth guard during exercises generated 12 per cent more force. Chew through your PB.
Your Instant Upgrade
Unsure why you’ve yet to break 150kg? Your hips don’t lie: “If you start with your hips too high, you’ll lose leg drive. If they’re too low, you can’t activate your glutes effectively,” says Coultman. “You want to lower until your shins touch the bar, then stop right there.”
Your Fuel
HMB is the best supplement you’re not already taking. Popping 3g 15-30min before a workout will reduce muscle damage and get you back in the gym sooner, according to research body Examine. Or, for a pill-free solution, wild meats such as venison and rabbit will help you raise your game.
Your Numbers
40 per cent
The University of Jyväskylä found that athletes who hit a plateau could restart their progress by adding this much weight to the bar and focusing on the lowering part of the move.
70ml
Good for more than just cardio, a shot of nitrate-rich beetroot juice can help weightlifters push out 20 per cent more reps (Strength & Conditioning Research)
Scarlett Wrench is the Senior Editor at Men’s Health UK.
With more than 12 years’ experience as a health and lifestyle editor, Scarlett has a keen interest in new science, emerging trends, mental well-being, and food and nutrition. For Men’s Health, she has carried out extensive research into areas such as wellness in the workplace, male body image, the paradoxes of modern masculinity, and mental health among school-age boys.
Her words have also appeared in Women’s Health, Runner’s World and The Sunday Times.