Losing Fat For Teenagers:
A System Shock From Training, Cardio & Diet!
I want to start this article off by telling you I understand how you feel. Being overweight or having extra body fat as a teen can be very tough. As a young teen I was over weight and never liked the way I looked. After a while I decided I could do something about being out of shape. This is when started to lift weights and get more serious about sports, but for the life of me I was not getting the results that I wanted.
I seemed to be killing myself, and though I made some improvements, I never seemed to get the defined look I wanted. After almost a year of all protein diets, starving myself, endless running and lifting in my basement I decided enough was enough. I must be doing something wrong.
Does this sound something like what you are going through? If so, you're not alone, I get hundreds of emails a week from teens telling me this same story. Below I am going to discuss the proper training, cardio and nutrition to help you reach your goals. Sticking close to the advice I give you with each will help you maximize the work that you put forth.
Training:
- Our focus with weight training is going to be two fold, stimulate your muscles while also keeping your heart rate elevated. This type of training will both stimulate the muscles for
- and burn body fat.
- We will be training in the moderate to higher rep range with free weights, machines and bodyweight exercises. All exercises should be performed in perfect form because bad form or habits that you start now will follow you and will lead to lack of progress or worst off
- in the future.
Many if not all the exercises will be new to you so make sure that you use the Exercise Guide on Bodybuilding.com to help you with your form. The Exercise Guide will provide you with pictures and descriptions of all the exercise that you will perform.
Our rest periods will never exceed 60 second. Having short rest periods will keep your heart rate elevated and your body at fat burning levels.
Below is a sample workout program for a teenager looking to lose body fat. It is a three-day full-body workout split where I would like for you to take at least one day of rest between workouts.
Day 1:
- Bodyweight Squats: 3 sets of 20 reps, 45-60 Sec Rest
- Seated Leg Curls: 2 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Body Weight Calf Raise On Dumbbell: 2 sets to Failure, 30 sec Rest
- Pushups: 3 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest; do the pushups on your knees if you can't perform regular pushups
- Low Cable Row: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30 sec Rest
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Barbell Curls: 2 sets of 12-15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Triceps Rope Extensions: 2 sets of 12-15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Sit Ups: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
Day 2:
- Legs Press: 3 sets of 25 reps, 45-60 Sec Rest
- Lying Leg Curls: 2 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Seated Calf Raises: 2 sets of 20 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Flat Bench Press: 3 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Pullups or Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Dumbbell Side Lateral: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30 Sec Rest
- Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Straight Bar Cable Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Crunch Machine: 3 sets of 20 reps, 30 Sec Rest
Day 3:
- Smith Machine Squats: 3 sets of 20 reps, 45-60 Sec Rest
- Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 3 sets of 15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Body Weight Calf Raise On Dumbbell: 2 sets to Failure, 30 sec Rest
- Push Ups: 3 sets to Failure, 45 Sec Rest
- Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 12-15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Arnold Presses: 3 sets of 12-15 reps, 45 Sec Rest
- Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps with each arm, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Lying Triceps Extensions: 3 sets of 15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
- Captain Chair Knee Lifts: 3 sets of 12-15 reps, 30-45 Sec Rest
Cardio:
- To continue with the fat burning process you will have to perform regular bouts of
- . Cardio is a great way to both burn extra
- and condition your heart and cardiovascular system. You will find that with the extra cardiovascular training you are doing will help with your weight training. You will perform 3 types of cardiovascular training:
- Low intensity Cardio: 50-55% of your maximum heart rate for 30-45 minutes. This will be walking or very light jogging.
- Moderate Intensity Cardio: 70-75% of your maximum heart for 20-35 minutes. This will be jogging at a good pace for most people.
- High Intensity Interval Training: Sprint for 20 sec followed up by a 40-60 sec walk. Repeat this process 10-12 times.
The use of any piece of cardio equipment is fine. Running outside is also a great option.
- To start I would like you to perform 2 low intensity sessions a week, 1 moderate intensity session a week and 1
high intensity interval session
- a week. After 4 weeks add 1 more session of either moderate intensity or high intensity interval training, I will leave that up to you.
Nutrition:
- was my downfall when I trying to get in shape as a young teen. First off I had no idea what to eat and secondly I had a sweet tooth so let's just say I didn't eat too many healthy things.
You can work your @ss off in the gym, do your cardio and still make no improvements if your nutrition is not in check. For most teens nutrition is going to be the hardest aspect to keep inline. The reason for this is, the current diet of most teens entails too much fast food, fried food, snacks, sugar loaded drinks, etc... the list goes on.
- What I tell anyone when they are dieting is, "No one is making you do this, you are doing this for yourself, if you cheat on either
- ,
- or
- , you are cheating on yourself and no one else". Use this as
- to stick with your diet.
- Our goals are to maximize
- while maintaining as much muscle as possible, so we will have to eat a calorie deficit. Being a teenager and having a relatively fast metabolism your calorie deficit will not be too drastic. I want you eating 13 times your bodyweight in pounds to start. Eat 35% carbs, 45% protein, and 20% healthy fats. You will consume 5-6 meals a day.
- Below is a diet for a 180lb teenager looking to lose body fat.
Meal 1:
- 4 Egg Whites
- 1 Whole Egg
- 1/2 Cup of Oatmeal
- 1/2 Cup of Blueberries
Meal 2:
- 1 Scoop of Protein Powder
- 1 Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
- 1 Oz Of Walnuts
- * Blend together with
- and bring to school in shaker cup
Meal 3:
- 5 oz of Chicken Breast
- 7 oz of Sweet Potatoes
Meal 4:
- 5 oz of Chicken Breast
- 2/3 Cups of Brown Rice
Meal 5 - Post Workout:
- 2 Scoop of Protein Powder
- 1 Banana
Meal 6:
- 5 oz of Top Round Steak
- 1 Table Spoon of Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup of Spinach
Supplements
- are going to be very basic for the beginner.
- and a
- is all you should need in the beginning. I take
Vitabolic
- by
Nutrabolics
- once in the morning and again in the afternoon.
- Beginners need to focus on the basics. Once they have those down then they can worry about adding more supplements. Drop me a line on
- after 4-8 weeks on this diet and I will give you my thoughts on what needs to be tweaked.
I gave you a shake for meal 2 as I understand school can make it hard to get whole food meals in. Try to prepare your meals the night before and place them in Tupperware. Bringing meals to school is a must, no more vending machine snacks or lunch time specials. You are looking to turn a new page and create a lean mean machine.
Conclusion
Remember you are the one that wants to look better so make it a goal for yourself to improve your physique. You now have the pieces of the puzzle to reach your goal. All you have to do is commit to the process and follow through. Good Luck!