Powerlifting Bench Press Techniques

   I guess since you are reading this article that you want to lose fat safely and as fast as possible. Well you are in lucky because this can be achieved! First you must understand that when a person goes on a diet they risk the chance of losing muscle along with fat. This is a very bad thing since it is muscle that keeps our metabolism elevated (other variables are involved too). In losing fat and keeping it off 4 thing are involved:

1) Restricting the number of calories you eat.

2) Eating the right types of foods.

3) Doing some type of cardio workout.

4) Weight training.



1)        First we must figure out how many calories our body burns everyday. Since everyone's bodies are different a little bit of adjustment is required. You can start off by eating your body weight X 15 if you have a "normal" metabolism. By "normal" I mean a decent metabolism that it take some time for you to gain weight and some time for you to lose weight. If you have a slow metabolism then multiply your weight by 14 and if you have a fast metabolism then multiply your weight by 16. For example I weight 180 and I have a normal metabolism, therefore my body needs 2,700 (180 x 15) calories per day to maintain my weight. Now we have figured out how many calories we need to maintain our present weight but for us to lose weight we must subtract 500 calories from our maintenance weight. The reason for subtracting 500 calories and not anything else is that 3,500 calories equals 1 pound gained or lost. By subtracting 500 calories we will have effectively lost 1 pound in 7 days. Not bad! The reason we do not subtract 1,000 calories or more is because our body will start to think we are starving and in turn slow down our metabolism.

2)        With the rest of the calories we have to eat the right foods and at least 5 meals a day. We can not simply go out and eat at McDonald's. The reason being food there is high in
fat and calories and your body will store those calories that are not burned. You should start off by eating 5 meals a day, each meal consisting of "good carbs", "good fats" and lean proteins. By "good carbs" I mean those from fruits and vegetables not candy, soda or any other sugary product. This will keep your body in a fat burning mode throughout the whole day. Sugary food tends to spike you insulin levels and tells your body to store fat not burn it. By "good fats" I mean fats from peanut butter, flax seed oil, almonds, olive oil and not from butter, margarine or anything that is high in saturated fat. You should also have proteins in each meal, this can be from skin less skin, lean beef, lean turkey, tuna, protein powder , etc. A general suggesting is to have 50% of your calories come from carbs, 30% from proteins and 20% from fats. But this depends on if you weight train or not. If you do weight train then you want to get 1 gram of protein per pound. So since I weight 180lbs, I should get 180 grams of protein. If you do not weight train 3 times or more per week you can have your calories come from  60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat.

3)        Cardio is your best friend when it comes to losing weight. Since it will help you burn more calories and more fat than just dieting alone. You should aim to do cardio first thing in the morning fasted, but if you can not then just do it when ever you get a chance. (If you are out of shape you should consult you doctor before doing any cardio) You want to start off by doing 20 minutes everyday if possible, but if you can only do it 5 day a week then it is okay. You want to be able to work yourself up to the point where you can do 45 minutes of non stop cardio. This doesn't mean 45 minutes high intensity! Go at your own pace. By doing 45 minutes of cardio you should be able to burn between 500 to 600 calories. This can mean losing another pound of weight per week from just cardio (500 calories burned x 7days = 3,500calories). This is why cardio is a double whammy punch when it comes to fat loss. Not only are you losing weight by dieting but with cardio also.

4)        The last thing is weight training and it is probably as important as the last 3 steps if not more. Weight training is going to preserve your muscles as you lose weight, this in turn will speed up your metabolism. We have all heard about people that lost a lot of weight, but then a year or so later had it all come back. The most likely reason is that when they lost weight they also lost muscle. This then slowed down their metabolism and when they went back to eating normally all their weight came back slowly. I am not saying weight train to get huge muscles, unless you want them. You should train at least 3 days a week working out 2 body part per day. For example day 1 you can do chest and back, day 2 shoulders and legs, and day 3 biceps and triceps. The most important thing is that right after you have weight trained you want to eat a meal high in carbs and proteins. I recommend 40grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs. But if this is too high amount of protein then you can lessen the amount to fit your personal needs.

   Sounds like hard work? Well it is to tell you the truth, but it has to be done if you want the body of your dreams in the fastest and safest way. This program works if you follow it the whole way. But if you only chose to do some things and not other then you will not get the results you want. Most importantly remember nothing in life comes without hard work. Best of luck! If you have any questions email us.