Gaining muscle is hard, keeping it isn't as hard.
Losing fat is hard, maintaining a healthy-low body fat isn't as hard.
Still a challenge... but not as hard.
Which is why today's idea is about how to "stay in shape", not "get in shape".
To gain muscle, apply progressive overload and eat more than your body needs.
To lose fat, ensure that you haven't been chronically cutting your calories until your body has become accustomed to surviving on little food, then apply a calorie deficit by eating less than your total energy needs.
Back to staying in shape...
Unless you're an athlete or your intentions with training span beyond physical appearance (love the feeling, gives you energy or enjoyment...), you don't need to be training 6 days a week for 90(+) minutes.
You just don't.
Zoom out and think about where your priorities lie, and decide how much time you actually need to spend exercising.
I'll give you an example; both myself and many of my clients are heavily work focused. In this case it makes no sense from a time perspective to train like an athlete.
How do I recommend they train (which is how I currently train myself)? 3 days a week with full focus in each session. More than enough.
Alternatively, if you like the structure of training more frequently, focus your attention on the compound movements - lift heavy and train hard - then leave after a few exercises.
My alternative method of training that I dip in and out of, when time is of the essence.
What about nutrition?
In my honest opinion (having also worked with 890+ clients) there are two simple strategies to employ:
1. Fasting, or pushing back your first meal and not eating a few hours before bed.
2. Starting the day low-carb, introducing carbs throughout the day
(Or a combination of both)
In doing so you either restrict your eating to a small window of the day, or you replicate many of the effects of fasting by maintaining a state without incoming carbohydrates - restricting your carbohydrates to a smaller window of the day.
Don't get me wrong, food isn't bad, and carbs aren't bad; that's not what I'm getting at.
But once you start eating carbohydrates you push the first domino in a series of events that lead you to want more carbohydrates, and crave more food, unlike fasting or starting the day low-carb.
That's just my take.
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