Compliance is one of the buzzwords within nutrition at the moment and has been for a few years. The idea being that if something isn’t at least in part easy, enjoyable and achievable for an individual with their lifestyle that they won’t comply long-term and it therefore becomes useless. For example, telling someone who works in retail on a shop floor that they MUST eat mackerel every two hours is unlikely to be easy to do. The smell, let alone getting the breaks to do it. Compliance is unlikely and thus they will fail. This is why individual nutrition plans need to be thought about and the clients needs listened to.

I saw an old client recently and we were discussing their goal and what they’d been doing, The truth was, they’d come away from their previous training methods (to achieve fatloss) to try some other training types and found these quite enjoyable. The discussion carried on and we were soon talking about them going back to previous training styles to help them achieve their original goal. And this got me thinking, why is just nutrition about compliance? What about training as well…

I know I have previously written posts about choosing the right training to help you achieve your goals. In particular, speaking about those only running with the aim of achieving a figure/physique that is lean and desirable; and stating that running alone is not the way to go about this. That in fact, weight training is paramount along with the correct nutritional guidelines to making this goal a reality. Yes running can play a part, but it shouldn’t be the whole. A run or two a week because you enjoy it can aid fatloss, but 2 -3 weights sessions a week is far more important to achieve that goal, because your body needs it.

However, it doesn’t mean that those weights sessions HAVE to be 3 sets of 10reps or bench, pulldown, shoulder press, squats, deadlifts, leg ext, leg curl. It also doesn’t mean that they can’t be! If that session sounds like a great session to you, go for it. Try it for 6-8 weeks. Try taking the weights up every week until you can’t hit the 10reps anymore and over the last 3-4 weeks try a dropset or rest/pause set after each set when you fail.

If that session does sound like hell, what do you like? Bodyweight? Great. How about 10 sets of 10 dips, 10 sets of 10 pull-ups, 10 sets of 10 deadstop press-ups and 10 sets of 10 pistol squats. Perhaps with some box jumps thrown in as well. Again, try it for 6 weeks. if it’s too easy, add reps or slow the tempo down.

You don’t like bodyweight? But you don’t like machines? You like Olympic lifts. Fine. How about a routine using squats, front squats, deadlifts, overhead press, push press, power cleans, Pendlay rows, rack pulls and if you can and want to snatches. Try sets of 3-5reps. Long rests and perhaps throw in some plyometric stuff as well. Again, you can do this for 4-8weeks.

My point is, there is NO perfect training for fatloss. You don’t have to do any specific exercises. Equally, there’s no specific programme. So if you HATE the programme you are doing, change it. Either find one you do like or employ someone like me to construct one around what you do like. You might find (like  a bespoke nutrition programme) it can’t be all what you like or you’ll be eating burgers and chocolate or doing all chest and biceps! A large majority of what you like, with a little of what you don’t to ensure there’s balance and we won’t get overuse or imbalances.

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The crux then is that training doesn’t have t0 be a chore. yes you need to use resistance, be it bodyweight or weights do really get a better figure/physique but it doesn’t need to be hours surrounded by dumbbells and lads in stringer vests. it can be a local S&C club with an Olympic bar. It can be a local park with pull-up and dips bars. Whatever you like, start with that and your compliance will go through the roof. Who knows where that will take you.