NEED HELP WITH BURNING FAT?

📚 This post is an iWannaBurnFat Classic
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The serratus anterior is a muscle located on the surface of your first 8 ribs, at the side of the chest. The main functions of the serratus is to stabilize the shoulder when you upwardly rotate and protract the scapula. It's also often called the boxer's muscle since boxers heavily use the serratus during punching movements. So it's an important muscle for shoulder stabilization.
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To properly stimulate the serratus, incorporate horizontal and vertical push exercises in which the scapula moves freely. So if we take an exercise like push-ups, while performing the push-up, allow your scapula to protract at the top portion of the movement. Try not to have very stiff form in which you allow minimal scapular movement. The serratus anterior will stabilize the shoulder as you move in and out of protraction.
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For a vertical push, the shoulder press is a good movement you may already perform that helps target the serratus anterior. While pressing the weight, allow the shoulder blades to upwardly rotate freely. Limited range of motion use during the overhead press decreases serratus anterior involvement. Using complete range of motion and pushing all the way up is the way to go.
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If you incorporate exercises like full range of motion push-ups and overhead pressing into your program, the serratus anterior will be stimulated well. If the serratus is currently a weak point of yours, it is also possible to do additional serratus focused exercises like Serratus Push-Ups or Cable Punches.
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Background music by @iamryanlittle ...

🧠 Mental Imagery
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There is interesting research about mental imagery and sports performance [1]. By visualizing yourself performing a certain movement before actually doing it, you can mentally practice the motor skills involved in a certain lift.
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Let's take the squat, for example. Instead of just putting a bar on your back and lifting the weight up/down, you can benefit from actively thinking about "how" you will squat. Visualize the way you unrack the bar, how you will go down, essentially walking through your desired squat form in your mind.
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Visualizing how you will perform a movement likely will help you master the form better. Since you may have improved technique when making use of mental imagery, your lifts are also more efficient and this can benefit strength performance. As an example, in a 2012 study, researchers found that mental imagery helps improve leg press performance [2].
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Now, to make the mental imagery effective, it is a good idea to mimic the conditions you are in when performing a task. So you can practice mental imagery in between sets and/or during your warm-up to mentally prep yourself for lifting weights.
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References:
1. Richter, J., Gilbert, J. N., & Baldis, M. (2012). Maximizing strength training performance using mental imagery. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 34(5), 65-69.
2. Lebon, F., Collet, C., & Guillot, A. (2010). Benefits of motor imagery training on muscle strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(6), 1680-1687. ...

🔊 About Meal Frequency
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When you consume food, your body expends energy to digest and process the nutrients in your diet. This is known as the "thermic effect of food" (TEF) [1, 2]. A common misconception is that you need to consume several smaller meals per day to maximize the thermic effect of food for a "faster metabolism". But in actuality, we can be more flexible with meal frequency for fat loss. Swipe left for more details.
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In one research review, it was found that the thermic effect of food is not influenced by meal frequency when you equate for total daily calorie intake [3]. This helps explain why there's research showing that a low meal frequency does not slow down your metabolism or decrease fat loss if calories are controlled [4].
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More recent research on intermittent fasting supports that we can be flexible with meal frequency for fat loss. Whether you eat all your calories in a narrow eating window or consume frequent meals, fat loss is similar [5].
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All in all, maintain a meal frequency that works for you. For some people, having small meals throughout the day helps with hunger control. Others prefer to eat less frequently and have larger meals. Both approaches work, as long as you stay in that calorie deficit.
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📚 See the last slide for scientific references! ...

🔊 About Training Breaks
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If you got some nice summer trips coming up or perhaps for some reason you need to take a break from training, some people are concerned about muscle loss. Fortunately, your body does not lose muscle overnight. Swipe left for practical muscle maintenance tips.
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First, how long can you go with no training before losing muscle? A 2017 study found that when trained individuals take 2 weeks off from strength training, muscle size does not significantly decrease [2]. Another research review takes this a bit further and suggests that training breaks up to 3 weeks do not significantly influence muscle size [3]. The reason you may feel smaller when you take a week or two off from the gym may be related to a decrease in muscle glycogen stores, making your muscles appear somewhat smaller [4]. But in terms of actual muscle size, this can be maintained for multiple weeks without training.
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Now, what about if you have a long trip planned, how much training would you need to maintain muscle. In a recent 2021 research review, it was found that with just 1-2 workouts per week, you can maintain muscle for at least 32 weeks. Younger athletes were able to get away with 1 workout per week, whereas older populations may need 2 workouts per week to maintain muscle size. So if you are satisfied with your results and would like to maintain your size, for the time being, aiming to have say 1-2 full-body workouts per week is a good aim.
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📚 Check the last slide for references! Background music by @iamryanlittle ...

💪🏼It's been a while since I posted home-workout content! So in today's post, I will share different bodyweight (or backpack) exercise options that you can do if you train at home or whenever you are traveling and don't have gym access. As you can see, it is possible to train the major muscles of your body with creative exercise selection.
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First, we begin with exercises for the chest & triceps. Different push-up variations can be used. Based on your level of advancement and what part of the chest you want to target, you can choose the push-up variation that suits you best. For training shoulders, this is where Pike Push-Ups can play a big role. But you can also use a backpack filled with books/water bottles to train the side and rear delt raises. You typically don't need a lot of weight to make side/rear raises challenging.
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Now, about the back, training back is tricky without any equipment. If you have a bar to hang from, you can do pull-ups and inverted row variations. These 2 movements alone will allow for proper lats and upper back stimulation. You can also try inverted rows on a sturdy table (but only if the table is REALLY sturdy since this is risky lol). With no equipment, there are some exercise options like Superman Circles & Supine Push-Ups. These movements are not the most effective, but better than nothing.
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For training legs, I have added an exercise for each major muscle group of the legs. The Bulgarian split squat is a great challenging movement that mostly targets the quadriceps. For the hamstrings, doing Towel Hamstring Curls is a great option (this only works if you can slide on the floor). For the glutes, we have 1-legged hip thrusts. Lastly, on the last slides, you can find some abs exercises + an example workout. ...

🎬 New YouTube video about "Flexible Dieting" is now live! I discuss 5 science-based tips to help you make your fat loss phase a more enjoyable process. Visit the link in my bio or go to YouTube.com/iWannaBurnFat for more details.
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In the rest of this post, I will discuss a few of the key tips from the new video.
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Fat loss is often associated with a "strict" diet in which there are many rules and no room for enjoyment. My philosophy is different. A fat loss process should be an individualized experience in which the training and nutrition approach is tailored to someone's lifestyle and preferences. Because as long as you have a few key principles in place, you can lose fat with many different approaches.
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Let's take meal frequency as an example. It's often believed that you need to eat every few hours to keep your metabolism "running".  But if we look at the research, as long as your calorie intake is in check, you can also lose fat with a low meal frequency [1]. Intermittent fasting research confirms that you don't need very rigid eating times in order to progress [2].
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Another area in which you can be flexible is your carbs and fat intake. A 2017 research review gathered the findings of 32 highly controlled nutrition studies [3]. The review found no significant fat loss differences between high-carb and low-carb diets when calorie and protein intake were matched. So as long as your calories and protein are in check, you can tailor your carbs/fats ratio to your preference [4].
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It's also common for people to have very strict food rules, like not eating bread. But we know from research that imposing strict food rules tends to do more harm than good. Incorporating foods you enjoy into your diet helps you stay more consistent, resulting in better long-term progress [5].
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To learn more about Flexible Dieting and how to design a sustainable fat loss phase, visit the link in my bio to check the new video!
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📚 References:
1. PMID: 19943985
2. PMID: 30583725
3. PMID: 28193517
4. PMID: 28765272
5. PMID: 22209501 ...