Perfectly timed fat loss (Part 1)

Exercises vary in effectiveness depending on when you perform them. Match the right workout with the right time for maximum burning potential

The clock governs everything, your ability to burn fat included. To get the most from your workout you need to be in the right place at the right time, performing the right exercise. By doing just one of these workouts – each burning 500 calories – every day for a week, you’ll burn that excess body fat. It’s all in the timing.

7-9am: Attack your fat stores early

Advantage: stamina

Don’t hit the snooze button – you need to be out of bed nice and early to maximise your morning fat-burn. You’re up to 7% weaker when you wake, so it’s best to go for a long bout of steady-state cardio over more strenuous interval or weight sessions. Perform any one of the exercises below, maintaining a speed that’s about 65% of your maximum effort. A constant pace ensures you don’t tap out your energy reserves and can train for the set time-frame. You’ll be in and out with a 500-calorie deficit before breakfast.

Stationary bike 34 minutes
Elliptical trainer 36 minutes
Rower 43 minutes
Run 35 minutes

12-2pm: Mix it up on your lunch break

Advantage: increased lung capacity

You’re awake but you still won’t have reached your peak strength by midday. Your body’s aerobic capacity will have increased by 4%, so a mixture of intervals and resistance training is ideal for this time of day. Do your cardio first.

Interval training Warm up for 4 minutes. Then sprint for 30 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, then go again. Go 7 times.
Weight training Do the exercises on the next post after another, resting for 1 minute between sets. Do 3 sets of 12 repetitions

5-7pm: Lift heavy when you're working late

Advantage: maximum strength

You may feel tired after a day’s work, but you’re at your strongest now. So go for a pure weights session. Perform a set of six reps with a weight heavy enough that you’re unable to keep lifting after the last rep. Research found it will burn more calories post-training than doing 12 reps of a lighter weight.

Weight training Do the exercises on the next post after another, resting for 1 minute between sets. Do 4 sets of 6 repetitions

8 easy shortcuts to big arms

Build strength and size in your biceps, triceps and forearms with these 8 time-saving, low-effort tricks

Start early

Target the muscle you most want to develop first: you’ll see 33% bigger gains in that area.

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Stress yourself

Bad day? Take it out on that stress ball. Squeezing increases the
strength in your forearms, essential for the big-arm moves such as curls and chin-ups.

Fast muscle, no weights

When you don’t have access to a gym, you can still hit every part of
your triceps using rock-back press-ups. Start in the regular press-up position, but instead of lowering your chest, slide your body back, bending your elbows. It hurts, but it’s a quick way to add visible size.

Count to 12

Use weights you can only lift for this many reps to stimulate optimal
arm muscle growth.

Fake it

... until you make it by building your lateral deltoids (the front of your
shoulders). These muscles are often underworked, which means they’ll respond with fast growth when targeted. This adds extra size around the top of your arms, making them look bigger. The best move is lateral raises. Lean forwards slightly and lift dumbbells out and up so your body creates a T-shape.

Switch up a gear

You may have heard about muscle activation before (think turning your muscles ‘on’ as you work them). The way to flick your biceps’
on-switch is simple: flex hard. Even if the move you’re performing doesn’t work those muscles exclusively, tense your arms and you’ll build muscle.

Be a poser

Bodybuilders do it for a reason: tensing in the mirror helps train your body to focus on the correct muscles during exercise. Tense your
triceps until you see them flex properly, then repeat this action when lifting. Fake tan is an optional extra.

Group dynamics

Forget isolating your forearms. You’ll add more size to them with moves such as the deadlift and upright row. This is due to the
combination of a strong hormonal response and greater loads on your grip. Combine and conquer.