Angela felt her confidence couldn’t sink any lower

We don’t necessarily prioritise weight training over cardio, but they do play different roles within a transformation.

In order to improve body composition, we nearly always need some level of fat loss and to do that we need to create a calorie deficit. It is very hard to do this through diet alone without being very restrictive, which can only be effective for so long. It’s also very hard to do this through exercise alone and one high-calorie meal can easily offset several hours’ work. That’s why we use a combination of reduced calorie intake and increased general activity levels to increase our deficit.

It’s important to remember that cardio is simply one option in the fat loss toolbox. There’s nothing magic about cardio; it simply increases the number of calories you burn in general (as well as making you better at that form of exercise).

However, it can also place competing demands on the body when it comes to adaptation and recovery from resistance training, which is why we tend to recommend low-impact forms of activity, such as walking, for the most part, and minimal or even no cardio in many cases.

Once we have created the demand for our body to tap into its stored energy, we need to make sure this comes from tissue we don’t want to keep (body fat) rather than tissue we do (muscle). Rather than simply to burn huge numbers of calories, resistance training functions to retain and build lean tissue during times of caloric restriction. This has numerous important implications for physical appearance as well as wellbeing:

• Improved aesthetic – think looking good naked as well as in clothes.
• Improved nutrient partitioning – you make the most out of the foods you eat and reduce the risk of conditions such as type II diabetes.
• Improved strength and reduced risk of age-related sarcopenia and osteoporosis.  Reduced risk of all-cause mortality.
• And the most important one… being able to eat more!

In summary, we create a calorie deficit through increased activity and nutrition changes. The level of this deficit determines whether we lose weight and how fast. We can then encourage the body to tap into body fat by resistance training, eating adequate protein and optimising recovery.

Most people fail in their fat loss attempts because they don’t have the right combination of effective goal setting, accountability and flexibility.

These three factors are the cornerstones of what makes the Ultimate Performance model so effective in delivering results for thousands of clients down the years.

We never impose goals on our clients; we listen to your goals and learn about your lifestyle. Then we work with you to develop a personalised plan that you can feel confident will help you to achieve the results you want.

We keep you accountable to your commitments and help you build strategies into your life that make them easier, not harder to stick to.

We help you plan for times when you need to be flexible, such as meals out, travel, and socialising.

And we work tirelessly with you around the clock, both inside and outside the gym, to not only help you achieve results, but learn the tools and skills to maintain them for life.

Our approach to fat loss is proven with countless clients worldwide of all ages and abilities. So, if you commit to the process and adhere to your program consistently, you will see the results you want.