Summer is finally over and I know many people tend to gain a few unwanted pounds in the holidays so I thought I would share with you an actual real life example to show you how you can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks and really kick start your fitness routine back into top gear.
So another summer has gone and like always I am thinking how quick it was. However in some ways it is nice to get back into a routine and start getting rid of some of the summer excess which I hope this post can help you do.
So at the beginning of this month a client of mine got in touch and said they had 2 weeks off work and wanted to use this time to lose some weight and improve their fitness levels. So after a quick assessment we agreed on a goal of trying to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Now this is quite an aggressive target and it is inevitable that losing this much weight quickly will result in some muscle loss so I had to design a workout program that would ensure that the bulk of this weight loss was fat and not muscle.
Here are his readings before we started training which I took on some Tanita body composition scales.
Weight 105.4 kilos
Bodyfat – 27%
How to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks – The Workouts
My suggested workout schedule was 6 training sessions per week however he could only commit to 4 sessions each week so I had to make sure that we got the most from each workout. Now the simple strategy to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks would be to do just loads of cardio each day but this can result in more muscle rather than body fat weight being lost so the better option is to follow a program of metabolic resistance training (MRT) with some interval type workouts. Now there are many ways to structure these types of workouts but here is the design I chose for this client. This framework has worked well for me and I recommend trying this structure in your own workouts.
5 mins – Dynamic warm up – My client had a lot of tension in his hamstrings, quads and shoulders so it was very important to make sure his whole body was fully prepared to start training
10 mins – Intense metabolic blast – This was a short series of exercises designed to really ignite his metabolism and keep it elevated throughout the session.
20 mins – Resistance circuits – A group of heavy weight resistance exercises done back to back with short rest periods.
10-15 mins High Intensity Intervals – To finish and really blast off the fat we would do 10-15 minutes of cardio intervals working for either 30/60/90 seconds high intensity followed by rest periods of either 30/60/120 seconds.
5 mins Cool down/stretch – To make sure no muscles had tightened up and work on flexibility.
This is how I structured our workouts for the week
Monday – Workout focusing on chest/back and abs resistance exercises
Tuesday – Workout focusing on Shoulder/arms resistance exercises
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Workout focusing on chest/back and abs resistance exercises
Friday – Workout focusing on Shoulder/arms resistance exercises
Weekend – Rest
In a ideal scenario I would have added a cardio workout on Wednesday and one over the weekend for maximum results. Remember this is only for 2 weeks so it is possible to push a little harder. If we were aiming for a slower normal rate of fat loss say 1-2 pounds per week then 3-4 workouts like this per week is enough.
An example workout.
This workout was designed specifically for my client and took into account the fact he had a lot of tension in the lower body so I decided not to do any heavy resistance leg exercises plus he had injury on a foot so we couldn´t do any running or intense lower body plyometric work. Also as we were training back to back days I did body split resistance workouts so the muscles would not get overworked and had time to recover. This workout was based around chest/back and abs.
Dynamic Warm up – I use a variety of bodyweight lunges, wood chops, press ups and mountain climbers warm up tight muscles and engage the nervous system ready for exercise. It also gets the heart rate going.
Metabolic blast – 3 circuits of the following exercises all done back to back with a 60 sec rest between circuits
Circuit 1 reps Circuit 2 reps Circuit 3 Reps
Jumping jacks 40 50 60
Pull ups/inverted rows 6 8 failure
Bodyweight squats 15 20 25
Spiderman push ups 8 10 12
Resistance workout A Set 1 Set2 Set 3
Incline dumbbell press 10reps 8reps 6reps
Barbell Bent over rows 10reps 8reps 6reps
Cross body Mountain Climbers 20reps 20reps 20reps
Resistance workout B
Standing Cable Chest press/Fly 12reps 10reps 8reps
One arm dumbbell rows 12reps 10reps 8reps
Stability ball ab rollouts 20reps 20reps 20reps
In each workout you will do all exercises back to back and rest 60-90 secs between sets. Increase weight each set as you reduce reps. The last 2 reps on each exercise should be a struggle.
High Intensity Intervals – Now you can use a variety of equipment for these including treadmills, bikes, rowers, elliptical trainers, bodyweight circuits, skipping ropes kettlebells, etc . However with my client he liked to do boxing so we did intervals working on a bag and using the pads.
Eg 6 intervals of 1 minute doing various boxing combinations on the pads and 1 minute recovery.
As you can see my client did have a decent level of fitness so I was able to push him hard with this routine. If this workout seems to intense for you at the moment then just remember this is just a framework that you can use to design a workout and take out or add in exercises to suit your own level of fitness.
On non training days I advised him to be as active as possible going for walks, swimming or playing a sport if he felt like it.
How to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks – The Diet
If you are going to hit this target then getting the diet right is critical.
The basic guidelines were pretty straightforward and included
Total calories for the day not to exceed 2000
We agreed on a 4 meal a day plan
No starchy carbohydrates permitted with meals eg potatoes, pasta, white rice etc except after a workout.
Only vegetables permitted as source of carbs in the evening meal.
Have a protein source with every meal – protein intake should be around 2g per kilo of bodyweight.
Only 2 cheat meals allowed in the 2 weeks
Non or only very limited levels of alcohol so long as it within daily calorie levels.
I then gave him my healthy meal plans to lose weight report which you can get FREE if you enter your details in the box at the end of the post to give him some ideas on how to structure his meal and snacks.
How to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks –Client results
So at the end of the 2 weeks we did another weigh in and the results he achieved were
Bodyweight – 100.7
Bodyfat 23.8
So we just managed to reach the lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks goal and lost over 3% body fat which is a great result, however this could have been even better.
The client only did 8 workouts over the 2 weeks and didn’t do any other exercise, well he was on holiday. Also during the course of the two weeks he went on a very late night drinking binge so the workout we managed to do the day after was pretty much a write off.
Regarding the diet he did pretty much stick to the guidelines but again as he was in holiday mode it was probably not as strict as it could have been.
In conclusion
Even though my plan to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks was not followed completely my client still managed to get great results. This was because during the workouts he worked extremely hard and gave total commitment, which is what you must try to do at every workout if you want the best results. Also we were using the best form of training for losing fat quickly which is MRT and interval training. In my experience these are best type of workouts to follow if you want to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks or achieve any other fat loss goals so if your not using them at the moment start now. If you want more workouts like the one on his article then please leavea comment below.
Good luck with trying to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks and if you need any more help please leave a comment below.
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