Your Body Can Be Your Phase 2 Workout Buddy
During Phase 2 of the Fast Metabolism Diet, your body is primed to build layers of muscle that help set your metabolism on fire. It is also the critical phase to release that old historical fat.
You can build that muscle by lifting weights in the gym or using equipment at home, but you don’t need a gym membership or any fancy gear to get a good resistance workout. You walk around every day with the perfect gym equipment! Here are a few ideas to get you started using your body weight to build muscle.
When you are doing your cardio workouts in Phase 1, you burn fat while you’re working out. But your weight workouts in Phase 2 have an effect that lasts longer. That’s because building muscle stimulates the hormones that burn fat for you all day and night. Plus building muscle mass increases your resting metabolic rate. When you perform weight-bearing exercises, you’re actually creating little tears in your muscle — then your body builds new muscle in those spaces. So it’s a cycle of micro trauma followed by repair that actually creates muscle mass.
You can get get a whole body resistance workout without leaving home by mastering a few simple moves that rely on your own body weight.
Pushups
Pushups are excellent for promoting good posture. They also help lift your breasts and pectorals, which can feel the effect of gravity with weight loss. You don’t have to get down on the floor at first – you can make those pushups easier by putting your hands on any elevated surface, like a bench or the kitchen counter. You can even put your hands on a wall, walk your feet a couple of steps back, and do your pushups while leaning against the wall.
The lower you place your hands, the more challenging the exercise gets. Just make sure you keep your entire body flat as a board throughout, position your hands so your chest lowers down between them, and keep shifting those hands to a lower surface as you get stronger. This video from HealthFX Toronto gives you an idea of what to look forward to as you progress.
Squats
There are tons of leg exercises you can do at home, but squats are one of the easiest to get right. This exercise hits your largest muscles — your glutes and your thighs — all at once.
Practice perfect squat form by sitting down in a chair. Stop just before your bottom hits the seat, then stand up again. It’s okay to hold onto something for balance at first, but try to do as much of the work with your legs as you can.
Here’s your laundry list for maintaining the very best squat form possible:
- Stop when your knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle.
- Your knees and toes should always point in the same direction.
- Keep your weight on your heels.
- Remember, you don’t just sit down — you sit back and down. So go ahead and stick that bottom out behind you!
BuiltLean has a great video to help you make sure you’re squatting right. Once you’re ready for more of a challenge, you can hold any convenient weight–a plastic jug filled with sand makes a great improvised dumbbell–close against your body as you squat.
And remember, there are plenty of “work your body”, no-equipment cardio workouts you can do in Phase 1 too even if you have bad shoulders, a weak back, or creaky knees.
To Maximize Fat Burning & Muscle Building In Phase 2, Use My Specially Crafted Phase 2 Programs!
The Phase 2 FMD Intensive: Unlock Stored Fat
The Phase 2 FMD Shake: Unlock Stored Fat
During Phase 2 of the Fast Metabolism Diet, your body is primed to build layers of muscle that help set your metabolism on fire. It is also the critical phase to release that old historical fat.
You can build that muscle by lifting weights in the gym or using equipment at home, but you don’t need a gym membership or any fancy gear to get a good resistance workout. You walk around every day with the perfect gym equipment! Here are a few ideas to get you started using your body weight to build muscle.
When you are doing your cardio workouts in Phase 1, you burn fat while you’re working out. But your weight workouts in Phase 2 have an effect that lasts longer. That’s because building muscle stimulates the hormones that burn fat for you all day and night. Plus building muscle mass increases your resting metabolic rate. When you perform weight-bearing exercises, you’re actually creating little tears in your muscle — then your body builds new muscle in those spaces. So it’s a cycle of micro trauma followed by repair that actually creates muscle mass.
You can get get a whole body resistance workout without leaving home by mastering a few simple moves that rely on your own body weight.
Pushups
Pushups are excellent for promoting good posture. They also help lift your breasts and pectorals, which can feel the effect of gravity with weight loss. You don’t have to get down on the floor at first – you can make those pushups easier by putting your hands on any elevated surface, like a bench or the kitchen counter. You can even put your hands on a wall, walk your feet a couple of steps back, and do your pushups while leaning against the wall.
The lower you place your hands, the more challenging the exercise gets. Just make sure you keep your entire body flat as a board throughout, position your hands so your chest lowers down between them, and keep shifting those hands to a lower surface as you get stronger. This video from HealthFX Toronto gives you an idea of what to look forward to as you progress.
Squats
There are tons of leg exercises you can do at home, but squats are one of the easiest to get right. This exercise hits your largest muscles — your glutes and your thighs — all at once.
Practice perfect squat form by sitting down in a chair. Stop just before your bottom hits the seat, then stand up again. It’s okay to hold onto something for balance at first, but try to do as much of the work with your legs as you can.
Here’s your laundry list for maintaining the very best squat form possible:
- Stop when your knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle.
- Your knees and toes should always point in the same direction.
- Keep your weight on your heels.
- Remember, you don’t just sit down — you sit back and down. So go ahead and stick that bottom out behind you!
BuiltLean has a great video to help you make sure you’re squatting right. Once you’re ready for more of a challenge, you can hold any convenient weight–a plastic jug filled with sand makes a great improvised dumbbell–close against your body as you squat.
And remember, there are plenty of “work your body”, no-equipment cardio workouts you can do in Phase 1 too even if you have bad shoulders, a weak back, or creaky knees.
To Maximize Fat Burning & Muscle Building In Phase 2, Use My Specially Crafted Phase 2 Programs!
The Phase 2 FMD Intensive: Unlock Stored Fat
The Phase 2 FMD Shake: Unlock Stored Fat
