Strength Training for Fat Loss Kindle Edition

I recommend Strength Training for Fat Loss to my own clients on a regular basis when their goal is maximize fat loss through resistance training, to save time, and especially when the goal involves doing something different than traditional strength or bodybuilding-style programs. Nick teaches how to optimize resistance training design to give the best of both worlds - building strength and muscle along with increasing the metabolic effect of training to burn more fat at the same time.Metabolic weight training, circuit training and resistance training with complexes are very popular and not exactly brand new at this point in time - the basic concept has been discussed before in many other books and online programs. However Tumminello approaches the subject in a way that makes this book different.Even when his workout programs are time-bound, you can use what you learn in this book over and over again for life. That puts this book in the category of "great reference book" to keep on your shelf for life and refer back to it through the future.This is what I like about Nick's approach the most: He gives you resistance training templates, which means the general category of exercise (movement pattern), and then he fills about 90% of the book with exercise instruction, including excellent black and white photos. By keeping chapters on theory and background to a minimum and allowing so much space dedicated to explaining the exercises, Nick is able to do two things:1. All the basic exercises are included - Nick doesn't assume everyone knows how to perform a squat or lunge or Romanian deadlift, so he devotes space to these fundamentals.2. He also includes unique and unusual exercises that most people have never even heard of.Some examples: Angled rotary press with the end of an Olympic bar (aka "Land Mine" or T-bar), Liberty Press, Shovel Clean, "Uppercut" press, Break Dancer Push up, Core bar cable press, and so on.The mixture of the fundamentals and the unusual, lesser-known exercises ensures that you are unlikely to get bored. Also, by including the basics, the author has made sure not to turn this program into a novelty. Popularity of various fitness trends may come and go, and metabolic training is riding a high of popularity right now. But whether it fades or not, it is unlikely that this program will ever get placed in a training "fad" category.The exercises use the following equipment: barbells, dumbbells, a T-bar or barbell in a "land mind apparatus," kettle bells, elastic resistance bands, cable-pulley exercises, and body weight exercises. A bench and exercise mat are also helpful' There are even a handful of machines (not many though) where the best way to focus on one muscle is on the machine (lying leg curl for example). It's not necessary to own all this equipment if you train at home - you can use the exercise templates to make substitutions with whatever equipment you have available.As I mentioned above, Nick gives you workout program templates. I won't spoil the whole thing and give you all of them, but just so you know what I'm talking about, here's one example that's called the Big Four Circuit."1. Upper body pulling exercise2. lower body leg exercise3. upper body pushing exercise4. lower body hip exerciseAfter you've chosen a template, you can plug and play using the huge collection of exercises available in the book. What if you're confused and you still don't know which exercises to choose? Nick has taken care of that by including sample workout routines so you don't have to do anything but follow what's on the workout charts at first.After you've followed some of Nick's workouts verbatim for a while, you will understand the principles and templates and if you choose, you can keep using the templates and just plug in new exercises, and you have a whole new program on the spot. Here's what Nick has accomplished by taking this approach:A lot of consumers of workout programs do not want to deal with designing their own programs. The request (complaint) we always hear as trainers is, "Just tell me what to do! Just give me a list of exercises, sets and reps. As often heard in the cliche'd self help maxim, we sometimes refer to that as "Giving you a fish." This makes the client a happy camper, but is not necessarily in your best interest, unless you want to be dependent on a trainer for the rest of your life.Most trainers understand this need and desire for the instant gratification of having a workout program handed to you on a sheet of paper and simply saying, "Follow this." But they also understand the pitfalls of this approach - dependency and insufficient education. By giving you BOTH - workout templates with exercises to plug into the slots - and specific, done-for-you workouts, Nick's is also "Teaching you to fish." You get the best of both worlds.My closing comments: There is a very brief section on nutrition, but this book is a training program, not a diet program. In the span of one very short chapter, you'll get the absolute most basic nutrition fundamentals for fat loss, advice on the 4 types of fad diets to avoid, and lists of commonly eaten healthy foods. No heavy pitch for supplements either, only a passing mention of a few like creatine, that are support with evidence, which is a big plus in my book.In the last chapter (10), Nick closes out with "Fat Loss Training For Life" which is important and makes sense to re-emphasize at the end, given his template-based approach.If this style of training (metabolic resistance training), fits your goals and personal preferences, you can't go wrong with this book. Overall 5 stars.I purchased the paperback version and was not asked to write this review.

First, unlike most of the people who have obviously stacked reviews here, I'm not a trainer, I don't work in the fitness industry, and I don't know Nick Tumminello. I have bought some of his other products, read some articles, and watched his videos. It's because of this that I bought Strength Training for Fat Loss.Second, I REALLY wanted this program to work for me but in the end it just wasn't a good fit.POSITIVES:Nick's philosophy about fat loss, strength training, and nutrition was spot on and will be invaluable for those who are new to training/nutrition. I also appreciate his no BS writing style. So many books on training/diets/nutrition are filled with marketing and selling schemes by the author so it's refreshing not to see this in Strength Training for Fat Loss.I also appreciated the huge variety of exercises. Seriously, there are several chapter dedicated to descriptions, photos, variants, etc.NEGATIVES:For me I hit a road block when I got to the workouts (Chapter 9). It's pretty inflexible, i.e. you're lifting 4 days/week and there aren't any options for a 3 day, whole body routine. I've done a variety of training protocols over the years (3-, 4-, and 5-days per week) and for me my body tends to do better with lifting 3 days/week and it's more conducive for juggling work, family, etc. If there was a 3-day option I would've been satisfied.What's also missing from this program is a support service. If you have questions, concerns, need clarification, etc. there's no forum community to discuss Strength Training for Fat Loss or contact Tumminello. I may have missed it but I didn't even find an email link. And let's face it, fat loss is not fun and for many people so a support vehicle can be critical for getting over the speed bumps. For me, I had several questions regarding the training templates. I also have some preexisting conditions with regards to my back and shoulder so it would have been great to get suggestions about substitutions exercises.I liked Chapter 3 on nutrition and agree that in the long term the "No-Diet" approach is necessary. However, IME/IMO not tracking calories when beginning a fat loss program (or any program) isn't the right way to go, especially if this is all new to you. Everyone knows that your nutrition program will drive your training/physique goals so you could burn a lot of time in the gym without seeing measurable results if you're off base on what/how much you're eating. I'd rather track my food intake for a few weeks to make sure I'm fine and then lay off if I feel comfortable doing so, than find out after the fact that I was messing up.I'd revise my rating/review if the issues were addressed with having a more flexible training format (full body vs. split), as well as a dedicated support community for people who are going through the program. If not, I'll be sending the book back for a refund. It's too bad though, I really wanted to support Tumminello in this but in the current format his program just isn't for me.

I've been following Nick's Facebook page for a little while, but I've never met him real life. I work as a trainer and a massage therapist in Clackamas, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. When I saw that Nick came out with this book, I decided to purchase the Kindle edition to see what I would learn. I like his no nonsense approach when it comes to the claims and propaganda that are pushed in the fitness industry, so I thought the book would be worth the purchase. Plus the gym where I work is CPC Fitness and Fat Loss where our main goal is strength training and HIIT, so I felt the purchase was pretty appropriate.And it most definitely was.I don't think I learned anything too crazy, but that's because I've been at this for a while, but he is straightforward and logical with his approach and I appreciate that in this book. He provides tons of exercise examples and templates for not only the workouts, but the warm ups and cool downs. I felt like this book opened a can of creativity worms for me a little and I just sat down and wrote 4 warm-ups using 8 different exercise for each warm up using both the exercises Nick provides in this book combined with other warm up movements that I use, with the option to write at least 3 more just by varying the exercises and maybe adding in a few more. And that doesn't even go into how many potential exercise templates I could create with the approximately 20 he provides, along with variations of those with the addition of other exercises I know and use. This is sort of a gold mine in that sense. I appreciate the work that was put into this and the renewed spark for adding that layer of creativity to my programs.Thank you, coach.

I've gotten on really well with this book, but you do need to take the time to read it to fully understand the training concepts before you dive in. It is written in plain language and I found it easy to follow and understand but this is perhaps not the ideal book if you just want to start the workouts immediately.Having said that, this book has revolutionised my workouts in the gym. I am much more organised, driven and the workouts are so much more intense. I love the variety of the workouts, and I have learned to use a lot more of the equipment in the gym with confidence - I actually quite enjoy working out now! Perhaps most importantly, I have shed more weight, and toned up more in the past couple of months that I had achieved in the past year - this book has really made a big difference for me!

As a PT I've found this book as a great resource, I even set my own workouts around the contents. I've had clients drop 4 dress sizes and maintain muscle tone, and another beat his body fat target by 3% in the target timeframe he gave me. You will get results from the workouts in this book, just get your workout intensity right and stay on top of nutrition and you could get away with having just this one book in your collection.

Author really knows his stuff but the book has not been put together badly it is difficult to fully access fully all the information and plans. Shame.

As I was used to strength training I just pitched in and used the four workouts suggested.Found them challenging but great fun and, most importantly for fat burning, they burn lots of calories.

Some good ideas in this book with illustrative photos (a bit basic but good enough) Takes you through the science then gives you a bunch of workouts to choose from , with different focuses depending on your needs. Its not the favourite of my fitness books but handy to have