8 Simple Habits to Get Leaner Than Ever This Year

Avoid Processed Carbs

Calorie-dense, nutritionally poor, and laden with refined oils, processed carbs should be avoided at all costs. There are simply too many health issues associated with refined carbohydrates, like insulin problems, increased cravings, obesity, and heart disease. 

As a rule of thumb, avoid any carbs that come in a box. Instead, favor whole carb sources like fresh fruits, potatoes, yams, brown rice, quinoa, and Ezekiel bread. When you go out to restaurants, skip the bread and order another portion of meat (which is actually tastier than bread, too). 

Strength Train at Least Three Times Per Week

The bare minimum for building overall strength is three lifting days a week, with a focus on heavy lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushes, rows, overhead presses, and pullups. These compound lifts spike your testosterone and growth hormone production, which builds more muscle and helps you melt that belly fat. 

Use the Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the process of the constantly changing one training variable, such as amount of weight lifted, in order to make performance improvements. Every time you do a workout, your body compensates and gets a little stronger—that’s your opportunity to put your body through more intensity.

Do a little bit more each time. Did you squat 250lbs on Monday? For your squat workout on Thursday, do 255lbs. If you took two minutes of rest after a hard set, take only 90 seconds the next workout. Or, if you pushed out ten ugly chin-ups, do ten good-looking ones the next time. Always improve.

Do HIIT at Least Once a Week

Lifting heavy weight builds the muscle in your body; interval training melts the layer of fat that’s covering those muscles. To stay lean throughout the year, add at least one day of interval training per week. Hop on a treadmill, stationary rower, elliptical, or spin bike and pump out 10-15 rounds with 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off.

This does three things: first, it’ll fire up your metabolism and create a huge fat burn. Second, this will spike your VO2 Max so you can workout harder and longer during your strength training and conditioning. Third, according to this 2014 study, it burns more calories per minute compared to continuous aerobic cardio.

Get a Mentor

Start 2019 on the right foot by finding a mentor. If you want to get stronger, consult a certified strength and conditioning specialist or powerlifting coach about a plan to get results. If you’re out to gain mass, a bodybuilding prep coach or professional bodybuilder may have some useful advice and/or training plans for you.

Or, just reach out to a personality you admire and see if you can call them up and ask them some great questions. Chances are they’ll enjoy sharing their wisdom.

Learn to Say ‘No’

This seems silly at first, but it’s huge.

Start saying “no” and defend your time against events and people that drag you down or frustrate you. Do you have friends that drown themselves in unhealthy eating and drinking habits? Start saying “no” to their invitations and you might find that you’ll be able to stay leaner this year.

Sleep Seven Hours Per Night

Sleep is non-negotiable. It rests the mind, gives your body ample time to produce growth hormones and testosterone, heals your muscles, and feels awesome.

To live a healthy life, maximize muscle growth, and keep body fat low, you must get seven hours of deep, restful sleep every night. In fact, a 2014 Wall Street Journal report suggested the optimal amount of sleep is seven hours, not eight. Keep your bedroom cool and dark, stop using electronics an hour before bedtime, and try to wake up at the same time every morning.

Train in the Mornings

Start every day feeling refreshed and energized by dominating the morning ritual. This is your year to be a morning workout type of guy so wake up and get after it. Whether it be cardio or weights, the heightened sense of alertness after exercise decreases stress levels and contributes to work performance.