"A training program should also stress multi-planar, multi-joint, functional exercises because they develop intermuscular coordination, proprioception, and balance and result in strength that transfers to sports and daily activities. For example, the step-up exercise is superior to using the leg-extension machine because it offers functional strength for walking up a flight of stairs while carrying bags of groceries. For athletes who play foot-based sports such as basketball, the squat is superior to using the leg-press machine, since the squat is functionally more similar to the sport and requires greater balance and weight and body control in all three planes of motion."

Q: What applications are there for training efficient exercises in fat loss programs? What would you use in these programs?

A: Of course, there are many ways to skin a cat - I'll give you two very diverse examples.

a) Here's a version I adapted from Charles Poliquin's German Body Composition program that I used recently with a thirty year old fitness model.

She came to me training 6 days a week - her body fat was actually climbing, her strength was going nowhere and she was constantly sick. Obviously her training (which was the typical protocol you see in many bodybuilding magazines) was not efficient! I cut her frequency down to 4 days out of the week, added in some energy system training (i.e. interval training) to complement the strength work and made some significant nutrition and lifestyle changes. Here's the first of four programs that I used with this individual leading up to competition.

Day 1 - Mon & Thurs A1) Cyclist Squat 3-5 sets x 10-12 reps @ 4010 tempo, 60 second rest interval A2) Wide Pronated Grip Front Lat Pulldowns 3-5 x 10-12 @ 4010, 60" B1) Lying Leg Curl Feet Inward 3-5 x 6-8 @ 5010, 60" B2) Incline Dumbbell Press 3-5 x 10-12 @ 4010, 60" C1) Wide Stance Squat 3 x 20-25 @ 2010, 60" C2) Seated Rope Cable Row to Neck 3 x 10-12 @ 2012, 60" D1) Romanian Deadlifts 3 x 10-12 @ 3020, 60" D2) Seated Arnold Press 3 x 10-12 @ 3020, 60"

Day 2 - Tues & Fri A1) Bent-Knee Deadlift 3-5 x 10-12 @ 4010, 60"A2) Sternum Supinated Lat Pulldowns 3-5 x 10-12 @ 4010, 60" B1) Lying Leg Curl Feet Outward 3-5 x 6-8 @ 5010, 60" B2) Flat Dumbbell Press 3-5 x 10-12 @ 4010, 60" C1) Walking Dumbbell Lunges 3 x 20-25 @ 2010, 60" C2) Seated V-Bar Cable Row 3 x 10-12 @ 2012, 60" D1) Russian Good Mornings 3 x 10-12 @ 3020, 60" D2) Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 3 x 10-12 @ 3020, 60"

I won't get into all the details of this routine and why it so effective (there have been numerous articles and three books written on the subject if you are interested.) Basically, it involves pairing a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise using hypertrophy parameters.

After this one program alone, my client reduced the sum of 11 skinfolds by 63.2 mm total which equates to a 5% drop in body fat while losing 9 pounds in bodyweight with a slight increase in lean body mass. Not bad for a person who was in decent shape to begin with!

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