Fortnight. No, not the insanely popular video game, silly. Rather, 14 days. That is how much time you have. Maybe there’s a wedding on the horizon. Maybe a school picture is coming up. Maybe you want to trim up for the high school reunion. Whatever the cause, you want to drop some serious bulk and you wish to do it in 14 days. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. Are you up to the challenge?
Most diets you read about will involve dieting, cardio, supplementation, and plenty of discipline for 8 or 10 or 12 weeks. Yes, diets that last this long involve slow adaptation to new limits on calories, greater caloric burning, and lots of patience. And they do work. But in this case, the target date is two weeks away, so you’re going to have to work fast. Let’s check out some of the bases you will need to cover.
Nutrition
First off, you have to attack your diet. This is the most important factor of them all. For a two week dieting blitz, there is only one way to go, and that is low-carbohydrate. Known as the ketogenic diet, you will be limiting your diet to 35 to 40 grams of carbohydrates per day, effective immediately. Enjoy eggs, beef, chicken, turkey, almonds, and plenty of net-zero carbohydrates like celery and lettuce. But you won’t be enjoying carbs like beans, rice, pasta or potatoes for two weeks. You’ll drop 3 to 5 pounds of water in the first two days of keto dieting, assuming you don’t go crazy from the lack of your favorite foods. Never fear, this is only a two week diet and you can do it!
Hydration
Without so many carbohydrates, your body is going to have a battle on its hands when it comes to staying hydrated. This is where drinking more water comes in! Most people tend to keep a water bottle handy and drink when they’re thirsty. For the purposes of this 14 day cutting phase, you are going to want to set a timer on your phone. Every 20 to 25 minutes that you’re awake during the day, you should be taking a few sips of water. Hydration is essential for many of the processes of your body, including fat metabolism. Always be drinking!
Supplementation
Give your body a boost during this fat loss period. There are a wealth of highly effective over the counter fat loss supplements available from reputable online stores like Primal Muscle which can help you train with more energy, cut food cravings, and boost the fat burning process in your body. Don’t be afraid to give them a try. The top physiques you see in fitness magazines and on the physique stages use them, and it makes sense that you should too!
Cardiovascular training
It’s time to put in those miles. Whether your flavor is elliptical, treadmill, or climbing up the stair-stepper, it is time to put in work. You will want to dedicate an hour to cardiovascular training, 6 days per week, for the next two weeks. Organize your day so that cardio isn’t an afterthought, squeezed in when the schedule allows. Rather, it should be a cornerstone of your day, designed to stimulate the fat burning process. It’s only two weeks, but cardio is a very important tool for shedding body fat and turning on your body’s internal furnace.
Weight training
You will want to utilize full body workouts, likely using the machine stations in your gym. Employing a circuit style training methodology, you will move form machine to machine, taking only a few seconds to rest between sets. You’ll train 4-5 days each week and you will hit every major muscle group with each workout. Keep the repetition range in the 10 to 15 ballpark, using a weight which is challenging but not too heavy. You’re looking to keep breathing at an elevated rate throughout the workout so that the fat burning process continues as you build muscle.
Rest & recovery
You’re at a caloric deficit. You are on the treadmill for an hour every morning. You lift weights. At some point, your body is going to pause for a moment and ask you for some much needed rest and recovery time. You will need to sleep more. You will need to rest more. Don’t plan on dancing the night away at a beach bar for the next two weeks. In the evening, after training hard, you should be kicking back with an Ipad watching the new season of “Orange is the New Black”. Give your body 8 or more hours of sleep each night with a nap when needed.
Activity
During the day, you will want to remain as active as possible at a moderate intensity to keep your body’s furnace going. Take the stairs instead of the elevator on the way into work. Walk the dog around the block instead of down the driveway. Take the scenic route when doing your grocery shopping. Keep your legs moving all day long whenever possible. Walking is your best friend during these two weeks of metabolic blasting!
Stress management
Work to keep your stress levels low during the next two weeks. It never feels good to restrict the foods you can eat, and the muscular soreness is going to start wearing on you as the days pass. Luckily, the target date is only 14 days away, so the end of the tunnel, that bright light ahead, is never that too far off!
Following this two week blitz, you may want to consider giving yourself a day to enjoy some cheat foods (in very small portions), and then continuing this diet for a few more weeks. See if you can apply even a percentage of the focus and intensity you used in the first two weeks, to those weeks that follow. You may discover that you like the results and want to keep this going. Good luck!
