CONDITIONING FOR FAT LOSS

CONDITIONING FOR FAT LOSS

ELECTRUM PERFORMANCE
ELECTRUM PERFORMANCE 1
 CONDITIONING FOR FAT LOSS

Table of Contents
About This Program ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Fat Loss............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Warming Up....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Effort-Based Training ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Ramping Up....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Working Sets ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Training vs Working Out .................................................................................................................................... 8
Myths ............................................................................................................................................................... 10
About the Coach .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Support Group ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Exercise Technique/YouTube .......................................................................................................................... 12
The Workout .................................................................................................................................................... 13

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 CONDITIONING FOR FAT LOSS

About This Program

If your goal is to lose fat while you focus on conditioning, look no further! In this plan we’ll focus on general
fitness and aim to keep our heart rate up each session to burn as many calories as possible in a short amount
of time. And while we’re at it, hopefully you learn some things about resistance training and fat loss in the
meantime!

Fat Loss

It’s worth noting that weight loss and gain are driven by intake. If we lift heavy weights, we simply cannot gain
weight without also increasing intake. The reverse can be said about weight loss. If we really want to see
noticeable effects, we must find a sustainable way to decrease our intake.

This program will be a great starting point

for those that may be afraid of following a
progressive strength training plan - and is
infinitely better than nothing. But once
you gain traction, it may make sense to
lift heavy weights and take longer rest
periods. You want to preserve as much
muscle as you can during the weight loss
journey, and eventually this will require
greater loads. And never fear - at
Electrum Performance we have TONS of
plans that fit the bill for such a goal! BUT
while we have you here, we can learn
some important techniques, get our heart
rate up, and ideally lose some weight in a
way that makes sense to most people!

Something that is also worth noting for fat

loss is that we should prioritize protein
intake. This will help us preserve muscle mass while we shed fat. Ideally, we want to focus on forms of lean
protein - so that we can take in protein without much additional fat and carbohydrates (and therefore calories).
One of the best ways to do this is to find a protein shake that has over 20g protein per serving, and under 5g
fat/carbohydrate. Whey is a great place to start and can be a super useful to aid in weight loss - even if we
aren’t tracking macros. This can look like anything from meal replacement, to front-loading larger meals or
eating out with a protein shake or two. This can allow for long-term sustainability because it allows us to live
our lives while also limiting total calories consumed (due to how well protein contributes to satiety). Since
intake is paramount for changes in body weight, using protein shakes to limit intake is a great ‘hack’ that can
make weight loss far more manageable.

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While physical activity is very important for general health and should be a staple for weight loss, it cannot be
a long-term substitute to modifying intake/diet. There is definitely a lot of truth to the common phrase, “You
can’t out-train a bad diet.” This program is not intended to be the only answer to weight loss - but rather an
important piece that can move you in the right direction.

Warming Up

An extravagant stretching/warm-up routine is not absolutely necessary for any training session. That isn’t to
say, however, that we should just dive right into our first working set. If we keep these couple things in mind,
we can warm-up without wasting time and get right into our workout safely and effectively.

Firstly, traditional static stretching has not shown to decrease the risk of injury or improve performance. If you
like to stretch, we won’t dissuade it - but don’t feel any guilt if you don’t.

We should aim to get our heart rate up

and increase blood flow. You can walk
for 5ish minutes or use a piece of
aerobic equipment - but with the use of a
technique called “ramping up” this may
not be absolutely necessary. Again,
perform an aerobic warmup simply if you
like to.

The only activity we absolutely need to

perform, is something called ramp-up
sets. These not only prepare our body
for the exact demands of what we will be
asking of it but are also great technical
practice. Since we should cover effort-
based training first, we will expand on
ramping up in its own section below.

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Effort-Based Training

One of the most valuable skills we can learn in the weight room is the ability to accurately quantify effort. More
specifically, we want to quantify effort as it relates to muscular work (as opposed to other factors like sweat
rate, respiratory rate, or heart rate). It’s not that other factors aren’t important for general fitness, but rather that
they may distract us from the desired effect on our bones, connective tissue, tendons, and most importantly
muscle. There is nothing about our heart, lungs, or
sweat glands - that signal the above tissues to
remodel and get stronger. And with any strength
training plan, this is absolutely our most crucial
task.

The simplest way to quantify effort is to ask

yourself a question every time you complete a set,
“How many reps could I have performed before I
failed?” At first this may be difficult - we’re
attempting to estimate our proximity to something
we may never have experienced (failure). But with
time, experience, and practice - you can very
accurately determine this distance. We generally
call this metric repetitions in reserve (or RIR). I will
expand on the application of this skill in the
following two sections.

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Ramping Up

Ramping up is the only mandatory part of your

workout. Ramp up sets are defined as increasingly
difficult - yet submaximal - sets that you perform
leading up to your first working set. In general,
somewhere between 1-3 working sets is most
common, but you may require more depending on
your specific needs and the exercise you’re
performing. We don’t dictate exactly how many ramp
up sets to perform and expand on our reasoning
below.

While these sets may seem weird, they’re actually a

component of almost any sporting activity we see.
Let’s take sprinting as our example.

When sprinters get to the track, they may perform

non-specific warmups as they feel that they need to
(like stretching, mobility work, etc.). However, all of
them will then perform a light jog around the track -
essentially the very activity they’re competing in, but
at an extremely low effort level. Think of this as your
first ramp-up set, maybe performed with an empty
bar. The sprinter will then perform some fly-ins to
work into some higher speeds. From there, they’ll
likely set up their blocks and hit some explosive
starts.

It’s unlikely that every athlete will do the same exact distance jogging, or the same number of fly-ins, or block
starts. They are doing what they’ve found that they need to perform at their very best. Our ramp-ups are very
much the same for lifting. You may need a different number of warm-ups to best execute your workout, and we
encourage you to experiment with more or less sets to figure out what allows you to perform at your very best.

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And like the sprinters, we won’t really record your ramp-up sets either. The sets indicated in your program are
working sets ONLY - do the number of ramp up sets you need before performing the first working set indicated
on your sheet.

Before we know exactly what weight to select, ramp-ups will also be our means of finding an appropriate
working weight. Let’s say, for instance, that your program called for 3 sets of 5 reps for back squat. And let’s
say in this case that you’ve never performed back squats before (or have never really paid much attention to
reps in reserve). Begin with an empty bar and perform 5 repetitions. Ask yourself how many more reps you
could have performed. If your answer is greater than 5 reps, what you just performed was a ramp up. Do not
record this set on your sheet, merely add some weight and continue until your answer for RIR was less than 5
reps. This brings us to the idea of working sets.

Working Sets

Working sets should be stimulating sets -

or sets that will send the signal to your
body that it should change or adapt. This
is the very reason we’re training, so it’s
important to clearly define what does
send this signal.

As we mentioned previously, a set that is

within 5 reps from failure will stimulate
our body to change over time. Many
people incorrectly believe that simply activating a muscle will result in progress, and this simply is not the case.
If it was, we could walk up and down a set of stairs a few times and achieve the lower body of our dreams. All
of our lower body muscles were activated, so why won’t they adapt to this stimulus?

Our body is very reluctant to build muscle. If we don’t send the clear message that our body is not currently
outfitted for the task being asked of us - it simply will not adapt. This would be a clear waste of resources, and
our bodies are nothing if not incredibly intelligent with allocation of resources. So how do we send the
appropriate message?

There are many nuances to the contributing factors for hypertrophy (metabolic stress, mechanical tension,
etc.), but we can keep this quite simple. If we master the skill of quantifying effort and perform our
working sets within 5 reps of failure - we will be sending our body a clear message to adapt and
change over time.

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While training *to* failure is effective in the realm of stimulating adaptation, this is probably a bit too extreme for
a few reasons. Firstly, it will make our training sessions very unpleasant. Every set will be draining (mentally
and physically), and most people will quickly develop an aversion to training. This is obviously
counterproductive.

Training every set to true failure will also cause too much damage. Contrary to public opinion, the most
punishment you can possibly tolerate within a single training session is not the most effective dose of training.
We not only want to be able to train multiple times per week, but we want to be able to recover fully (or as
close to is) for the next session. For this reason, I have chosen training volumes that will not absolutely crush
you. It is your responsibility to make sure you don’t select loads or execute sets at too high of an effort level for
you to recover from.

For this reason, a general rule of thumb is that we should shoot for around 2 RIR for most of our working sets
once we’re comfortable with an exercise. When an exercise is newer, or we haven’t been training consistently -
an RIR of 4-5 may be ideal. But once you feel comfortable with the technique, and have been performing the
session regularly, you can ease your way closer to failure. Most people think that 2 RIR is easy, but truly being
2 reps from failure is a grueling effort level. Be sure to use spotters, bail-out bars, etc. while you’re inching
closer to failure, or to heavier loads.

Training vs Working Out

With Electrum Performance, we

always aim to train our clients,
as opposed to merely working
out. Working out can be any
activity - and is generally a good
thing. But by nature, working out
is less organized or focused, and
therefore can be inefficient if you
have specific goals. It may even
be a form of lifting weights - but
maybe it’s conducted in a way
that is “different” every time and
caters more to entertainment than efficacy. That isn’t to say that working out is completely useless or won’t
work. Some people enjoy things like group exercise classes for the social element, or due to the personality of
the coach, etc. And ANY reason to be active, is a reason to be celebrated. But some of us are left yearning for
more than just a feel-good sensation as it relates to our goals…

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Training, on the other hand, streamlines your efforts towards a specific goal. In this sense, it is the shortest or
most efficient path towards a specific adaptation. It often includes a degree of repetition, such that the body will
recognize a particular stimulus and adapt to it over a given time period.

Most of our training programs are performed in month long “blocks.” These blocks have a few different
workouts each week, but those workouts (day 1, day 2, etc.) will repeat from week to week. While this may not
be as entertaining as a different workout every session, it’s a way to ensure that we’re continuing to adapt in a
specific manner.

This is performed very similarly to how we train the

mind. When we attend college, for instance, we will
often have a semester of classes. Sure, throughout
the week we may have different daily schedules. But
that schedule will repeat each week of the semester.
We’ll have French at the same time every Monday,
and Chemistry at the same time every Tuesday each
week throughout the semester. This will allow us to
build on principles established in week 1’s class when
we attend for week 2. Sure, it may be more
‘entertaining’ to attend random class lectures
whenever we choose (and we’ll technically be
learning), but it may be hard to speak French fluently
if we had a trip to Europe at the end of the semester.
If we’re driven by results, we will have a degree of
repetition so that we can continuously build on the
progress we’ve achieved thus far.

In our case, each month-long training block is

analogous to a semester. We are able to build on our
exercise technique from week to week, allowing us to
improve technique and build upon what we did the
week prior. While many of us are focused on eventual
physique goals, increases in performance are the
stairs on our staircase we know of as our fitness
journey. We can’t simply jump all the way to the top of
the staircase, so let’s focus on each individual stair as
we get to it. Repetition will allow us to do just that.

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Myths

Let’s examine some common myths so we can nip

them in the bud!

First off, lifting heavy as a single variable will

absolutely not make you bulky. Lifting weights is a
catabolic process. The only way we can add weight
to a body is to increase intake - to eat more. Intake
(whether more or less) is what determines weight
gain or loss, and training status merely influences
how much of that weight change is muscle vs fat.
Don’t let the fear of bulking up stop you from getting
the most of your training!

Next, lifting will not negatively affect your flexibility. In fact, lifting throughout a full range of motion can
have positive effects on mobility. There is ample data to support this, and we regularly post counterexamples
on our social media accounts since we work primarily with fighters - where flexibility/mobility is paramount.

Maybe one of the most prevalent myths, soreness is NOT a good indication of an effective session. That
isn’t to say that we’ll completely avoid soreness either - but there are far more accurate (and beneficial)
measures of our progress within a program. The best indication is our performance week to week on our
primary movements. If we continue to progress in terms of output, other measures of progress will follow suit
(such as muscle growth, body composition, etc.). If we always chase soreness, we can negatively impact our
weekly activity level, and leave
ourselves fatigued for subsequent
sessions. And if we’re fatigued for a
subsequent session, our performance
will drop (remember that performance is
instead the primary indicator for
progress). That is why we supply charts
to track progress with any of our training
programs.

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Another common myth, if you’re “advanced” in the weight room, your programs will not be super
complex - instead, you will have mastered the execution of lifts and perform them at a high level. This
usually leaves advanced lifters with a rather simple looking program, albeit filled in with rather
impressive numbers. If you are actually very experienced at strength training, even 3 sets of 2 different
compound movements (performed close to failure) can be a very effective training stimulus. Of course, our
programs will almost always contain significantly more volume than the example I mentioned above. But we
absolutely do not need 30 working sets (or anywhere near that) in a single session to be effective. Quite
frankly, training volume like that is often counterproductive and will lead to a waste of time at best, and subpar
future training sessions at worst. Instead of thinking “how much can I possibly do in one session,” instead try to
ask yourself, “How much can I get out of this next set?” This shift of mindset will yield great results over the
long term.

About the Coach

Coach Alex Sterner is the owner and founder of

Electrum Performance - a training facility in San
Diego, CA, and an online training platform. Coach
Sterner attended the University of Connecticut and
graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2014.
But before graduating, he accrued over 1500
intern hours in the Division I weight room with 8 of
the varsity sports teams. It was this DI training
experience that he aimed to bring to the private
sector when he began his business in San Diego.

After moving to San Diego in 2015, Coach Sterner

began working with elite combat sports athletes -
beginning with the Atos Jiu Jitsu competition team,
and quickly expanding to other teams,
UFC/Bellator fighters, etc. Coach Sterner and his
coaching staff aim to bring evidence-based
training to their in-person athletes as well as their
online training platform - and do so by staying up
to date on relevant research, networking with
other evidence-based coaches, and attending
yearly conferences.

This combination of relevant research and in-person experience allows Electrum Performance to streamline
your efforts and prevent you from falling into common marketing ploys that plague the fitness industry. We’re
confident that our work speaks for itself, and welcome you to research our training facility, social media, and
online platform.

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Support Group

Anybody who acquires one of our online programs should not be left to “figure it out” on their own. We
welcome you to join our Facebook group of other like-minded individuals - just search “Team EP Inner Circle”
on the Facebook platform and request approval. Here you can engage with other members, see other form
checks/questions from similar products, and even submit your own form checks to be evaluated by our
coaching staff. We firmly believe this allows for the greatest value to be made from our programs, so come
check it out!

Exercise Technique/YouTube

Any exercises in this program are on our YouTube channel and can be very helpful to ensure you’re executing
our program safely and efficiently. Be sure to subscribe to our channel (Electrum Performance) for exercise
technique and other useful free training information.

Program Notes:

Exercises are numbered and should ideally be performed in the indicated order. When exercises share a
number but have a different letter, they should be performed in circuit fashion (perform 1A, then proceed to 1B
with little-to-no rest, on to 1C if there is one, etc.).

A Superset is indicated by the shorthand “SS” and means you proceed from one exercise straight to the next
with no rest. After the second exercise, rest fully (2-3 mins) before doing the first exercise again. The reps will
often be indicated with a slash between the two exercises (8/12 would be 8 reps on the first exercise,
immediately followed by 12 reps of the second exercise, and then rest) and you are welcome to record the two
weights on your chart with a slash between them as well.

A Drop set is similar to a superset, except that it is two subsequent sets of the same exercise - with the second
set being at a significantly lighter load. For instance, Cable Seated Row with a rep range listed as 8/15 would
be performed as a high-effort set of 8 reps - immediately dropping the load by a significant margin - and then
performing 15 more reps of the same exercise before resting.

Reps indicated are for each side. If it’s a single arm/single leg exercise and it says 8 reps, perform 8 on each
side to complete one set.

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The Workout

Day 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Exercise Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt

1 Goblet Squat
15 10 15 10
A

15 10 15 10

15 10 15 10

15 10 15 10

1 Inverted Row
12 12 12 12
B

12 12 12 12

12 12 12 12

12 12 12 12

1 RKC Plank
:20 :20 :20 :20
C

:20 :20 :20 :20

:20 :20 :20 :20

:20 :20 :20 :20

2 Dragon Fly
8/15 8/15 10/20 10/20
SS
8/15 8/15 10/20 10/20
Russian Twist
8/15 8/15 10/20 10/20

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3 Dumbbell Thrusters
12 8 12 8

12 8 12 8

12 8 12 8

8 8

4
4 3 4 3
Airdyne/Assault Bike
Sprint Intervals 4 3 4 3

(:20 on, :40 active

rest for indicated 3 3
reps)

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Day 2 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Exercise Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt

1 DB Walking Lunge
8 12 8 12

8 12 8 12

8 12 8 12

8 8

2 Cable Seated Row

10/20 10/20 10/20 10/20
(Drop set)
10/20 10/20 10/20 10/20

10/20 10/20 10/20 10/20

3 Lateral Heiden
8 8 8 8
A

8 8 8 8

8 8 8 8

3 Pushups
10 10 10 10
B

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10

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3 Dumbbell Row
12 12 12 12
C

12 12 12 12

12 12 12 12

3 Squat Jumps
8 8 8 8
D

8 8 8 8

8 8 8 8

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Day 3 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Exercise Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt

1 Kettlebell Swing
20 15 20 15
A

20 15 20 15

20 15 20 15

20 15 20 15

1 Flutter Kicks
15 15 15 15
B

15 15 15 15

15 15 15 15

15 15 15 15

1 Alternating Split
6 6 6 6
C Jump

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

1 Renegade Row
10 10 10 10
D

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10

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1 Sliding Mountain
15 15 15 15
E Climbers

15 15 15 15

15 15 15 15

15 15 15 15

1 Incline Power
6 6 6 6
F Pushup

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

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Day 4 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Exercise Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt Reps Wt

1 Dumbbell Bulgarian
8 12 8 12
Split Squat

8 12 8 12

8 12 8 12

8 8

2 Med Ball Side Shuffle

6 6 6 6
A Slam

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6

2 Reverse Crunch
12 12 12 12
B

12 12 12 12

12 12 12 12

12 12 12 12

2 Pushup + Shoulder
10 10 10 10
C Tap

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10

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2 Cross Crawl
20 20 20 20
D Superman

20 20 20 20

20 20 20 20

20 20 20 20

2 Jump Rope
1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00
E

1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00

1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00

1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00

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