At-home training Diet starts in autumn! Tips on losing weight taught by personal trainers [Lower Body Edition]

When you think "I want to lose weight" or "I want to shape my body," that’s the chance to change! I asked a personal gym trainer for methods of muscle training that can be done at home (hereafter referred to as "at-home training"). Let’s start by strengthening the lower body, which is effective for dieting, and build a lean body.

Starting strength training is the perfect opportunity with the upcoming season!

What I was told by Rikiya Ito, a trainer at the personal training gym "WAPLE" in Komae. According to Ito-san, summer is a season where the basal metabolic rate tends to drop. Conversely, when summer ends and temperatures drop, the body gradually tries to raise its basal temperature, which increases metabolism, making it easier to burn fat.

Ito: "If you make strength training a habit while your basal metabolic rate is high, your body will look different when you wear lighter clothes next summer."<

Trainer Rikiya Ito from WAPLE Komae store.

I see! That's why autumn to winter is a "period that makes it easier to boost metabolism," making it a great time to start strength training.

So, what kind of training is effective for losing lower body fat?

If you want to lose lower body fat efficiently, you should start with "squats."

Ito: "If your goal is to 'lose weight' or 'boost metabolism', I recommend compound joint exercises that move various joints simultaneously. Among them, squats are the most effective."

Although it varies by individual, the muscles in the lower body make up about 65% of the whole body, so by incorporating squats, which engage large muscles, they can be trained efficiently.

Now, let's learn the correct way to do it.

Before starting squats, "find your foot width"

turn your toes outward about one finger's width

open your feet and turn your toes outward about one finger's width.

The gaze is directed downward, and while squatting like that

if you feel like you're going to fall backward or your heels are coming off the ground, adjust by opening your feet slightly.

Your feet don't necessarily need to be shoulder-width apart. Find a stable position that is close to shoulder width when you squat.

Check the basic movements of a squat

1. Stand without rounding your back.

Once the position of your feet is set, it's time to start the squat.

When doing squats, it is commonly said to "keep your chest up", but if you focus too much on your chest, you may end up with an arched back, causing your pelvis to tilt excessively forward.

To achieve the correct posture, it’s helpful to imagine "not rounding your back."

2. With a slight bow, lower your hips.

Keep your gaze downward. While maintaining the posture of a slight bow, lower your hips.

The key point is to put your weight on your heels.

Dropping until your thighs are parallel to the floor is a good guideline.

3. Return to the original posture

While exhaling, return to 1.

What if you’re not sure if you’re lowering your hips correctly?

In home workouts, it’s difficult to know your form without a large mirror. Therefore, there may be people who wonder, "I’m not sure how far I should lower my hips."

In such cases, it seems good to try using a chair once.

Stand about one leg’s length in front of the chair and try to sit down to a shallow squat with the correct form. Remember that feeling, and then it’s OK to remove the chair for the next attempt.

A guideline is "20 repetitions × 3 sets," and the timing can be at your own pace.

Ito: "First, please try to aim for 3 sets of 20 repetitions. The timing can be whenever you can continue without feeling pressured." By the way, if you have specific preferences, he's recommending to do it after waking up and later in the afternoon.

1. After waking up (after a light nutritional intake, such as protein)
In the morning, the hormone "testosterone," which is necessary for muscle building, becomes active, making it effective.

2. After lunch - during the day
This is the time when the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant over the parasympathetic nervous system, making the brain more active. Muscles are also more responsive, and the risk of injury decreases.

Make squats a habit and get closer to your ideal body.

I immediately started home training using the method I learned from Trainer Ito! First, I'll start during this effective time.

Personal Trainer Rikiya Ito

After graduating from a sports vocational school, I worked for 7 years at a major personal gym, "24/7Workout." While involved in the opening of new stores, I recorded the highest customer retention rate in the country. After that, I engaged in team development and management as the general manager of 5 stores, and I am currently the manager of the WAPLE Komae store. In the 2021 Fitness Star Tokyo competition, I placed 4th, and in the 2024 SSA Tokyo competition, I placed 2nd in the Sports Model category.

Personal Training Gym "WAPLE" Komae Store
Location: 1-5-14 Higashi-Izumi, Komae City, Tokyo
Business Hours: 9:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Regular Holidays: None
https://waple.jp/

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