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The 5-4-3-2-1 fat-loss rule

5 days active · 4 structured sessions · 3 sweaty · 2 strength · 1 very-high heart rate.

Galpin's rule of thumb for fat loss: be active five days a week (walking, your job, anything — rest days are fine too); do structured exercise four days; train hard enough to sweat on three of them; lift on two; get your heart rate really high on one.

Exercise doesn't burn as much as machines claim and the body compensates ('adaptive thermogenesis' — total expenditure plateaus at high activity), so nutrition drives the deficit; but people who exercise during a diet are consistently better at keeping the fat off. Sleep restriction pushes what you lose toward muscle; HIIT during restriction partly protects it.

The Day log has the five boxes; Trends shows the weekly scorecard.

Sources · 4

The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenanceSwift DL, Johannsen NM, Lavie CJ, Earnest CP, Church TS · 2014Exercise alone yields modest weight loss, but is strongly tied to keeping weight off — matching Galpin's 5-4-3-2-1 rationale.Constrained total energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation to physical activity in…Pontzer H, Durazo-Arvizu R, Dugas LR, et al. · 2016Total daily energy expenditure plateaus at high activity — the 'adaptive' compensation Galpin describes.The effect of sleep restriction, with or without high-intensity interval exercise, on…Saner NJ, Lee MJ, Pitchford NW, et al. · 2020Five nights of 4 h sleep reduced muscle protein synthesis ~18%; HIIT during restriction preserved it.The effects of physical activity on sleepKredlow MA, Capozzoli MC, Hearon BA, Calkins AW, Otto MW · 2015Regular exercise modestly improves total sleep, efficiency and deep sleep.

Related topics

Exercise, RHR & energySleep, appetite & fat loss

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The 5-4-3-2-1 fat-loss rule?

5 days active · 4 structured sessions · 3 sweaty · 2 strength · 1 very-high heart rate.

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Educational summary of published research, not medical advice. Screening scores are not diagnoses. If a score is elevated or you feel unwell, talk to a clinician.