How to Do Glycogen Depletion Workouts

Step 1

When you're trying to get rid of every extra carb in your body in order to look as lean as possible, there's really only one surefire way to go: Glycogen Depletion Workouts. These workouts will maximize the amount of work your body does in order to consume all the extra carbohydrate-fuel your body is holding onto in the horrible form of extra weight. Check out the following steps in order to get one of these workouts done the right way, and be on your way to a leaner bod.

Step 2

The very first step to consider, although not entirely related to glycogen reduction, is the amount of water-weight your body holds. If you're after glycogen depletion, chances are very high that you're doing so in order to lose weight and gain definition. All of your hard work will be for nothing if you don't also reduce the amount of water that your body is holding (usually around the tummy area). In order to do this, simply cut down on the amount of water you drink throughout the day, and greatly reduce any sodium, as sodium causes your body to retain lots of water.

Step 3

Now that that little extra has been explained, let's really get down to the nitty-gritty of glycogen depletion. These workouts are fast, fun, and intense. You won't be pushing around a lot of heavy weight; instead, you'll be lifting a very high amount of sets, reps, and pairing those with a lot of speed and intensity.

Step 4

The process is the same no matter which muscle group(s) you plan to work during a glycogen depletion workout. You will go into the gym and perform one naturally heavy exercise, followed by five or six naturally lighter exercises. For instance, on a leg day you'll do squats, then leg presses, hamstring curls, leg raises, lunges, calf raises, and box jumps. The squats, although they are the "heavy exercise," will be done for five sets of 15 reps. Every other exercise will follow the same sequence, five sets of 15 reps, minimum. If you want to do more reps, that certainly won't hurt.

Step 5

The reason for these high set/high rep exercises is that they require your body to burn all of its reserve-fuel, a.k.a. glycogen. You'll be burning through these workouts in under an hour, which means you have to move nonstop. Since the weight isn't incredibly heavy, this won't be impossible. Just have fun and keep the intensity high. Doing this for a few workouts will massively deplete any extra stores of glycogen in your body, leaving you shredded and muscular.