Struggling to lose 20-30lbs of body fat? Well, the Kinobody's "Aggressive Fat Loss Program" suggests you can do just that.
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program offers an aggressive way to help you shed body fat in 8-12 weeks while minimizing muscle loss. This 12-week maximum fat loss program has you lifting twice per week with the overall goal of maintaining muscle and strength levels, while also integrating one to two cardio sessions a week (40-60 minutes long) to help aid in body fat loss. The key player in all this is the aggressive fat loss diet plan, which is the most critical aspect of getting results.
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is a short-term program that offers lifters a straightforward program to attack body fat loss through an aggressive fasting and restrictive diet, with weight training workouts being used to maintain muscle and strength (cardio is to be done as needed, and should be low intensity). In other words, no HIIT or excessive running is required.
In addition to the program, Kinobody offers you their method on how to shed body fat quickly (8-12 weeks), and transition out of that phase to minimize weight regain. It also offers a wide variety of bonus workout material, workout substitutions, and exercise demonstration videos to further enhance the lifter's experience and results.
That said, I did find some flaws in Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program that are worth discussing more in-depth.
Why This May Not Be The Best Program For You…
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is all about attacking body fat loss through a fasting and restrictive diet plan, one that when followed can keep you lean and strong (if you also do the workouts).
In this program, you will eat two main meals a day (one very large meal, and one small meal, with fruit or bone broth as "snacks"), fast until lunchtime or early afternoon, and train with weights two times a week.
The nutritional breakdown of macronutrients and calories does have some merit, however, their approach is very straightforward and may have limitations for most people starting out.
If not right away, many people will find themselves in a rut a few weeks/months down the road, as the program is pretty restrictive with the eating schedule.
Here are a few flaws that really stood out to me:
1. The Program Itself Is Based on a Fasting Diet and a Restrictive Eating Schedule.
While fasting is one strategy that can be used in weight loss, it has not been proven to be any more effective at body fat or weight loss than a balanced diet that restricts calories at regular intervals.
Furthermore, some individuals may flourish with fasting because it has hard lines that they shouldn't cross (do not eat prior to "x" time).
However, it is not a very sustainable way of eating and can often lead to weight regain once the diet is stopped (unless individuals are properly trained and educated on how to reintroduce foods and regular eating habits back into their lives).
2. The Program Is Only Two Weight Training Sessions per Week.
Kinobody's stance is that you will have little energy to train as hard as you would on another program due to the aggressive diet and undereating of calories (its aggressively cutting calorie intake, and it does it quickly).
By training only two days a week with weights, you end up training extremely low amounts of volume, even far lower than typical maintenance volumes on most other plans (which they do say, and I agree, that you cannot train with as much volume as you normally do when you eat more).
However, the volume in this program is very, very low. This could lead to increased muscle loss, weakness, and frustration when you are done with the aggressive weight cut and are left with less muscle than you had in the first place.
3. Could Be a Less Effective Way of Preserving Muscle Mass During a Weight Loss Period.
The program, due to its aggressive fat loss eating schedule, and training plan, is a less effective way of preserving muscle mass compared to a more conservative, longer-term, less restrictive, and progressive approach.
This is especially the case for the more advanced lifter looking to minimize as much muscle loss as possible during the fat cutting process
4. Exercises And Workouts Get Repetitive
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program repeats the same two workouts every week, for 8 weeks straight.
Each 8-week cycle does change workouts, however, they are still very, very similar. While you don't need to be changing things up on a weekly basis, having some fresh movements and variations in there every 4 weeks or so can do wonders for stimulating new growth, and keeping you motivated to hit the gym on such an aggressive diet plan.
If you are someone who is looking to have success on a program that is less than five days per week yet still offers variety and an effective strategy to gaining muscle, you should check out the Fitbod app. With the Fitbod app, you can choose the training frequency that meets your needs and find an effective workout regimen that will help you reach your goals.
5. Nutrition Recommendations Are Basic
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program offers basic recommendations on how many calories one should eat based on their weight, and also provides the macronutrient breakdowns (typiclaly 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein).
While these recommendations may work for some, they take into little consideration the starting point and initial calorie intake of the individual, their daily activity levels (NEAT), and initial body composition levels; all of which will drastically impact the initial caloric intake amounts.
To recap, the reasons you should possibly go with another program, such as using the Fitbod app, instead of Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is:
- Allows for you to choose programs that are suited for a fat loss phase, however still maintain appropriate training volumes to minimize muscle loss optimally.
- Provides you with numerous programs to help increase calorie output to aid in weight loss rather than being overly restrictive with a diet (to be clear, eating less is critical, however eating slightly less over time, paired with increasing exercises, can be a very sustainable approach to fat loss and muscle retention).
- Provides you with in-app videos on proper lifting technique and form
- Modifies your workouts daily to adjust to your individual performance week to week, to allow for better recovery and progress, as during diet phases your recovery is often blunted compared to your bulking phases.
Now, let's dive into the full review of Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program.
PROGRAM REVIEW – KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM
Below you will find my full program review of Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program.
ABOUT THE CREATOR – GREG O'GALLAGHER
Greg O'Gallagher is a popular Youtuber and Instagram fitness influencer known for his aesthetic training and diet programs for men and women, such as Greek God 2.0, Superhero Bulking, Goddess Toning, Kinobooty, and Warrior Shredding programs.
WHAT IS KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is a 12-week diet and training program that offers a 2 days per week training approach that consists of three, four week phases. Each week consists of two workouts (with the exception of the third phase, where you lift three times per week), with an additional one to two low-intensity sessions per week (40-60 minutes).
Within each phase of the program, the plan focuses on maintaining strength and muscle via incorporating large, compound lifts like the incline press, Romanian deadlift, chin up, and Bulgarian split squat (to name a few). Each phase trains most muscle groups with 3-6 total sets per week, however the upper body (chest and shoulders) are often trained in higher volumes than legs.
The program itself employs two main techniques to maintain strength and muscle.
The first is reverse pyramid training, which is commonly used throughout all of Kinobody's program.
This method has a lifter build up to a heavy maximum for a given rep range with a given exercises, then take some weight off and perform another set at a slightly higher rep range. Finally, they will perform one more set with even less weight, for a slightly higher rep range.
For example:
- Weighted Pull Ups: 3 sets x 4-6, 6-8, 8-10 reps (reverse pyramid training).
The other technique used throughout this program is rest-pause training, which is also commonly used in all Kinobody training programs.
To do this, the lifter performs a given exercise for the given amount of weights to near failure, then rest a very short period (10-20 seconds), and immediately go back to performing the more reps with the same weight.
For example:
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 1 set x 12-15 reps + 4 sets x 3-5 reps (rest-pause training)
In addition to the 12-week training program, Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program offers nutrition guidelines for lifters looking to shed body fat aggressively through fasting and food restriction.
Kinobody recommends fasting until lunch time every day, eating one very, very large meal (they offer some sample ideas), and one smaller meal (400-600 calories) for dinner. That's it. They do go on to say that if you find your hunger unbearable, you can snack on 1-2 pieces of fruit or drink a cup of bone broth.
My issue with this is that it is extremely restrictive, and while it may be doable for some people, restrictive diets have a tendency to have people wind up gaining weight back, and often most of that is fat gain.
Additionally, the rate of weight loss during aggressive fasting and food restricted diets like this one lead to large amounts of body weight loss, which on the surface level sounds good, but often results in higher proportions of MUSCLE LOSS (which can actually have you be lighter on the scale yet have higher proportions of body fat and less muscle than you had prior to the fat loss diet).
This is not to say fasting diets are ineffective, as any method one does to restrict calorie intake over time will result in weight loss. The key here is that it may not be the most effective means for maintaining muscle mass, minimizing excessively low energy levels, and increasing the chances of a successful diet plan and reintroduction back into a maintenance phase.
WHAT IS KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is delivered to you via Teachable, an online software that is used commonly with educational content and courses. The program is a robust offering of explainer videos, background information, FAQs, and bonus material like supplemental workouts and nutrition advice.
The program itself is broken down into three, four-week blocks (phases). Each phase consists of two workouts per week (with the exception of the third phase, which is three workouts per week).
- Phase 1 – Two workouts per week, one upper body workout and one lower body workout.
- Phase 2 – Two workouts per week, one upper body workout and one lower body workout.
- Phase 3 – Three workouts per week, two upper body workouts and one lower body workout.
In the below sections, we will discuss the key training variables that every lifter should be aware of when looking to aggressively drop body fat (without losing muscle), and discuss how Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program addresses and/or doesn't address each one.
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Periodization
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program follows a basic linear progression model, meaning that you come in week to week looking to increase the loading from last week or the reps you performed (with the same weight as last week).
This double progression model allows for some more flexibility in the training program instead of simply just increasing the weight week to week.
That said, they do make it clear that this is NOT a strength or muscle-building program, but rather the goal is to not go backwards.
Due to the highly restrictive diet and fat loss emphasis, performance in the gym will be impaired as low energy levels and lack of the ability to handle higher volumes (important for muscle growth) will be an issue.
This is not to say that you cannot gain muscle, however, more intermediate and advanced lifters should go into this training phase with the understanding that the goal is body fat loss and muscle retention, not growth.
Training Split
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program a two day a week training split, with the first session training the upper body and the second session training the lower body.
The only exception is the third phase (weeks 9-12), which includes three workouts per week consisting of two upper body sessions and one lower body session per week.
Specificity
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is 100% designed to get you to lose weight, and do it fast.
The workout program is very simple and straightforward, and requires only two weight workouts per week. Specificity is pretty general, as the success of the program depends on if you can sustain such a restricted diet.
That said, the program does emphasize large compound movements to help you maintain muscle and strength as best as possible during this diet program.
Training Volume
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is very low in training volume, however, this is not entirely the program's fault. During the fat loss phase, calories must be restricted.
This often impacts one's ability to (1) train as rigorously as they have during bulking and maintenance periods, and (2) impairs their ability to recover properly from high volume training.
That said, this program airs on the very, very low side of training volume compared to other programs.
Throughout this program, my biggest concern is that it is under-delivering training volume to people.
Pair that with the aggressive diet plan and calorie restriction from the onset, could result in decreased muscle retention and weight rebound following the program.
This is not to say that it is impossible, because it can be done, by many, however it could be aggressive for individuals who have larger amounts of body fat to lose or more advanced lifters who have high amounts of muscle to preserve.
Below is a representation of the weekly training volume (sets) per phase, per muscle group. Keep in mind it has been established that levels below 6-10 weekly sets tend to fall within maintenance volumes and are often not optimal ranges for optimal muscle growth.
Overload
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program has no direct protocols of overload outside of simply having the lifter lift heavier or do a few more reps from week to week.
Due to the nature of this program, progressive overload is not a high priority since the goal is mostly to maintain the performance or slightly increase performance (at a much slower pace than normal) due to caloric restriction.
Fatigue Management
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program has low overall training volumes, low training frequency (two days per week), and does not have specific protocols set in place to increase strength or muscle growth (again, mainly due to the aggressive nature of the fat loss and calorie restriction)
Unlike other fat loss programs, this program incorporates fasting and eating only two meals per day (one day of the week you are able to eat slightly more food, called the refeed day). The training program is less intense than previous Kinobody programs (about ⅓ to ½ the training volume) due to the low calorie intake.
Fatigue will be low due to lower caloric intake levels, however the lower levels of training and low intensity cardio (rather than HIIT work) should help to keep you energy levels stable and not too low (especially if you try to do too much training volume or cardio).
Individual Differences
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is designed to help lifters drop 20-30lbs of body fat, fast.
This program can be effective because it has strict guidelines on how much to eat, and when to do it. While this straightforward program can offer success, it takes into consideration very little of individual difference outside of initial starting weight.
By providing calorie intake values based on weight alone, without considering daily activities levels (NEAT), current body composition, and fitness level, can dramatically impact the outcomes of the program, especially the adherence aspect and the effectiveness of losing the most amount of body fat without sacrificing muscle loss.
I feel that Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program offers dieters a simple and effective way to lose weight via calorie restriction, however, it can be very restrictive for some individuals who may be more advanced and need a more detailed diet and training regiment to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss.
3 BENEFITS OF KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM
Below are three benefits of Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program.
1. Diet Protocol is Straightforward
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is a very straightforward plan, which for some individuals may be exactly what they need. In this program, you will eat only two meals a day, one being big, and another being small/medium sized.
Each meal will focus on lean proteins, and carbs from sources like potato, fruit, and vegetables. You can also have some fruit or bone broth throughout the day.
By being simple, many people can play by those rules.
2. Focused on Appropriate Training Volumes During Diet Phase
The workout schedule is not as vigorous as other plans, which is expected since the diet will have you eating much less and most likely feeling a little low energy.
That said, the program offers lower levels of training volume to allow you to diet effectively and still recover properly, but also be able to maintain muscle mass through the weight loss phase.
3. Emphasizes Compound AND Isolation Exercises
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program focuses on key movements like the split squat, incline press, and pull up (just to name a few) during workouts.
By focusing on these main compound lifts, the lifter can best attack maintaining muscle and strength during the weight loss phase. The added isolation work allows the lifer to give a little extra love to muscle groups like the shoulders and arms without adding excessive fatigue to the body.
3 NEGATIVES OF KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM
Below are three negatives of Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program.
1. Lacks Significant Training Volume and Frequency
As discussed earlier, the training program is lower in volume to allow for recovery between sessions, as this is often a concern during dieting phases.
That said, the levels of training volume are very low, almost too low when looking at maintaining as much muscle mass as possible during a dieting phase.
To combat this, lifters could aim to achieve at least 6-8 total work sets per muscle group per week. You can review the above table to determine what muscle groups may be undertrained, even during a weight loss phase.
2. Little Emphasis on Leg Training
To be fair, most of Kinobody's training programs are light on leg training.
Like the Superhero Bulking Program and Greek God 2.0 training program, this plan offers about half of the training volume one would expect if they were trying to maintain muscle and/or gain mass in the legs.
3. Nutrition Advice is Basic, and Questionable
The entire premise of this program is based on fasting until lunch or so, and eating only two meals a day (not counting snacking on an apple or bone broth).
The diet is very restrictive, in meal frequency, meal timing, and calorie intake. I have no doubt people will lose scale weight on this program because they are essentially starving themselves for 12 weeks, however, my main concern is how drastic the fat loss phase and calorie-cutting is (which, to their defense they do call it "Aggressive Fat Loss").
The issue is that instead of progressively decreasing calorie week to week to minimize hunger pains and low energy, it also can have pretty significant impacts on muscle loss during a diet phase when compared to a more balance, less restrictive, and slower rate of weight loss program.
But of course, if someone is out to aggressively lose fat, telling them to do it slower can help them maintain more muscle, maybe not what they want to hear.
WHO IS KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM FOR?
Kinobody's Aggressive Fat Loss Program is designed for individuals who are looking to shed weight, specifically body fat, and do it fast. The program consists of a diet plan, and a workout program.
The diet plan is a fasting based plan that is pretty restrictive in calories out the gates, but could be doable since most of the workouts themselves are low volume. The workout plan is a two days a week program, with additional low intensity cardio sessions that can be done to help increase caloric expenditure
But, before you jump on the program, make sure you consider the drawbacks listed above.
KINOBODY'S AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS PROGRAM – FINAL RECOMMENDATION
This program, even with its flaws in delivering higher training volumes during the diet phase and being a very restrictive diet program, is a viable option for lifters looking to drop weight fast and are not entirely concerned with maximal muscle retention.
The program emphasizes compound movements for muscle growth and strength development, which is also a benefit to this plan. For $97 total, you can get 12-weeks of workouts.
While it is true that I feel this program may under-deliver training volume to maintain muscle strength for more serious lifters during a fat loss phase, I do feel it will at least achieve fat loss and weight loss (however it will also most likely result in a little more muscle loss as well for more seasoned, muscular lifters).
Final Program Review Score…
7.0 out of 10
For those reasons, I really think this program could work for beginner or individuals with a lot of fat to lose, however, it may have missed the mark for more advanced lifters looking to shred up.
The diet plan itself has some basis, and even putting my personal feelings aside on the effectiveness of fasting diet (well, rather, the lack of effectiveness when compared to balanced dieting approaches), it fails to allow for adequate training volumes to take place to maintain the most muscle mass you can during a fat loss phase.
If the workout program delivered 6-10 work sets per muscle, and the diet plan wasn't so aggressive and restrictive, I would say this program is actually a decent approach to lifters who can stick to a fasting diet.
It is important to note that for most individuals, who may want a program to supplement a balanced diet plan, I recommend you check out the Fitbod App, as it allows you to choose programs based on your level, training schedules, and goals, and customizes your workouts weekly to adapt to your previous performances to improve your results every week.
Additionally, for individuals who are looking for a program that delivers more training volume to help preserve as much muscle as you can during a fat loss phase, I recommend you check out the Fitbod App, as it allows you to browse various training programs customizes your workouts based on your previous performance and results, every week.
Check Out Our Other Program Reviews
- KinoBody Greek God 2.0 Program REVIEW
- KinoBody REVIEW: Superhero Bulking Program
- Jeff Nippard's High Frequency Full Body Program REVIEW
- Jeff Nippard Legs Push Pull Program REVIEW
- Jeff Nippard's UPPER LOWER Size and Strength Program REVIEW
- Outlift Bony to Beastly Program Review: Best Bulking Program?
- Athlean-X Max Size Program Review: Is It Worth It?
- Bony To Bombshell Program Review: Is It Worth It?
About The Author
Mike holds a Master's in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor's in Exercise Science. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), USA Weightlifting Advanced Coach, and has over 10+ years of experience working with collegiate athletes, national level lifters, and beginners alike. Mike is Founder of J2FIT Strength and Conditioning, a growing global training company with gyms in New York City, Cincinnati, and online offering personal training, online custom coaching programs.
Mike has published over 500+ articles on premiere online media outlets like BarBend, BreakingMuscle, Men's Health, and FitBob, covering his expertise of strength and conditioning, Olympic weightlifting, strength development, fitness, and sports nutrition. In Mike's spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, traveling the world, coaching, whiskey and craft beer, and spending time with his family and friends.
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