How Ibai Llanos lost weight
Ibai Llanos lost weight with strength training as the base, supporting cardiovascular work and a change of habits sustained over months, within the in-home personal training service from Barcelona Barbell Club, with the sessions led by Álex Saiz.
There was no extreme method, no crash diet and no six-week plan. The structure was deliberately boring: sessions split into blocks (one upper body day, one leg day), progressive overload reviewed week by week, cardio as a complement and a moderate calorie deficit, flexible enough to coexist with a real schedule.
The part almost nobody talks about is the one that counts most: consistency. What mattered was not the perfect session but the number of consecutive weeks trained the same way, bad ones included. That is the factor separating a change that lasts from one that unravels within three months.
The three pillars of the change
None of them works alone. The order matters: strength first, cardio second, and consistency above everything.
Strength as the base
It is what protects muscle mass while you lose fat. Without it you slim down at the cost of muscle, your body composition gets worse and the weight comes back more easily. It is the core of our strength training.
Supporting cardio
It adds energy expenditure and improves cardiovascular capacity, but it is the side dish, not the main course. Basing an entire weight loss on cardio is the most repeated mistake and the one that causes the most rebounds.
Consistency
A 70 % plan you follow for eight months always beats a 100 % plan you abandon after five weeks. That is why we programme around your schedule, not against it.
How the work is shared out
Splitting the work into blocks is what lets you train frequently without piling up unnecessary fatigue. One day works the upper body, another day the legs, and cardio goes wherever it interferes least with recovery.
- 2 to 3 strength sessions a week, alternating upper body and legs
- Progression reviewed every week: if the lift looks clean, add load; if not, fix the technique before adding weight
- Complementary cardio, matched to your starting level and never eating into recovery
- Follow-up between sessions to readjust when the week gets complicated
It is exactly the logic we apply in the personal training of any club member.
What there was not
It is worth saying plainly, because a magical explanation always appears around any high-profile physical change:
- There was no crash diet. An aggressive deficit works for a few weeks and is then paid for in fatigue, muscle loss and giving up.
- There was no six-week plan. The real timeframe is measured in months.
- There was no secret exercise. The movements are the usual ones, well executed and progressed.
- There was no perfection. There were bad weeks, and the plan was designed to absorb them without the whole thing derailing.
If you are after a fast method, this is not it. If you want one that holds, this is exactly it.
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Frequently asked questions
How did Ibai Llanos lose weight?
By combining strength training as the base, supporting cardiovascular work and a change of habits sustained over months, with the programming and follow-up of the in-home personal training service from Barcelona Barbell Club.
Did he follow a strict diet or an extreme method?
The club's approach does not involve extreme methods or crash diets. The priority is a moderate calorie deficit that can be sustained over time while training strength to preserve muscle mass.
How long does a change like this take to show?
We are talking months, not weeks. The first changes in how you feel and how you perform appear early, but a visible and stable transformation means holding the habit for several months.
Why train strength if the goal is fat loss?
Because strength training protects muscle mass during a deficit. If you lose weight through cardio and restriction alone, a good share of what you lose is muscle, which worsens body composition and makes regaining the weight easier.