We used to think that cardiovascular training was the quickest and most effective way to shed unwanted pounds. Aerobics, jogging, swimming, running and biking were the main activities to turn to when we wanted to slim down. The idea was that when you perform low level aerobic exercise your body relied on calories from fat. Sounds good, right? Well, there were a couple of major limitations with this method.

First of all you only burn fat calories while the aerobics are performed. If you do twenty minutes, then you only burn for twenty minutes; if you do two hours, then you only burn for two hours.

Secondly, if you are overzealous with aerobics your body actually eats away at lean tissue, leaving you with lowered calorie requirements. Ever wonder why you eat the same amount but still put on pounds? A loss in lean tissue will do that to you every time.

Lucky for us, we live in a time of great scientific discovery with tools and statistics that give us the cutting edge in our quest for a slimmer, sexier body. And science has given us the solution for optimal F.A.T. B.U.R.N.

The Solution: Resistance Training

You have probably heard about the many benefits of resistance training.

Here are just a few:

1. Increase in muscle strength
2. Injury prevention
3. Improved bone density

Here are the two reasons that resistance training is the most effective way to B.U.R.N. F.A.T.

1. Oxygen Debt

Now I know debt isn’t usually a word that we enjoy…but in this case I’m sure you will agree that it’s a great thing. Resistance training puts your body into oxygen debt which means you will B.U.R.N. F.A.T. as you recover from your workout. And this effect can last quite awhile – studies have shown an increase in calorie burning for up to three days following a resistance training workout.

2. Lean Tissue Burns More Calories

The other way that F.A.T. B.U.R.N. is accomplished with resistance training is through an increase in your resting metabolism. Lean tissue (muscle) requires many more calories each day than fatty tissue. In fact, one pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories each day at rest – compared to a measly 9 calories per pound of fat.

When you perform resistance training exercises your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep.

To build muscle and burn fat, you need to go for a good workout with a balanced diet. Choose the diet that can be kept easy on a regular basis. Don’t employ the diet to lose you fat rather employ it to adopt a healthy lifestyle and correct your poor eating habits.

Try to consume whole grains, vegetable and fruits in good proportion. Restrict the sugar food and fatty foods. Whether you believe it or not, regular activities like housework and gardening can help you burn more calories than you expect.

Take a gentle walk or run for several minutes each day to burn your calories and lose the fat. It can also increase your metabolism and give you more energy and help you burn fat faster.

Try strength training as a good fitness workout for gaining muscle and strength. To lose weight and maintain it constantly, you will have to employ a good fitness workout which concentrates solely on resistance training, muscle gain or strength training.

A workout of this kind helps in gaining the muscle and is very important in controlling the body fat in addition to strength.

Beware of using the appropriate supplements. This poses a critical issue now. There are many supplements out there that are capable of helping you build your muscle. Choose the appropriate supplements.

This tells you indirectly to be aware of the wrong supplements. Always be in the guidance of a professional. Seek the help of a doctor before you go for muscle gaining supplements.

Don not gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Many people tend to make this mistake. Doing so can neither help you build muscle nor helps you lose the fat.

Always try to burn the fat first and then go on working out on the muscle. Always keep in mind seek the help of a professional while employing a specific workout.

There are so many ways to burn fat it’s hard to know what the best way to burn fat is. You see everything from pills to machines, to programs. All of them promise great results and some work and others don’t. People spend hundreds if not thousands a year trying to find the best away to burn fat but they rarely find the program that works for them.

I know what I’m talking about because I was one of those people. I was spending a lot of money year in and year out without getting any real results that lasted. The pills would work for a little while and soon as I ran out or stopped taking them I would gain the fat right back. The programs were so extreme sometimes that they were impossible for me to maintain on a regular basis. You just needed something that I could follow on a regular basis that would help me to lose weight and preferably keep it off. I’m the type of person that needs something that is laid out for me step by step. Where I wouldn’t have to research and look for tips everyday to keep the fat off. I wanted it to be natural so I wouldn’t have to keep putting these pills in my body and possibly be hurting my health. I had come across a program I am so thankful for because It has everything I was asking for in one program. It was step by step, I could maintain it, and it didn’t require no pills. The results you ask? WOW, is all I have to say. They far exceeded my expectations with this program. I can’t say enough about it. If you want more information on it just clink my link!

Over the past decade the popularity of interval training for fat loss and performance improvements has been amazing. There have been so many studies investigating the fat loss and performance benefits of using intervals versus long boring cardio – and the results truly speak for themselves.

But as with any type of training, your body will adapt to how it is trained, and different energy systems will be used depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise. For instance, a 400m sprinter might run intervals lasting up to 60 seconds and then recovering for 3 minutes because that type of training would most closely resemble what he/she would be going through in a race.

And in reality there are literally thousands of different interval training protocols to follow depending on your goal and fitness level.

But what about the average person who doesn’t want to train for track and field or a particular sport and is solely concerned with burning fat? Is there an interval training protocol that is best to maximize fat loss?

Some people recommend long duration intervals (ie. 1 minute hard, 2 minutes recovery) while others recommend shorter duration intervals that can elicit a much harder effort.

So the answer to the interval training for fat loss question is yes – but it isn’t what you think.

Here’s why…

Research published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology compared the fat-burning effects of two different interval training workouts, both lasting 40 minutes.

The first consisted of short intervals lasting 6 seconds, with 9-second rest periods. The second workout involved long intervals lasting 24 seconds, with 36-second rest periods.

It’s important to note that the treadmill speed was identical during both the short and long interval workouts. Moreover, the ratio between work and recovery bouts was also the same (ie. 2:3 work to rest), meaning that the total amount of time spent running on the treadmill (16 minutes) was also identical.

Despite the fact that exercise intensity and duration were kept constant during both trials, there were large differences in fat oxidation.

In fact, the number of fat calories burned was approximately 3 times LOWER during the long (24 seconds) interval workout.

To understand why the short intervals were so much more effective at increasing fat oxidation, it’s important to understand a little more about a substance called myoglobin.

The mysterious myoglobin

Myoglobin is a large protein that binds to oxygen inside your muscle cells. Think of it a little like a “reserve” oxygen supply. As the blood has hemoglobin, the muscles have myoglobin. Both store oxygen.

According to physiologist Olof Astrand, myoglobin is repeatedly used and reloaded during the work and recovery phases of interval exercise.

However, as the duration of the work period increases, myoglobin’s oxygen stores are reduced.

Your body needs more oxygen to burn fat as a fuel (compared to carbohydrate or protein). When oxygen supplies become limited, carbohydrates then provide a greater proportion of energy. This is also seen in the “crossover effect” where carbohydrates become the more dominant source of fuel at higher exercise intensities compared to fats which are mainly oxidized at lower intensities.

And furthermore, because lactic acid, a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, “blocks” fat burning, intense intervals that continue beyond the point at which myoglobin loses its supply of oxygen (usually above 15 seconds or so) rely to a greater extent on carbohydrate as a source of energy and, thus, don’t burn as much fat as shorter intervals.

As mentioned, because myoglobin holds enough oxygen to last for 5-15 seconds it would make send to perform short, intense rather than long intervals to promote a greater rise in fat oxidation.

As such, if your goal is to lose fat, then limit your work intervals to a maximum of 15 seconds.

Studies also show that shorter intervals don’t feel as physically demanding as long intervals which means that you can get better results without feeling like you’re working harder.

How much rest should you take between work bouts?

This depends on the duration of the work intervals and your fitness level. The longer the work interval, the more myoglobin gets used up, and the longer it takes to “reload”. Therefore, you’d need more time to recover.

The study alluded to earlier used rest intervals that were 1.5 times greater than the work intervals (6 seconds work: 9 seconds rest).

Based on these findings, a 15-second work interval would require a minimum of 22 seconds rest.

However, if you’re new to interval training I would recommend starting with a work-to-rest ratio of 1:3. This means that if you work hard for 15 seconds, give yourself 45 seconds to recover. As you become fitter, then you can reduce the amount of recovery.

Reference:

Christmass, M.A., Dawson, B., & Arthur, P.G. (1999). Effect of work and recovery duration on skeletal muscle oxygenation and fuel use during sustained intermittent exercise. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 80, 436-447