Flatten your Stomach Part III

So today we're going to look at the exercise part of fat loss and I'm going to jump straight in at the deep end and start by saying that most of you have this so very wrong!

When clients first come into the studio to begin our fat loss programmes, a large number of them inherently know what a reasonable lifestyle and diet consists of (they may not do it but at least they understand it!)
When it comes to exercise though it's another ball game. We pretty much have to help them unlearn all they think they know about fat loss and related exercise and training. Take a look at this....



The above video gives a good demonstration of THE most important fat loss training consideration.... METABOLISM.

Think of your metabolism as a central heating thermostat. When you have the thermostat on a low setting, you are using a small amount of fuel (energy) and the output of heat is low. Crank it up and the energy requirements increase as does the heat.It's the same with your metabolism. A low metabolism equals a small amount of fat loss (if any), while a high metabolism equals a large amount of fat loss. So, I hear you ask, what's the best way to a permanently high metabolism?

RESISTANCE!

When constructing a fat burning programme you must place the body under a progressive stress. The inherent danger is that people do the same workout over and over, whilst restricting calories, without realising that the results they are getting are minimal at best. Another consideration here is that a huge number of people jog/cycle/swim for fat loss without realising that these low intensity, steady state types of aerobic exercises do little in the way of increasing metabolism.
In fact a landmark study by Tremblay et al, in the July 1994 edition of Metabolism, published the results of a study pitting 20 weeks of endurance training Vs 15 weeks of interval training. The energy costs of the endurance training was 28,661 calories, while the interval training cost 13,614 calories, "less than half I hear you shout!!!!!" But hold on.
The interval training group showed a greater loss in subcutaneous body fat by NINE TIMES more than the endurance group!

So the interval group did less work, burned less calories, but lost 9 times more body fat?

How did this happen?

The key thing to realise here is that short, sharp, intense training, while it doesn't burn as many calories at the time, burns many more afterward. Studies have shown that this heightened metabolism can last for up to 3 days. This simply doesn't happen with low intensity, steady state, endurance type training. This is why sprinters are leaner and more powerful looking than endurance athletes.
That's not to say we don't use steady state cardio, it just isn't a mainstay of our programmes.

So how do we put it all together?

A basic fat loss programme will start with a warm up, stretch and roll on the foam roller, move on to a strength exercise, then a metabolic circuit, core exercises, and finish with interval training!

All in all about 25-35 mins of HARD work. Have a look what i mean.....






Paul