Nope. It’s TIME. Or rather the lack thereof.

“We know that 50 per cent of the population doesn’t [exercise]
and the most commonly cited barrier to exercise is lack of time.”
This quote comes from exercise researcher Martin Gibala, a
kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton.

I can testify: as a Personal Training for over 15 years I can tell
you that 60% of gym members quit in the first 3 months.
And that’s an industry stat across North America. 

Gibala put his theory to the test in a study that was published
in the Journal of Physiology. In it Gibala compared a group who
exercised “traditionally” — 90 to 120 minutes per day — with
another group exercising far less:  Only 20 minutes per day and
only three days per week.

That’s a whopping one hour per week folks!!

In just two weeks both groups showed improvement in both exercise
performance and oxygen uptake. (Remember, fat burns in the
presence of oxygen.)

The kicker is that both groups were almost identical in their
improvement. Why? Because the brief exercise group trained with
greater focus and more intensity — exactly how I suggests you
train.

This is just one of dozens of studies that confirm the benefits
of shorter but more intense workouts.

However, there is a catch:  Train too hard and you will shut down
your fat-burning furnace. 

Your body perceives over-exertion done over an extended period of
time as a sign of pursuit. It can trigger an ancient hormonal
sequence that says, “I’m being chased by a tiger! Horde the fat!”

The body literally shuts down what it considers to be unnecessary
activity in favor of self-preservation. And guess what? Burning
off those hips and love handles is not a biological necessity.

You have to learn when to hit it hard AND when to rest and
recover.

Finally, you have to put yourself into the proper mental state in
order to see greater results in the shortest period of time.

Just remember these three key points:

    1.  Time is the greatest barrier to fitness.
    2.  Workouts can be short and very effective.
    3.  The body goes where the mind directs.

Until next time, train smart.

Deb

 First…while there are thousands of holiday weekend survival tips being shared right now, the best advice I can give you is that it is never just one weekend that sabotages your results.

 Rather – it is how you spend your time BEFORE and AFTER that matters most.

 3 questions for you to Help You Stay On Track:

 1. When does your holiday weekend start?

 Knowing this will allow you to make good choices up to this point. No need to grab a handful of m&ms at work when you know you will be enjoying a picnic tomorrow.

 * My holiday weekend starts Saturday afternoon during our cookout.

 2. What will you watch out for?

 Are there certain foods or drinks that you consider to be a weakness? How will you manage them?

 Put a limit, make a healthier version or avoid altogether?

 * I LOVE Potato Salad & Chips I will make a healthier version of

potato salad and limit my serving of chips to one measured portion vs.

eating handfuls out of the bag! I also found chips made out of veggies that will help too!

 3. When does your holiday weekend end?

 This is the most important question to answer. Knowing when it is time to get

back on track is what will prevent your choices from completely sabotaging your results.

 * My Holiday Weekend Ends on Sunday at 5:00 pm. I will get rid of any tempting leftovers and go for a nice evening walk with Lucky (my doggy).

 Do something to signify you are done celebrating and ready to get Back on Track and you will stay on the path to fast fat loss results!

 I wish you a super fun and safe 4th of July weekend!  We will be open Saturday and Monday 7-11 am so start those days with a great workout!  Remember we Ankeny folks have Summerfest festivities next weekend!!

Deb

Simply put, if you are looking for the fastest fat loss results, high intensity exercise is a MUST.

Short duration, high intensity exercise comes in two major forms: metabolic resistance training and interval training. Today, I want to take a DEEP look into the benefits of each.

First up, metabolic resistance training:

Metabolic resistance training is simply “cardio with weights”, and when speaking of the most effective form of exercise for the fastest possible fat loss, this is it!!

In a recent study a 30-minute circuit style metabolic resistance training session was put to the test. The result was a 38 hour increase in metabolism – massive AFTERBURN.

Let’s put this in perspective: Say that you worked out at 8AM on Friday. By way of metabolic resistance training, you’d still be burning calories from that workout while out at the movies on Saturday night.

You want to burn calories by watching Saturday Night Live? Now you can.  This is the best SNOOZE and LOSE program available!!

Another study showed that those who added metabolic resistance training to a reduced calorie diet burned up to 44% more fat than those who dieted alone.

Don’t get me wrong, diet is the NUMBER ONE component of the fat loss puzzle, but once you’ve got that down, metabolic resistance training can really take your results to a whole new level.

Another study compared “slow-go” aerobic exercise to metabolic resistance training and found that the resistance group lost significantly more fat without losing ANY lean muscle even at an extremely low calorie intake (not so for the aerobic group).

In fact, believe it or not, while the aerobic group experienced a decrease in metabolism (and lost muscle), the resistance training group actually increased overall metabolic rate.

THAT’S the power of metabolic resistance training.

Convinced that metabolic resistance training flat out WORKS? Good. Next up, interval training:

As mentioned in my previous post, interval training is simply a form of high intensity cardio in which you alternate back and forth between periods of high effort and periods of active recovery.  If you read yesterdays post it’s what I focused on!

Does it work?

Are you sitting down? If not, take a seat.

You want to know what happened when a research group compared 20 weeks of endurance training vs. 15 weeks of interval training?

While the aerobic/endurance group actually managed to burn more total calories during exercise, the interval training group lost NINE TIMES more body fat. NINE TIMES!!

 The clear choice for fat loss is interval training!

And it all comes down to elevated metabolism after your workout is completed – the afterburn.

Are you experiencing the afterburn?  If not, I’d start TODAY!!

Have a Blessed & Healthy Memorial Day!

Give me at least 10 comments and I’ll be back with some sample interval and metabolic resistance training formats. Talk to you in the comments section!

Train Hard & Expect Results,

Deb

Sources:

Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.

Kramer, Volek et al.
Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.
Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.

 Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.

Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8

Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.

Here are my top 5:

1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!

This brings me to my next point:

2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, TIME is the number one reason people say they don’t workout out or quit working out!  Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:

3. BORING as heck — Sitting on an exercise bike, treadmill, or elliptical staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.

But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:

4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (and we’ll be discussing this “afterburn” effect in another post very soon). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.

And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:

5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.

So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?

Short duration, high-intensity exercise, that’s what!!  Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.

And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.

Moral of the story: sprinting is more effective for fat loss vs. low intensity walking or cycling for hours on end.  It also frees up a heck of a lot of time to get home and recover!  ….don’t waste your time, get in and get it done and get on with your life…you will be amazed at how these shorter more intense workouts help you to actually reach your goals!

Watch for some sample high intensity interval workouts coming up next blog.  I will share with you three of my favorite intervals that I have used on several clients whom I do personal training with.  They will be the first to tell you these workouts are fast and furious and get FAST results!!   If you have some interval workouts that you have used that have helped you, please share with us…..one can never have too many interval workouts!!  Be sure to let me know if you make the switch, and be sure to tell us your results!!

Train Hard and Expect Results,

Deb