Gravity Fx Fitness

If you want to lose weight without spending hours on the treadmill, burst training is the way to go!

Did you know that several studies have shown that you can burn fat in sessions lasting 30 minutes or less?  The key for weight loss in minimal time is intensity – turn up the flame.

When you go into oxygen debt with your workouts, you increase fat burning when the training session is over.  In one study, a group of women performed a short, intense workout and the other group did a moderate intensity aerobic session.

Both groups burned the same amount of calories (300) with their workouts, but the interval group lost more bodyfat, with the shorter workouts.  Another study saw the group doing short bursts of exercise keep their metabolism elevated for 24 hours after they stopped exercising.

Their workouts were 15 minutes shorter than the aerobic group.  Intense training puts you in oxygen debt, which leads to fat burning after the workout has ended.  If short on time, crank up the intensity for best results.

Interval (burst) training increases the production of testosterone and growth hormone in your body.  These hormones build lean muscle tissue to keep your metabolism elevated.  They also assist in fat burning.

Ropes Gone Wild are one way to speed up the fat loss, sprint training is another.  Vibration platforms have been shown to increase positive hormone production while decreasing cortisol, a stress hormone that is associated with endurance training.

I like to combine whole body vibration with sandbags, suspension training, resistance bands and ropes.  Besides giving you a great workout in 30 minutes or less, it gives you plenty of different exercises to choose from.

Besides being very time-efficient, it reduces the chance of boredom, which is why so many people give up their New Year’s resolution 3 months later.  For best results over the long haul, add in some leisurely activities here and there – long walks or hikes, bike rides, or paddling a canoe or kayak.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Can you lose fat with short bursts of exercise lasting 15 minutes or less?  Yes – if you are doing sprint, interval or burst training!

With sprint training, you burn a LOT of oxygen, as you greatly increase your rate of breathing to recover from oxygen debt.  You burn a lot of oxygen in a short amount of time, which puts you in a state of oxygen debt, causing you to burn a lot of calories both during and AFTER you have stopped exercising.

This increases your metabolism for several hours after your exercise session.  The result is increased fat burning without spending several hours exercising.

We know that interval sprinting is a great way to burn calories while building or maintaining your lean muscle tissue, but this can be a little hard on the joints for those of us over 40.

The solution?

Burst (sprint) training on the X-iser!  This is an adjustable mini-stepper made of aircraft aluminum and used by several pro sports teams with their athletes.

It allows you to do sprint training without any impact on the joints, while working on single leg balance – which is important for injury prevention and performance.

You can use it as part of your warmup or as a separate cardio workout.  You would do 20 -30 second bursts, followed by a short rest period and then repeat for the desired amount of time.

This intense exercise elevates your heart rate in a hurry, making it a time efficient workout and a great way to lose fat.  As little as 5 minutes of this interval exercise can get the job done.

For those of you in decent shape who want to get even leaner, try doing Tabata’s – 20 seconds of all out stepping followed by a 10 second break, repeated for a total of 4 minutes.

Tell me what that does for your HR!  This routine was shown to increase your fat burning potential when done with cyclists on a stationary bike.

Don’t let a lack of time be an excuse for not exercising.  You just need to choose an efficient form of exercise.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Cross training might help you avoid injury and increase performance.  In a recent newspaper article, a trio of local physical therapists were featured in their preparation for an Ironman Triathlon.

According to one therapist, “I have done three marathons, but the daily running was always causing some sort of injury.  The cross training keeps me fit and injury free.”

I’ve worked with a few runners over the years and overuse injuries seem to be part of the training.  I can remember the first year that we had a local marathon.  I did massage therapy with three people that had become injured while increasing their mileage to prepare for the race.

Adding in biking and swimming can take some of the pounding off your muscles and joints.  If you don’t want to do a triathlon, add in some resistance training that focuses on single leg stance, such as lunges and stepups.

You can also focus on recovery methods such as massage and stretching.  You need a combination of strength and flexibility built into your muscles – they should be elastic, like a rubber band.

Hard training athletes need quality massage therapy on a regular basis.  My massage mentor had one of his athletes set the NFL record for most carries in a season by a running back, while getting weekly massage.

Self-massage is a more viable solution for most of us.  This can be a foam roll, tennis ball, or rolling massager like the Stick or Tiger Tail.  Follow this up with various types of stretching and throw in some strengthening exercises, as well.

Don’t forget to engage in sport or recreational activities that work the muscles in different movement patterns, like lateral movements.  For specific strengthening exercises, check out my other running articles.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Sandbag training is a great way to increase your core stability and your athleticism.  Every exercise puts some demands on your abs and low back, strengthening them in the process.

I recently started doing sandbag squats to increase my leg strength and I’ve been doing pushups with a 30 pound sandbag on my back, for upper body strength.

These two exercises really work your abs and low back.

But you can also do rotational exercises for your midsection, along with explosive movements that increase your power and athleticism.

Here’s one of Josh Henkins’ videos that you might enjoy.

Sandbag Fitness Systems

Get moving!

Brian

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Indian clubs are a great way to enhance or maintain your posture and shoulder mobility.  They can be used as part of a dynamic warmup for the upper body, prior to sports or a workout.

Weighted clubs have been used for physical training for centuries in India and neighboring countries – heavier clubs for strength, and lighter clubs for coordination and mobility.  They could be found in many turn of the century or early 1900’s gymnasiums.

I’ve used Indian clubs weighing 1or 2 pounds for a while now and they are a great way to warmup.  The circular movements train the wrist, elbow, and shoulder at the same time, lubricating the joints.  There are many different patterns that can be used, from simple to complex.

Someone who has lost some mobility and maybe has some posture issues can start with basic pendulum moves and gradually add more complex patterns.  The more difficult patterns increase upper body coordination – teaching all the joints to work together.

They force you to expand your ribcage as you swing them overhead – perfect for someone sitting at a desk all day with poor posture.  I think that they work well with joint mobility programs that are done with bodyweight.  They add just enough resistance to make additional demands on the body.

They can be used by the older golfer, baseball player or tennis player who wants to keep from losing their mobility.  They also are great for those doing strength training.

I’ve got some wear and tear on my shoulders from lifting weights with poor posture and they help me keep training intensely, past the age of 40.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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I recently switched my workouts to density training to add some lean muscle tissue while losing fat.  This is a little different than “bulking” phases that bodybuilders sometimes use.

In my previous article, I talked about how density training involves getting more work done in a set amount of time.  Most people can increase the weight or reps they do for a limited amount of time.

To get further results you have to make changes in your routine.  EDT has you seeing how many total reps you can achieve in a time period, usually 15 minutes.  Next time you would try to do more reps for the same weight and exercise.

This is a very time efficient way of training and gets great results.  It allows you to delay fatigue and get more work done (total reps) which can simultaneously build muscle and burn a lot of calories.

For example, Saturday I did sandbag squats with 135 pounds.  Holding a large sandbag across the front of your shoulders is a great challenge for your abs and low back, besides the lower body work being done.

I haven’t been doing this exercise recently and am using the density method to strengthen my body with this challenging exercise.  Saturday I did 18 reps in 15 minutes.  The idea is to increase the total number of reps in the next workout and the workouts to follow.

By not going all out on each set, I delay fatigue and am able to do more total reps this way.  By increasing the amount of work with every workout, my body is forced to make changes – increased strength, lean muscle tissue and increased calorie burn (weight loss).

Usually you would switch back and forth between two opposing exercises, but this exercise strongly challenges not just your lower body but your core, as well.

I noticed some soreness in my abs yesterday even though I didn’t do any direct exercises for them – compound exercises (multi-joint) are the way to go if you want a time-efficient workout.

Get moving!

Brian

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Is it more important to burn fat during your workout or after?  Alwyn Cosgrove recently wrote an article on EPOC and the “afterburn” effect – where your metabolism stays elevated after the workout.

A research study published in 2002 looked at the effect of a 31 minute circuit training workout on post workout metabolism.  This study showed an increased metabolic period lasting 38 hours after the workout.

Meaning, 38 hours later, their bodies were burning more calories than before the workout session!  The workout involved three multi-joint exercises (bench press, squat, and power clean) done in a circuit, 4 times in 31 minutes.

This should say a lot about the role of high-intensity resistance training and the ability to burn fat – also, the use of compound movements (multi-joint) for maximal efficiency.

One of the things this study does, is highlight the fact that the number of calories burned during the workout isn’t necessarily as important as the number of calories burned after.

This routine broke down a lot of muscle tissue and the rebuilding phase obviously burns quite a few calories.  Combine this interval resistance training with a cardio and nutrition program and you should see even greater fat burning.

This is the basis for Cosgrove’s Warp Speed Fat Loss system that I completed earlier this Summer.  I lost 13 pounds in a month and wasn’t quite perfect in following the low carb diet.

Training is important, but so is the eating.  These workouts were all under an hour in length.

Get moving!

Brian

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If you’ve tried the Ropes Gone Wild before, you know they are a great training tool!  The intense workouts are great for us ADD types.  In particular I love doing the grappler’s throws.

They hit the obliques(abs) in a unique way.  They also jack your heart rate up pretty quickly, which is much of the point.  Recently, Anthony of Art of Strength unveiled a new grip training attachment for the ropes.

Since I don’t have it yet, I thought I’d show you the 1 arm version without the grip tool.

Besides working the grip very well, this exercise is good for the shoulder too, in my opinion.  It might be something that could be used in shoulder rehab, in the later stages, with a lighter rope.

If not, it might help prevent some shoulder problems – at least, provide plenty of blood flow.  Give it a try.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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