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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Is steady state (constant pace) aerobics the optimal way to lose fat?

Let’s take a look at some of the research that shapes the way that Alwyn Cosgrove trains his fat loss clients -

• A 1998 study that showed that the addition of 45 minutes of hard
  aerobic training, 5 times a week for twelve weeks – had no effect on
  fat loss.

• A 2007 study – that showed the addition of 50 minutes of aerobic
  training, 5 times per week for six months – also had no effect on fat
  loss.

• A 2008 study showing 40 mins of aerobic exercise three times per week
  for 15 weeks actually resulted in the participants gaining fat!

• A study from 1994 showed a specific cardio training method that when
  adjusted for calories burned – actually reduced body fat (actual
  skinfold measurements) nine times more than traditional cardio training
  — despite taking less time, and actually burning less calories per
  session!

• Another study (1999) showed that the addition of a specific resistance
  training program increased fat loss by 35% over diet and aerobic
  training.

Many top trainers advocate interval training for their clients looking to lose weight.  This can include interval strength training and interval aerobics.  This type of training consists of shorter rest periods and more intense cardio, that keeps your heart rate elevated.

Besides taking less time, this type of training can raise your metabolism for several hours after you are done exercising.  If you have limited time to exercise, than you need to make the most of your training.

Several years ago, I had a client who did a lot of extra cardio on the treadmill and stepper, in addition to the resistance training I had her doing.

She thought this would burn off some extra fat and didn’t tell me she was doing this.  After a while, we re-tested her bodyfat levels and found that she had gained fat.  Needless to say, she wasn’t too happy about this.

Too much exercise, with too little rest and not enough protein, can actually break down lean muscle tissue – not a good thing!

If you’re not training for an endurance competition, than you are better off doing shorter, interval cardio combined with strength training.  This gets the best results without spending hours and hours in the gym.

I’ve lost 8 pounds in just over two weeks on the Warp Speed Fat Loss program and have a smaller waist in the process.

Here is an example of interval training that doesn’t take a lot of time to do.  Choose exercises that use multiple muscles instead of “isolating” different body parts – more calories burned.

Get moving!

Brian

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The last couple weeks I’ve switched up my workouts a little.  Sometimes I combine sandbag exercises with flex band workouts where I do a total body circuit in one session.

Besides not requiring a lot of time to exercise, these interval workouts burn a lot of fat, as your metabolism stays elevated for several hours afterwards.  I’ll do a lower body exercise and then switch to an upper body exercise or two and then repeat this circuit.

My heartrate is elevated the whole time, so I get my cardio work in at the same time I do my resistance training – pretty efficient if you ask me.  All the exercises involve the “core” so that also helps with being time efficient.

But the intense workouts can add up after a while, so I’ve made some slight changes.  I’ve seperated my upper body and lower body workouts to let my body recover a little better.  It also lets me get an extra workout into my week, which should help.

I told you that I recently bought a “shoe” with individual pockets for my toes – the Vibram five fingers.  I’ve been trying to wear them a lot on my days off to help strengthen my feet and also wearing them during my training.

They seem to be working and I definitely like how much it makes my toes work, as they are spread out, providing greater stability to my feet and lower legs – good for the posture.

I did some dive bomber pushups, along with T-stability pushups, alternating with flex band one arm rows and bent-over sandbag rows.  Then I did alternating sandbag presses and some alternating sandbag curls.  It feels good to some direct work for the “guns” every once in a while.

Since I was feeling pretty good, I decided to try some overhead presses with the 120 lb. sandbag.  If that doesn’t sound that difficult then just try lifting something overhead that is constantly shifting (sand) and it turns into a little more work.

I got a couple sets of 5 and felt pretty good.  I had to use a slight bit of leg drive on the last few reps, but not too much.  If you read my recent post on shoulder injuries, you should know that I never did get surgery on my shoulder and it is doing pretty well, in my opinion.

Lots of stability work has kept it in decent condition and lets me do anything I need to.  Between the flex bands and sandbags I have an almost limitless number of exercises that can be done either at home or outdoors.

If you would like more info on sandbag training you should check out coach Josh Henkin’s Sandbag Fitness Systems.

Get moving!

Brian

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