The Truth about HIIT, Slow Cardio and Fat Loss

If you want to burn a ton of calories in a short period of time you need to be doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT is short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a brief rest period. HIIT speeds up your metabolism and forces your body to burn more fat in the following hours, something regular cardio doesn't do which results in faster fat loss.






When I was in high school I accidentally figured this out but didn’t fully understand it at the time. I played football in the fall, so every summer I would try to bulk up by lifting heavy weights and eating as much as I could. I would put on weight eating more food and lifting heavier weights but avoided cardio conditioning until six weeks before the season because I wanted to keep my weight up as high as I could. I figured when I started running I would start to lose weight, which was counterintuitive to my size goals, but I needed speed for the sport. I was naturally lean but didn’t have shredded muscles. When I started sprinting at near maximum speeds for 5 to 60 seconds per sprint, I began getting much leaner with these brief workouts. I started to notice my six-pack would pop out more even though I wasn’t adding additional abdominal exercises or doing anything different with my diet.



As you can see I never worked in the fat burning zone, yet I was able to attain a lean toned body with interval style training and heavy weight lifting. When you start exercising at a higher level you’ll start burning more total calories and your body will respond as mine did.

Another great example is the comparison of the muscle definition of a long distance runner and a sprinter. The long distance runner runs at a lower intensity and the sprinter runs at maximum speed for very short distances. Yes they both carry low body fat but who has more muscle definition? It’s the sprinter every time; and it’s attained by working at intensities much higher than the fat burning zone.

Here's the proof

In 2007 researchers looked the effects of long-term aerobic training for fat loss. The subjects were all sedentary men and women aged 40-75 years old. They all did moderate to vigorous aerobic activity for 60 minutes six days a week for 12 months.

The results were shocking. After 360 minutes of exercise for an entire year the average weight loss was 3.5lbs...after a year! That's only 0.3 pounds per month.

So if you think all those calories you add up every treadmill session is doing something for fat loss, think again.

Reference:
Obesity, June 2007. 15:1496-1512. Exercise Effect on Weight and Body Fat in Men and Women.

Yet another research study looked at the impact of fat loss on endurance training for 20 weeks versus interval training for 15 weeks.

What they found was the endurance training group burned 28,661 total calories and the interval training group burned 13,614 total calories (less than half), but the interval group showed a NINE TIMES greater fat loss than the endurance group.

Reference:
Metabolism, July 1994. 43, 814-818. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.

The moral of the story is simple if you want to burn fat start doing HIIT and stop looking at the calories the machine says you're burning because it doesn't take into consideration the extra calories burned after the workout you get from HIIT.

How to do HIIT

Option A: 40 yard sprint. Mark off 40 yards and after a brief warm up sprint hard from start to finish, walk back to the start for recovery and repeat six to eight times.

Option B: Stair run. Find a staircase or stadium bleachers with 40 to 50 stairs. Run up and walk down. Repeat six to eight times.

Option C: Cardio Strength Training. This is one of my favorites. Perform 8 rounds of kettlebell or dumbell swings. For each round do swings for 20 seconds and rest for 20seconds.


Each of the workouts beats the slow traditional cardio training for fat loss and take less than 20 minutes including your warm up and cool down.

Goal Setting for Improved Health and Fitness

It remains a fact that those who write their goals have a higher rate of success than those who don't. So if you want to be successful here's what I want you to do.

I want you to write down your top three fitness goals. Then break them down into short-term, mid-term and long-term goals.

Short-term goals are those you wish to accomplish in the next 12 weeks, mid-term in 6 months and long-term will take you a 1 year or more to reach.

Put some thought into this and keep in mind your goals don't have to be an outcome goals, they can be process goals.

Here's some examples of outcome goals: lose 30 pounds by my birthday. Drop 4 dress sizes by Spring Break. Lose 8 inches on waist by Memorial Day.

Examples of process goals: Exercise 3 days a week. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Eat something healthy every three hours.

While outcome goals are great for your mid and long-term goals keep in mind you need to give them a due date and break them down into smaller daily actions. That's where the process goals are great - list the daily actions you are going to take for the next 12 weeks.

The difference between those who are successful and those who are unsuccessful are the daily actions they take. Those who succeed take daily actions not for a week, or a month or even three months, but daily until the goal is reached.

"You only fail when you quit"

So if you want to lose 20 pounds of fat by your birthday, you better make sure you eat right and exercise daily every day until that day comes.

If this is your long-term goal here's how you can break it down.
Long-term: Lose 20 pounds by Birthday and maintain it through the end of the year.
Mid-term: Lose 10 pounds of fat by the 4th of July

Short-term: Do three strength training workouts per week, 1 HIIT workout per week, and eat 5 meals per day every day.

Do this for all three of your goals and then make three copies of your goal sheet. Keep one by your bedside so you can read it every morning and every night. Keep the second in your car and read it at least once a day as soon as you get in before you start up - not while you're driving :) Keep the third in your pocket or purse and pull it out at least once a day and read it.

Hold Yourself Accountable

The last thing I want you to do is to get a calendar and use it to keep yourself in check. Every day you complete your daily actions give yourself a check mark and everyday you do not give yourself an X. The goal is to fill your calendar with check marks. At the end of the month give yourself some sort of reward for having 90% check marks on your calendar.

These steps are quick and easy and the road to finally reach your fitness goals. Take the time to do it and you'll thank me later.

Leave me a comment below and let me know how your goals are coming along so far.

For more on goal setting check out 14 Strategies to Reach Success

Myth Busters

Myth 1: muscle turns to fat when you stop lifting

Truth: when you stop lifting your muscles atrophy and your metabolism slows down because you have less muscle. In the end you lose muscle and you gain fat. Muscle and fat are two different things.


Myth 2: muscle makes you inflexible


Truth: Not stretching makes you flexible! Lots of people who lift don’t stretch. Those that do stretch can remain flexible while building muscle.




Myth 3: Women will get big from lifting weights (this one is a personal favorites)

Truth: Unlearn your old thinking and learn the truth. Women don’t have enough testosterone to build big bulky muscles. Besides most men have trouble bulking up even when lifting heavy.

The women in the magazines that look like men are taking something a little extra, if you know what I mean. Look at real women such as Madonna, Angela Bassett, or Demi Moore who lift weights. They have tone but aren’t huge.

You will build muscle which will increase your metabolism causing you to lose fat. More muscle + less fat = toned muscles. Losing weight without lifting leads you to be a smaller version of your flabby old self with no muscle tone. Some call this skinny fat.

Snacking on Fruits and Vegetables

Here's another great guest post from Angelique Marquez, R.D. of Simply Healthy Wellness. Enjoy!

In order to get 5 fruits and vegetables in a day, you will need to include one with every meal or snack. Try pairing your fruit and vegetable snacks with some protein and/or healthy fat, so they are more satisfying and stick with you longer.

Fruit Snack ideas:

Banana or apple with peanut butter (all natural, the ingredients should be: peanuts and maybe salt)

Apple or pear with cheese (laughing cow spreadable cheese works great)

Any sort of fruit with any sort of nut (almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, cashews, pistachios...)

Trail mix of dried fruit and nuts works great too (especially before or after a workout), but remember that a little goes a long way, a handful is a good serving size.

Snackable Veggies:

Carrots, Snow Peas, Sugar Snap peas, Bell Peppers, Celery, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cherry tomatoes, the list goes on and on....These veggies pair nicely with some hummus, spreadable cheese, or with a dressing or dip.


Carrot tangent: You might want to wash and chop your own carrots. Do you really want the Pre-cut perfect little baby ones that have been rinsed in chemical solution...aka...bleach? They say it is not enough chemical solution to be harmful, but do they eat as many fruits and vegetables as I do? I prefer to buy organic when possible and wash with good old fashioned water. I choose to spend my dollar on what is healthier for my body and the environment. Of course, you can decide what's best for you and your family.

Get to snackin!

A little snack between meals will keep you from feeling famished and then overeating at your next meal. Start with the fruits and vegetables you enjoy most, and then get a little adventurous. Use snack time as a way to meet your nutrition challenge!

Angelique holds a bachelor's degree in Nutrition Science from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a Registered Dietitian (R.D.) and cerified fitness trainer/instructor. She believes in a multi-facet approach to wellness. She is dedicated to improving the lives of many Las Vegas residents through wellness and disease prevention with proper nutrition.

For more from Angelique visit her online at www.simplyhealthywellness.com

If you like this post be sure to check out Four Nutrition Challenges for 2010

How to Tell if You’re Losing Fat

It’s always a good idea to check your progress with any goal that you set. With exercise many people default to checking their weight on a scale. While the scale is a good tool, it can often be misleading. The scale isn’t always the best tool. Here’s why.

First of all, as of now I want you to promise me that you won’t obsess about your weight anymore. I’m serious, the goal should be fat loss not weight loss. There is a difference. You can do a starvation diet and lose weight; you will lose muscle and slow down your metabolism, and look like a smaller version of your current self with little muscle tone. Some people call this “skinny fat” you’re skinny but still flabby. Is that the kind of fat loss you want? I don’t think so?

What you want to do gain muscle which will boost your metabolism and make sure the weight you do lose comes from fat not muscle. If you the scale reads the same weight and you lose inches around your waist and thighs and your body fat is lower; you’ve lost fat but not weight. You’ll have more muscle tone as well. This is why it’s possible for your weight on a scale to remain the same and another reason I like to take body fat percentages and body measurements. This tells you a lot more than the scaled does.

Most women will be healthy fit and lean around 18-22% body fat, no matter what the scale reads. For men it’s around 12-16%.

Think of it this way: Imagine there was a magic fat loss machine – a little booth you could step into and come out looking exactly how you’ve always dreamed of looking: the exact pants size and with the muscle definition you wanted and the right body fat percentage, with abs too (if that’s what you’re aiming for) but there was one catch – this magic machine somehow increased your bone density by 100%? So while you looked great you weighed 50 pounds more. So if you were 150 before now you’re 200 but you look amazing. Would you be happy with that or would that number on the scale make you want other results? Now what if the opposite was true; the magic machine made you lose 20 pounds but you looked exactly the same. Understand how you look and feel and how much you weigh are not necessarily related.

From Rachel Cosgrove’s the Female Body Breakthrough

If you lose 10 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle you will look like you’ve lost 20 pounds but your weight will be the same on the scale. Don’t focus on the scale, but how you feel and how your clothes fit.

Alternative tools to the scale the check your progress

Skinny jeans
Get a pair of jeans that are a few sizes too small that you want to be able to fit into. Try them on every couple of weeks to check your progress. Avoid doing this daily! At first you may not get them over your thighs, then you’ll get them over your thighs, but not your hips. After a couple more weeks they get all the way up but you won’t be able to button them, then you’ll be able to button them by sucking in your stomach. Finally they’ll fit comfortably. You won’t need a scale to tell you you’ve made progress!

Measurements
Every month pull out a measuring tape and measure around your chest, hips, waist, and thigh. If you’re losing inches from month to month, you won’t need to worry what the scale says because you are losing fat and gaining muscle.

Photos
Another way to check your progress is to take a photo of yourself. Guys can do this without shirt and wearing shorts and ladies and wear a swimsuit. From month to month you’ll see your progress as your waist shrinks and you lose the excess fat and start to see more muscle definition all over. No need to oil up and get a tan like the magazine ads though :)

Keep in mind weight loss is not always linear. While most people can lose 1-2lbs. a week on average through healthy eating and exercise some weeks you can lose 3lbs. and others you won’t lose any. That’s why it’s called an average. Again shift your focus away from weight and keep the focus on working hard every workout and eating right every meal everyday 90% of the time.