Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

Yesterday, we looked at the top three things that prevent you from losing excess body fat - alcohol consumption, fatigue and dieting or fasting. All three trigger a stress response in your body, which then produces cortisol. The presence or absence of cortisol is the most important factor to your fat loss goals. You need to limit stress signals to your body so that they don’t undermine your best efforts in the gym. Now that you know what stops you from losing fat, here is a very powerful tool you can use to burn it off quickly.

Difference Between Aerobic, Anaerobic Exercises

Aerobic exercise is when the demands for oxygen and fuel for muscles can be met by the heart and lungs. Lactic acid, which is a waste by-product of the muscles’ activity, can also be flushed away.

Anaerobic exercise takes place when the demands of the body are too much for the heart and lungs to keep up. Chemical compounds that are normally used for energy simply cannot be provided quickly enough. Lactic acid levels build up in the affected muscles which leads to a strong burning sensation. Anaerobic exercise can only be managed for short bursts until the muscle tissue runs out of glycogen for fuel and lactic acid builds up - forcing you to stop.

Aerobic is jogging around the block. Anaerobic is running like you just robbed a corner store.

HIIT it Where it Hurts

‘HIIT’ stands for High Intensity Interval Training, or interval training, for short. This is the most valuable weapon in your fat burning arsenal.
‘HIIT’ is simple. Take any exercise you already do and add a short duration of high intensity to it. If you walk, alternate 2 minutes at a regular pace with 1 minute of speed walking or jogging. If you jog, do the same, but add a sprinting component or try adding hills. The key is to alternate periods of high intensity with recovery periods that allow the muscles, heart, and lungs to catch up. If you don’t have a timer that can keep track, an informal method is to do the high intensity interval until you are forced to slow down. Catch your breath until you have enough energy to do another sprint, and repeat. At the end of your first ‘HIIT’ workout, you might be asking yourself…

Who is the $%*&@ Sadist That Invented Intervals!?!?

I will warn you - interval training is difficult - extremely difficult. It takes time to adjust to the feeling that your heart is going to shoot out of your throat. But take heart (pardon the pun) - you do get used to it after a period of adjustment. I actually got to enjoy the feeling as I approached my maximum heart rate. It takes time but it feels extremely rewarding when you know you have it floored and you’re giving your absolute best. If you are out of shape and just getting into an exercise program, start with walking and work your way up to sprints. If you belong to a gym, go check out a spin class - it’s interval training on stationary bikes. It provides coaching and encouragement to keep going. You can burn over 800 calories in a 30 minute spin class!

Take the Path of Greatest Resistance

If you’re serious about your training, the advantages to interval training far outweigh any pain you might endure. The advantages are:

• You burn much more fat than traditional cardio exercise in a shorter period of time. Twenty minutes of intervals burn as many calories as an hour of traditional cardio.
• Regular cardio increases your metabolism for a few hours after exercising. The effects of interval training lasts longer. Your metabolism is boosted throughout the day. Increased metabolism = more calories burned at rest, even when you sleep.
• Interval training encourages lean muscle growth. It doesn’t tend to burn muscle like traditional cardio does. You lose the fat but not the muscle.
• Intervals gives your cardiovascular capacity an enormous boost. This is why most elite athletes incorporate ‘HIIT’ into their training regimen. It worked for Lance Armstrong during his seven consecutive Tour de France wins and it will work for you.