One such aspect that is often ignored is the easy act of getting additional sleep.

Does getting additional sleep include an result in how to burn fat off?

Even though sleeping seems to be one of the laziest things you would do in a day, lack of sleep you impacts far more than you imagine. Still don’t trust me? Well, you have to realize that even slight sleep deprivation will unfavorably influence your efforts at the fitness center. A reduced intensity level will reduce the efficiency of your weight exercise and cardio routines.

Sleep lack impedes the body’s aptitude to repair muscles after weight training. Of course, if you’ve already learned a little about how to burn fat, you’ve maybe also learned that augmented muscle mass will accelerate your metabolism.

Moreover, sleep lack also causes the release of grehlin, a hormone which makes you feel hungrier. This can make it very tricku to go on with your diet because your sweet cravings as well as craving for other unhealthful snacks increase.

If you sleep less, you also consume more calories; this, because you spend more time awake. Almost no one opts for a healthful snack when they’re awake at night. Regardless of your understanding of how to burn fat, you have to know that consuming only a few hundred excess calories a day can totally ruin your efforts.

Over and above, sleep lack hinders the body’s synthesis of leptin. Leptin aids in controlling hunger; it is a hormone in the mind. You’ll end up consuming more calories and spending more time at the fitness center trying to figure out how to burn fat off because you overate once more; this is what happens when levels of leptin in the body are low.

And there’s more….

Sleep lack increases levels of cortisol in the body. Cortisol, a hormone produced by our body, is to a great extent responsible for weight gain, mainly around your waistline. If the levels of cortisol in your body are high, you’ll be losing muscle and storing more fat. I’m sure you know that this is the most horrible possible combination for you, even if you don’t know much about how to burn fat off.

While on the subject of hormones, you have to know that sleep lack also lowers growth hormone and testosterone levels in your body. The fact is that these two hormones in the body are the most effective fat-burning substances.

So how much you have to be sleeping if you want to learn how to burn fat off and modify your body’s composition?

Most experts support receiving at least 7 to 8 hours of excellence sleep each night. Clearly, after reading this article, you have to know why those who think that four to five hours of sleep is enough are negatively affecting their weight loss goals.

To learn much more about fatburn and weightloss CLICK HERE!.

They look at some free informations to lose weight in a journal or glossy magazine and think the pounds to just melt off. In reality, it basically does not happen like this.

The following free information to lose weight can considerably improve your fat burning results if include them into your weight loss program….

TIP #1: Eat and drink more protein

Protein allows you to build up and keep lean muscle tissue. Muscle is a metabolically working tissue, and so the lean muscle mass in your body will burn calories all on its own, separately from improving your physical type.

After a meal, Protein makes you feeling full. It also makes the body burn additional calories through the digestive process since it is not as simple to break down as carbs or fats.

TIP #2: Look for a workout system that you enjoy

For example, if you do not enjoy to run or walk, do not include this into your program as the major work out; this because you will sooner or later get dispirited and end exercising completely.

In some case, you should modify your workout practice by adding up exercises that you like doing in order to remain motivated. A balance of weight exercises and cardio is a smart way to go.

TIP #3: Do not give up or lose hope

If for some reason there are days when you are not able to work out or have not been able to continue to your diet grogram, do not beat yourself up over it. Give you a break for one day. After that, immediately get right back to your work out program as soon as you be able to.

Weight loss is not something you can choose to do for a couple of weeks in order to look good at a meeting or suit into a bikini; it is a lifetime process. In reality, weight loss have to be a part of your way of life for the long haul if you actually want it to work.

TIP #4: Eat a proper balance of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats

Even as proteins burn fat and have to be a part of your diet, high quality carbs and healthy fats must also be integrated. Keep away from “zero carbs” or “zero fats” fad diets; these are in fact just selling hype.

Almost all your meals have to contain a balance of natural carbohydrates and lean proteins; do not forget to add a few healthy fat sources in a few meals.

TIP #5: Healthy carbohydrates do not involve sweetened cereals, white bread, and white rice

Natural starchy sources and green fibrous veggies are high in fiber and do not trigger such a quick insulin response; you have to choose for these.

Several of the green fibrous veggies that you have to use are cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and celery. Contain oatmeal, potatoes, yams, and whole grain breads and cereals in your diet; these are fine starchy carbs.

TIP #6: Do not be afraid of fats

All you have to do is make the correct fats a part of your diet grogram. Making healthy, unsaturated fats a part of your diet will be helpful to your healthiness in several ways; furthermore, such fats also up your body’s rate of fat burning.

Contain lots of healthy fats in your diet such as cold water fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, and healthy oils such as flaxseed and olive oils.

To learn much more about weightloss and fatburn CLICK HERE!.

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Exercise Recovery – What Works Best?
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

The human body operates most efficiently when it is in balance, or has achieved a state known as homeostasis. As such, optimal recovery means that all body systems have returned to the state they were in before exercise (homeostasis). However, for most avid exercisers, recovery is a limiting factor. The better you can recover, the sooner and better you can train. The process of recovery (regeneration) gets less attention than it should. Every person should have a systematic plan that includes recovery activities on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The following are simple tools that you can implement to help your body recover better between exercise bouts.

Cool-down

After exhaustive exercise, don’t stop and rest immediately. You can speed up the removal of lactic acid from your muscles by continuing to exercise at a low intensity for 10-20 minutes. Cooling down can help reduce the feeling of stiffness that often occurs after a workout and is especially important if your next training session or event is scheduled a few hours later.

Stretch

Static stretching before exercise puts you at risk for damaging the very tissues you are trying to protect and as such should be avoided. Research has shown that stretching causes lengthening of the tendinous fibers within the muscle-tendon unit. Such lengthening causes the tendon (or passive) component to lose much of its shock absorbency, thus, placing the muscle fibers at greater risk of trauma. However, stretching after exercise may help minimize muscle soreness and may even help prevent future soft tissue injuries. Thus, before activity, more active-type stretching routines that promote range of motion and increased blood flow are recommended. Conversely, after exercise, the emphasis should be on passive or static stretching to allow the muscles to relax and return to their resting lengths.

Carbohydrates

The muscles are primed for quick restoration of their carbohydrate fuel reserves (glycogen) immediately after exercise, so don’t wait too long to start eating foods and drinking beverages rich in carbohydrate. Fruits, energy bars, and sports drinks all contain large amounts of carbohydrate. From a nutrition standpoint, post-exercise is one of the only times where you want to be consuming high-glycemic index foods for they will stimulate a quicker release of insulin and, thus, carbohydrate storage in the muscles. Ideally, these fuels should be consumed as quickly as possible upon finishing your exercise session.

Protein

Most forms of exercise lead to the breakdown of proteins within the muscles. This breakdown-repair process stimulates the muscles to rebuild and become stronger. Moreover, some of our muscle proteins continue to be broken down during the recovery phase after exercise. For a faster buildup of muscle proteins during recovery, include a small amount of protein in the foods you eat. Milk, cheese, eggs, whey protein shakes, sandwiches, nuts (almonds, walnuts) and energy bars provide carbohydrate and protein. Look for easily digestible protein sources (such as the ones listed above) following strenuous exercise. Avoid saturated fats.

Fluids

Replacing lost fluid is crucial to the recovery process. Having adequate fluids within your body promotes the removal of toxins and waste from your muscles. Top off your supply of fluids by drinking before exercise, continue to hydrate every 15 or 20 minutes during a workout, and replace any body weight lost during exercise by drinking while you recover. Remember, 1 L of water is equivalent to 1 kg of body weight. Therefore, if the difference between your pre- and post-exercise weight is 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) you would want to rehydrate with 1.5 L of water to bring your body fluid back to homeostasis. Before, during, and after exercise, the rule of thumb is that if you’re thirsty, it’s too late! Therefore, be sure to have a water bottle throughout the day to sip on. On a daily basis (at rest), the number of ounces of water you should be consuming should equal half of your body weight (in lbs). Thus, if you weigh 200 lbs, then you want to be drinking 100 ounces of water (almost 3 L).

Salt

Your body loses water and minerals – mostly sodium chloride, some potassium – when you sweat. Drinking water alone during exercise and recovery will make it difficult to replace body fluids rapidly because much of it will pass through the kidneys to become urine. Replace the salt along with the water to counteract dehydration. If you have to compete again within a few hours, consider sports drinks that contain water, sodium chloride, or fruits such as bananas which are high in potassium. Add extra salt to foods at mealtime if you are susceptible to cramps. Consider using condiments, sports drinks, and fitness waters instead of salt tablets.

Damage Control

Inflammation, swelling, and muscle soreness are possibilities following strenuous exercise. To minimize the effects, consider cold packs around joint areas, alternating cold and hot whirlpool baths, and the use of specially designed magnets to speed the recovery process. Light massage is also a good option for promoting toxin removal from the tissues and reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). A study by Hilbert et al. showed that a 20 minute massage 2 hours following exercise helped to reduce the intensity of soreness 48 hours post-exercise in subjects who underwent 6 sets of maximal eccentric hamstring contractions. Minimize foot contact with the ground. Engage in light activities that increase blood flow while not taxing the nervous system. Swimming, cycling, walking, and light jogs are alternatives, but minimize foot contact with the ground.

Sleep

There is plenty of evidence to show that lack of sleep can have an adverse affect on training and competition. You might get by for a day or two with inadequate sleep, but it will catch up with up sooner or later. If you haven’t monitored your sleep habits already, determine how much sleep you need each night to ensure full recovery. It’s not eight hours for everyone – could be less, could be more. Then try to establish a routine that will allow you get what you need to perform well.

Sleep is divided into 1.5-hour time cycles. If you can time sleep cycles in increments of an hour and a half (1.5 hours, 3.0 hours, 4.5 hours, 6.0 hours, 7.5 hours, 9.0 hours), you have a better chance of waking up refreshed. The idea is to awake at the top of the cycle instead of at the bottom. And don’t dismiss the power of a 20-30 minute nap during the day. The journal Sleep highlighted a meta-analysis done on studies looking at the effects of sleep deprivation on performance. The researchers found that overall sleep deprivation strongly impairs human functioning. Moreover, they found that mood is more affected by sleep deprivation than either cognitive or motor performance and that partial sleep deprivation has a more profound effect on functioning than either long-term or short-term sleep deprivation.

Also be aware that overtraining can impair your body’s ability to fully rest and regenerate. A study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise revealed that female swimmers who trained excessively showed a higher incidence of sleep disruptions.

In sum, there are several measure that you can take to better your recovery between exercise sessions. Remember that a combination of the several of the aforementioned tools should be implemented for best results.

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
Creator, Fitter U

References:

Safran, M. et al (1989). Warm up and muscular injury prevention: an update. Sports Medicine, 239-249.

Hibert, J. et al (2003). The effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 37: 72-75.

Pilcher, J & Huffcutt, A. (1996). Effects of sleep deprivation on performance: a meta-analysis. Sleep, 19(4): 318-326.

S. Taylor et al. (1997). Effects of training volume on sleep, psychological, and selected physiological profiles of elite female swimmers. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 29(5):688-693.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

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When Can I Expect to Lose Weight by Working Out?
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

If you’re like most people who want to lose weight, then I’m sure you’ve asked this question before, haven’t you? And it’s a fair question that most people are working out to lose weight would like to know the answer to. However, is tough to tell when you can expect to see results from working out. After all, there are a number of factors that will determine the outcome. Let’s have a look at each one as well as what you can do see faster results from your workouts.

WHEN CAN YOU EXPECT TO SEE “VISIBLE” WEIGHT LOSS RESULTS?

If you’re a beginner to working out, the first 6 weeks of your training program are very important even though you may not see significant results. These first 6 weeks are known as the “neuromuscular adaptation phase” and are characterized by an increased in muscular co-ordination and improved strength without a significant physical transformation.

So, if you want to lose weight and you’re not seeing immediate results, just remember that the first 6 weeks lay your foundation. After that, the weight will start to fall off, bearing in mind that you’re working out and eating correctly.

With that in mind, it should be remembered that achieving your fitness or weight loss goal isn’t about doing something for a few months and then stopping. No! Instead, it’s about making exercise and healthy eating a part of your daily lifestyle. When you do so, you will see significant results. And they’ll last!

HOW MUCH WEIGHT DO YOU WANT TO LOSE?

Do you want to lose weight? Great! How much? 10 lbs? 20 lbs? You need to be specific, it needs to be measurable, and you need to fix a date to your goal.

The first thing you need to do is get very clear on your goal. Is it measurable? Do you want to lose weight fast or do you want to lose 15 lbs? The difference is subtle yet pivotal in your ability to achieve your goal.

So get clear. Know where you are and where you want to go.

WHAT DO YOUR WORKOUTS LOOK LIKE?

Whatever your goal, you need to be working out at least every other day. That means that you’re working out 3-4 times per week (or more in some cases). The goal is to increase your lean body mass (ie. develop more lean muscle) so that you naturally raise your metabolism. As a result, your body will be burning more calories (and specifically fat calories) all throughout the day. Therefore, you will have a leaner body and more muscle. That’s a good thing.

If you are working out once a week, then you’re not going to achieve anything! It’s that simple. I’ve worked with too many people who would only workout with me (once a week) and then do nothing on their own. The result – no results!

DIET IS CRITICAL

Diet is a big factor. If you want to lose weight, then you need to eat less calories than you are burning. It’s that simple. If you eat 2000 calories per day, then you need to be burning more than that. Obviously, it’s tough to tell how many calories you’re burning in a given day but, in general, the more intense your workouts, the longer they last, and the more often you workout each week, the more calories you’ll be burning.

Eating more raw fruits and vegetables will make a huge difference in helping you lose weight.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

This concept is mostly used by professional bodybuilders and athletes, and is based on the principle of never allowing the muscles to know what’s going to do next by alternating your workout constant. Everyone knows how important it is the exercise of any weight loss plan and it’s a great way to burn excess calories into fat.

The major problem with exercise is that people tend to do exactly the same exercises in the same moment every day.

The body quickly begin to adapt to your exercise routine, which means your body can really begin to burn fewer calories while you exercise in particular that for the same amount of time. This is where the concept of muscle confusion comes into play.

When you decide to start a new exercise program, a good tool to keep nearby is a blackboard or notepad. What to do then is write about 20 or more different exercises that you like to do. Each day after that, then go to the list and choose a random and different exercise to perform.

In this way, your muscles will use daily, but in different ways or different muscle groups, so that no two days are the same and neither are the days of the week. Doing so will burn more calories and increase the speed with which to build new muscle.

If you can keep your muscles confused, which can never adapt to the exercises you do and always burn more calories which means a smaller waistline before. You can use any muscle confusion workout. Whether it is weight training, cardio, aerobics or less intense, such as walking and cleaning.

When you run out of the exercises in the list you created, you can then go and write a new new list. If you choose to use some of the older, remember to make them at a different time and day that you did the last time.

Also, do not necessarily have to make only 1 type of exercise every day, you can choose to do 3, 4 or more during their daily training. The idea is to mix everything so that your body has no idea what the exercise is going to do next.

This method of preparation is one of the most effective ways to keep burning calories at the maximum rate. We must remember, even though the exercise is great for burning fat, always will be the burning and using more calories than you consume.

The solution to permanent weight loss is to consume the right kinds of foods that will preserve your lean muscle mass and to increase the fat burning rate by building new muscle to speed up your metabolism. We recommend using the new fail-proof diet from The Weight Loss Grail.

This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will never leave you feeling hungry or ask you to give up your favorite foods.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

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Metabolism and Weight Loss – What You Need to Know
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

Your metabolism is important in the weight loss equation because it represents 60-75% of your total caloric expenditure each and every day. Metabolism is proportional to your fat-free mass (ie. muscle), and after age 20 it decreases by about 2-3% per decade. In general, women tend to have a lower metabolism due to lower fat-free mass.

Your resting metabolism is the rate of energy expenditure that your body goes through at rest. It is the number of calories your body needs to survive if all you did was lie in bed.

For each 1% increase in body fatness, your metabolism decreases about 0.01 calories/minute. Thus, simply by having more fat on your body decreases your basal metabolic rate. Conversely, doing things that will burn fat and promote muscle development will increase your metabolism.

While this change may seem like no big deal, it is! This small difference can become much more meaningful if you progressively pack on weight. For example, a 5% increase in body fat at the same body weight results in a difference of 0.05 calories/minute, which is equal to 72 calories/day.

Since 3500 calories equals 1 lb of fat, in our example, it would take 48 days to add on one extra pound of fat (everything being equal). That might not seem like much but over the course of 1 year that would be an extra 7 lbs of fat just because of an initial 5% body fat difference. But it would actually be more than 7 lbs since your body fat would increase as you continued to pack on the weight.

METABOLISM IS ALSO INFLUENCED BY…

Fat-free mass is not the only factor influencing your metabolism. Since the early 1900s researchers have shown that prolonged dieting is associated with a significant decrease in metabolic rate (as much as 20% in some cases). For example, the famous Minnesota Starvation Experiment where caloric intake was restricted by 25% over the course of 24-weeks revealed that, per kg of bodyweight, metabolic rate is reduced on a semi-starved diet. The researchers also showed that T3 (one of the thyroid hormones) and sympathetic nervous system activity decreased as well.

The latter two findings are rather significant considering that thyroid is the master gland regulating your body’s metabolism. A decrease in its function makes it more difficult to lose weight. I have seen this in practice having worked with hundreds of men and women who suffer from an underactive thyroid who at the same time, have had a very tough time losing weight.

The sympathetic nervous system plays a pivotal role in the body’s ability to mobilize and burn fat. Since it stimulates the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands, a hormone that breaks down fat, any interruption to its functioning will also impair fat burning.

What these “starvation” studies reveal is that during prolonged periods of low caloric intake, the energy production of the tissues decreases in an attempt to adapt to the lower caloric intake and reduce the rate of weight loss. It’s simply a survival mechanism. Obviously, this is an appropriate adaptation in periods of starvation, but it is counterproductive if your goal is to lose weight fast and for good.

IS YOUR METABOLISM DOOMED?

Your metabolism is also responsive to periods of over-feeding. In one dieting experiment, when the subjects were allowed a day of “free eating”, their metabolism was elevated on the following day. Further, in long-term (14-20 days) overfeeding to cause obesity, increases in metabolic rate have been recorded.

This would seem counter-intuitive. After all, if your metabolic rate increases wouldn’t it help you lose weight? In most cases, yes, but not if eating to a point of creating a dramatic positive energy balance.

In essence, during the dynamic phase of weight gain (going from a lower to higher weight), more calories are required per kg of body to maintain the weight gain than maintain normal body weight. This is obvious and it’s also one of the reasons why you may feel hungrier when you are more active.

DOES EXERCISE IMPROVE METABOLISM?

Studies have shown that trained individuals have a higher metabolic rate than untrained individuals – but only when they did high intensity workouts and consumed sufficient calories to maintain energy balance. This suggests that the higher metabolic rate in trained individuals is not due to chronic adaptations associated with training, but more to do with the acute energy flux associated with the most recent workouts and dietary choices.

There is no doubt that your metabolic rate is elevated following exercise. The questions relate to how much and how long it is elevated, and to what extent it contributes to total daily energy expenditure.

It may be said, in the long run, daily exercise is needed to maintain an elevated metabolism. However, it should be remembered that what you do today will potentially have a greater “short term” impact on your metabolism than your combined workout efforts over the past few years. Just another reason why working out at least every other day is imperative for maintaining an elevated metabolism and helping you lose weight and stay lean!

References:

Benedict, F. et al. (1919). Human Vitality and Efficiency Under Prolonged Restricted Diet. Washington, DC. The Carnegie Institute of Washington.

Keys, A. et al. (1950). The Biology of Human Starvation. Volume 1. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

The reason is simple.

They know that doing so within minutes of ab exercises every day, never going to make much difference to the amount of body fat or size of your stomach. These machines work well and can give you the rock-hard abs, but you will not be able to see if they are covered by layers of ugly fat.

These machines are made to strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles. After using for a couple of weeks without seeing any results, which generally end up gathering dust in the garage somewhere until the next larger machine AB is released and what he thinks of himself, “This could be the one “.

Some of these exercise devices are so questionable that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the “Project absurd” against those responsible for the AB Energizer, and Fast Abtronic ABS in 2002.

According to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, “These electronic abs doing nothing to turn a pot belly into a flat belly bulging six pack.” The government then sued three different manufacturers of these machines for false advertising.

If you are already thin and have visible abdominal muscles slightly, these exercise devices are great to make them look more defined. Therefore, more attractive models in the waistband of shorts and sexy.

They got their sexy figures using the hype machine. They have followed a healthy balanced diet, along with many hours in the gym.

It probably never even laid their eyes on the machine that was being promoted until the day of the photo or shoot commercials and are scheduled your training and diet to be in top physical condition to complete one day.

The other type of athlete ab is known as an electronic muscle stimulator (EMS), which provides an electrical charge to the muscles of his contract.

John Porcari, a professor of physical education and sport sciences at the University of Wisconsin, EMS test a device similar to the market in a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise. After eight weeks of using the single device, the participants had no significant increases in muscle size or strength.

The bottom line is this:

A few minutes of ab exercises daily not to burn the fat from your belly. We must remember that doing ab exercises alone, will not accomplish much when it comes to reducing weight. Moreover, a study conducted and published by the American Council on Exercise also confirmed this.

The study indicated that these machines do not perform better than the standard practice of contraction, which means that most of these machines AB are a total waste of money.

If you are overweight and want to have a good definition and sexy stomach, you need to add other exercises to your regimen as weight training and maybe some cardio exercise as well as cycling, rowing and aerobics.

You will also have to take note of what you eat and your diet is probably the most important part of any successful program of weight loss.

To begin losing weight fast (and to get a slimmer waistline) we recommend using the new fail-proof diet from The Weight Loss Grail. This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will give you those visible, sexy abs that you have always dreamed of.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

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Burn More Calories in Less Time
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

In my view, intensity is the most critical aspect of any exercise regime and can mean the difference between someone who reaches their goals and someone who doesn’t. Increasing your workout’s intensity will stimulate your body to burn more calories and induce a greater cardiovascular response. It will also allow you to have a more time efficient workout.

If you are looking to burn fat and become more toned, then increasing your exercise intensity is critical. Many people have the misconception that if you workout at a higher intensity you will no longer be burning fat since you will be in your “cardio zone”. Whereas, if you keep your intensity low for a longer duration you will burn more fat since you will be in your “fat burning zone”.

Let me clarify this for you once and for all. By training at a low intensity (<70% max) it is true that you use fat as your predominant source of fuel. While exercising at a higher intensity (>75% max) your main fuel source is carbohydrate but you will ultimately burn more calories. And since 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, the ultimate goal is to burn as many calories as possible to create a negative energy balance!

One of the best ways to achieve this intensity is through the use of full-body exercises (circuit training set up) in conjunction with interval training. The benefit of full body exercises is that they utilize more muscle in any given movement – thus, you burn more calories. The inherent intensity of the workout also means that each exercise becomes more challenging as your heart rate is sustained at a much higher level as a result of not giving yourself enough rest between exercises.

Here are a couple of benefits to following an exercise program combining circuit training and interval training:

1. Intervals and circuits vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio training and/or weight lifting can become quite boring. Interval training and circuit training offer more variety and excitement to your workouts.

2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure (calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise, which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state (e.g. reduce heart rate).

As this can take many hours, you will keep on burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval training compared to steady state exercise.

3. Interval training burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292 calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584 calories!

Here is a sample circuit traing workout that will leave you huffing and puffing:

WARM-UP – bike, treadmill, elliptical, rower + dynamic stretching (5-10 min)

CIRCUIT (45 seconds for each exercise, with 15 seconds rest between exercises :: 5-7 min to complete 1 set)

Lunge walks with lateral raises

Plank (on stability ball)

Squats with medicine ball shoulder press

Push-ups

Side Bridges

Reverse Pull-ups

Burpies

INTERVAL TRAINING (cardio machine)

20 sec @ 100% : 40 sec @ 70% x 5 = 5 min

Repeat Circuit and Interval 3 times

Total Workout Time: 45 – 50 min

Do this workout 4 times over the next 2 weeks and watch the difference intensity brings to your workouts – and your results!

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

But what if the opposite was true? What if I was going to say that exercise can cause you to lose less Wight?

In general, most people tend to exercise early in the morning with empty stomach. This is probably because they have heard or read that this is the best time to exercise or the only time of day where you can squeeze in a workout.

Whatever the reason may be, if you exercise on an empty stomach and very early, in fact, can wreak havoc on your stomach. While exercise does not burn calories, but also makes you feel hungrier later. Along with the “high” that the body feels after a prolonged period of exercise, this can often lead to overeating.

Although you can not finish eating 4 pieces of toast with 6 eggs and 2 large glasses of orange juice after every workout, the calculation of the amount of calories burned during training is often much greater than the actual amount.

Add this to the fact that many people also underestimate the amount of calories consumed at meals, combine to losing weight more slowly.

Losing weight too fast is something you should not aspire to achieve. A slower approach to weight loss is most likely to see lasting results and the plan can be maintained for a long period of time, as it is tolerable and not too strict.

A key to successful weight loss is never conduct a training just before a main meal. Try it just before or some other activity before having to leave.

For example, if you just finished a 30-minute workout on your treadmill, you must go and shower, and then maybe go for a walk in the park, or maybe he could go to a cafe and enjoy a free sugar, coffee with low fat milk.

Something to consider is fiber. The fiber helps fill the stomach without adding too many calories. So what you could do is eat a high fiber snack, just before a workout. Slim-Fast bars make such large and All Bran.

One of the biggest falls of weight loss are water sports and protein shakes. These usually contain large amounts of sugar. All the calories burned are only added directly back to your body with these sugary drinks. Be sure to check labels and choose low-calorie versions.

So remember that exercise can cause you to have a big appetite and take precautions to see their snacks after practice and learn to snack wisely.
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If you ever find yourself at a loss for workout ideas, don’t feel like using weights or machines, or traveling, or looking for some great workouts to enjoy at home then you’ll be happy to know that you’ve already got everything you need.

What I mean is that by simply using your bodyweight you can enjoy incredible workouts that will not only help you burn fat but sculpt and tone your body as well.

Bodyweight workouts are not only great for beginners – they can even by used by the fittest people. To this day, some of my most challenging and calorie-crunching workouts revolve around nothing more than push-up and pull-up variations, some full body cardio movements, and some great core and abdominal exercises.

I’d like to share one such workout with you. So if you’re sick and tired of going to the gym and would like to try something new and fresh at home (or even while you travel) then give this bodyweight workout a shot. Believe me, it might be tougher than it looks so pace yourself.

Please note that this workout is designed for beginners so stay tuned for more advanced variations.

Bodyweight Workout Structure:

After your warm-up you will be performing a 6 exercise bodyweight circuit where you will perform as many reps as possible (where applicable) in 30 seconds. You will then rest 30 seconds before moving onto the next exercise. Repeat this circuit 2-3 times.

WARM-UP – Jogging on spot, jumping jacks (3-5 minutes)

CIRCUIT WORKOUT (30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest)

1. Y Squats

2. Plank

3. Standing Lunges

4. Side Plank

5. Hip Bridge with Leg Extension

6. Push-ups

Enjoy!

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!