Step It Up Part III-X Factors

We have been talking about fat loss over the last few weeks.  Cardio and strength are the obvious but there are other factors I feel are very relevant to your success in dropping bodyfat. 

Here they are...


1. Mental Focus
You need to have a clear vision of where you want to go. Something that drives you to get your butt out of bed in the morning.  Put that vision or long term goals up where you can see it each day. Also make it more tangible by adding some visual effect to it. Here's an example. I have some serious business goals that I want to accomplish by the May of next year and I need to focus daily moving towards accomplishing these goals.  I set them at  conference put on by my coaching organization called NPE. I have this great NPE coffee mug that I fill every morning on the way to work. That visual aid reminds me of why I get up and do what I do each day. Bottom line it has to be more about just losing weight maybe it's being there for your kids or gaining more self confidence in your business by being more fit whatever it is write it down and post it up with something visual that reminds you of where you want to go.

2. Hydration When the body is well hydrated your fat burning organ the liver works better. You also flush out excess water retention which can appear like fat.  If you are dehydrated your liver has to redirect it's efforts to help the kidneys function better thus putting a monkey  wrench in the fat burning machinery. A good rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces. So if you weigh 200 pounds drink 100 ounces which equates to 12.5 8 oz glasses.

3.)Sleep- Studies show people who are sleep deprived tend to gain more weight. This is attribute to higher levels of the hormone ghrelin which tells your boy your hungry driving you to eat more calories. So get 7-8 hours a night to nip this problem in the butt.

4.)Stress- When you are under a lot of stress or aren't managing it well you tend to release more of the hormone cortisol which leads to high blood sugar and more storage of abdominal fat. If you are feeling stressed make sure you find outlets such as exercise, meditation/relaxation techniques and give yourself downtime.  If this hormone is high it tends to drive more stress eating as well.

5.)Set the environment- You need a create an environment that motivates you. Back in the 80s when I started working out we had this little gym with heavy metal music cranking and that did it for me. I'm a hairband fan so I now use my I-Pod with my favorite music and work out at gyms and my studio which have windows and the layouts I like.  Many times a home gym just doesn't cut it because of all the distractions or even the big industrial gym either.  Find a place that energizes you instead of sucks energy from you.


So these are a few other things to keep in mind to help you be successful in your fat loss quest. Please post any other tips you might have so others can benefit as well. The bottom line is draw up a good plan and execute it. If you don't know how to do than than hire someone who does so you can quit wasting time and start making progress.

Step It Up Part II-Metabolic Strength Training



Last week we talked about stepping out cardio activity to stimulate your metabolism using intervals. This week we are covering strength training.  The same concept can be applied here.

Typically strength training is one using free weights or machines targeting specific muscle groups while taking rest periods between sets. This might work for a bodybuilder but most people do not want to bodybuild.

What works is moving in circuits or groups of exercise with little or no rest trying to get the heart rate up and adding in intermittent rest periods. Also focus on exercises that involve the whole body and are compound exercises. These will burn more calories, move your body in a functional manner to improve functional strength, and you can hit more muscles in less time.

Here are some examples:

Squats vs. leg Extension
Lunge to bicep curl vs. seated machine bicep curl
Step up to overhead press vs. seated overhead press


Basically total body or compound movements that use multiple joints are better than exercises that use only 1 joint.  Here is a circuit I use with myself and clients. Do 2-3 circuits of each resting one minute between circuits.

Abs/Core

Leg lift and crunch pike combo  15 reps
Alternating  turning sit ups on stability ball  10-15 reps each way
Side bend over stability ball or on edge of bench  15 reps each side

Legs
Squats any version 15 reps
Single leg squat  15 reps each leg
Stiff leg deadlift with dumbells  15 reps
Plyometric squat jumps 15 reps

Pull
Squat to row cable 15 reps
Kettlebell swing 15 reps
Reverse flyes with dumbells over stability balls 15 reps
Lateral walking with alternating dumbell curls 15 reps (go 7-8 reps and change directions)

Push
Push ups  any version   15 reps
Standing cable or rubber tubing punch step forward and press with both arms(alternate legs)  8 reps each side

Step up to overhead dumbell press alternating legs  15 reps
Tricep Dips on bench  15 reps


This gives you an idea of what a n intense metabolic fat burning workout looks like. You can substitute exercises if you like based on injuries you may have and ability.  The take home point is work hard minimize rest and get that heart rate up. You should sweat more and feel more gassed after wards.  You might even fail on some sets that's okay push to the max because you will love the results.








Abs

Step it up to burn fat part 1

 



Back in the day we were told you had to stay in the fabled fat burning zone with your cardio to burn more fat and less sugar. This was commonly taught all around the fitness realm.  Many people would drone out like zombies on some piece of cardio equipment staring vacantly ahead or even sometimes throwing towels over the time so they wouldn't have to look at how long they had to go.

 

Some kooky myths popped up like "you need to do 1 hour minimum of cardio to really burn fat and "cardio needs to be one everyday.  These are truly fairy tales.

Here's the deal. A 1996 study by Treuth, Hunter and wWilliams studied two groups of cyclists one group did intervals at 100% of their VO2 Max and the other continuous cycling at 60% of their VO2 max(The fat burning zone)The interval group not only burned more calories during the workout but significantly more calories 24 hours post work.  Likewise another  study done by Laforgia in 1997 did a similar comparison using running and subjects who did the intervals had a much more significant amount of fat loss.

The bottom line is if you are serious about burning more fat you need to incorporate some interval training into your cardio regimen.  This will elevate your metabolism post workout for up to 38 hours. Basically burning more fat even when you might be sitting at your desk at work. 

There are several ways to do this. Here are some examples:
1.)Spinning class or hill programs on the stationary bike
2.)Run/Jog or walk/jog depending on your fitness level
3.)Boxing/Martial Arts
4.)Mountain Biking
5.)Agility Drills/Plyometrics mixed with recovery jogging
6.)Basketball-hustling not standing around
7.)Snowshoeing/Cross country skiing on a hilly course


Here are some interval formats to use

Always do a 5-10 min warm up and cool down with each of these

• 5-6x 3 minutes of hard work at 95-100% max HR with 2-3 min recovery periods
• 4 x4 minutes at 95-100% man hr with 3-4 min recovery periods
• 8-12 x 30 sec  cranking it out with 1-2 min recovery periods

So if you are stuck on a boring cardio routine crank it up with some new intensity and creativity. Also this is very time efficient. I believe 25-30 min of intense cardio is better than 1 hour of light "fat burning" cardio. Jack up the intensity 2-3 times per week and you should start seeing that fat melt off.

Stay tuned next week as I address strength training for max fat loss part 2 of this blog series.