Maximize Your Fat Loss At The Gymnasium
It seems that the majority of us want to lose weight and get fit. In our efforts to do so we often start an exercise program or join a gym. But how many people do you see at the gyms who never seem to make any progress at all? It’s not going to the gym that will get you in shape but rather what you do at the gym that makes all of the difference.
If you are going to see any results from an exercise program you are going to have to work hard and break a sweat. That means getting your heart rate up into the target zones and keeping it there. There is some evidence that if you keep your heart rate at the lower end of the zone for a longer period of time that your body will actually burn more fat than carbohydrates, however, that does not necessarily translate to weight loss.
Burning fat stores as an energy source when you exercise is not nearly as important as the amount of calories that you burn altogether. For instance you may burn 350 calories from fat during an easy 60 minute workout but if you add in some challenging high intensity intervals during that same 60 minutes you could end up burning 750 to 1000 calories or more and that will help your body lose weight much more efficiently.
High intensity interval training is extremely effective for fat loss. The idea is to get your heart rate into the target heart training zone and then for 30 to 60 second intervals work really hard and raise your heart rate to the higher ends of the zone and then let it come back down to the lower ends and repeat a few times. If you do high intensity interval training you can even cut your workout time by half or more and still burn more calories and have more success.
To get a rough idea of your maximum heart rate, take your age and subtract it from 220. Then take that number and multiply it by 60% and 80%. This would give you a target heart-training zone. This is the zone that you need to keep your heart rate at during your cardio training in order to see the best results.
If you want to lose weight and drop fat for the long term, you will need to gain muscle. That means that you should pump iron. Muscle is a biologically active tissue. That means that you will burn more calories just in the process of living if you have more muscle on your body. Fat is basically an inactive tissue and it will not help your body to burn any calories at all.
While exercise is important the most crucial aspect to getting results from any fitness program does not happen at the gym. 6-pack abs are built in the kitchen, not at the gym. Incorporating a highly nutritious diet is the most important aspect of any fitness plan. You will never see the best results from an exercise plan unless you consume a good diet.
Maximum fat loss can be achieved by following a few fundamentals. Supercharge your cardio routine by adding in some HIIT, begin a solid weight-training program and improve your diet. If you do all of these basic things you should see some results quite quickly.