I loved this article and felt it important to share the knowledge. So many (especially women) make these mistakes week after week, and wonder why they are not shredding the fat.
Here Are the Top Mistakes That Are Keeping You From Taking Your Body From
Good To Head Turning
1. Long Duration, Low Intensity Cardio - It’s like working without getting paid
Would you work an 8 hour day at your job if you knew you
weren't going to get paid? I think not! So why spend hours each week doing
cardio without getting any better results?
Slaving away on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical day after
day is a surefire way to make your body retain
fat. Yes, you read that correctly!
Long, moderate, boring
cardio causes you to retain more fat and eats away your muscle tone.
Muscle increases your metabolism, so
why risk losing your body's most efficient fat burner? Your muscles burn 3 times as many calories than fat.
So, the less muscle you have, the less calories you will burn, thus
retaining more fat.
That goes for you spinning addicts as well. You may not
consider spinning to be "moderate" cardio, but the fact of the matter
is even higher intensity cardio burns away your muscle when performed for a
prolonged period of time -- ultimately reducing the amount of calories you'll
burn throughout the day.
Not only is long duration cardio an ineffective way to lose fat, but it can eventually lead to overuse
injuries. When you repeat the same movements over and over for long periods of
time, you put too much stress on certain areas of your body, which can
eventually become what we call repetitive
stress injuries.
Cardio Done Right
The right way do cardio
effectively is keep it short and intense. Short bursts of high intensity interval
cardio triggers your anaerobic
metabolism, which will skyrocket your heart rate and burn the fat --
without eating away your muscle tone. Remember, you need to keep your muscle so
you can keep burning more fat and calories -- up to 48 hours after the
workout is over.
How can that be?
It’s a physiological effect known as EPOC (Exercise
Post-Oxygen Consumption). Put simply, EPOC is a scientific term used to measure
your body's rate of oxygen intake following a high-intensity activity. The
higher the intensity of the activity, more oxygen and energy are needed to
restore your body. As a result, your
body continues to burn calories for up to 48 hours after the workout is over.
Scientific Fact:
Short, high-intensity interval training burns calories up to 48 hours AFTER
your workout. That means you burn calories while you sleep!
Scientific Fact:
Lower-intensity aerobic (cardio) activities only burn calories while the
activity is being performed
Scientific Fact:
Anaerobic (strength-training) workouts increase EPOC much more than aerobic
exercise does
If there's one major point I want you learn from this
article, it's this: fitness is intensity
dependent, not time dependent.
Before we move on to reason #2,
2. Going for the "Spot Treatment"
The 200 crunches and 50 side-bends you do to finish off your
already lengthy workout are NOT going to get you any closer to wash-board abs
or erase that little bit of "muffin-top" you have left. Unlike trying
to zap a blemish on your face, there is no
such thing as a spot reduction for your body.
Even though your body tends to deposit more fat in certain
areas as opposed to others, burning it off doesn't work the same way. For example,
if you tend to carry more weight in your hips and thighs, doing isolated
exercises such as donkey kicks or inner and outer thigh machines won't work.
But why?
Isolated exercises simply don't burn enough fat or calories,
which is why your trouble areas never seem to get any smaller or tighter.
Isolation exercises aren't the answer to reaching your full fitness
potential because the body works as a whole - the sum of it's parts - never in
isolation.
The Most Effective Exercises Are Always Functional In Nature
There are several natural, primary movements that you perform
in your daily life. They can be broken down into 6 patterns: push, pull, squat,
deadlift, rotation and flexion / extension of torso. So, in order for an
exercise to become "functional", it
must incorporate at least one of the 6 primary movements.
Performing weight-bearing functional exercises as part of
your high-intensity interval training program is essential to gaining
functional strength and boosting your metabolism. You'll be training your whole
body to burn more fat without even thinking about it.
3. Strength Training With "Pink" Dumbbells
Listen closely, because I want to finally put the most common strength training misconception to
rest. Lifting heavier weights will NOT make you "get big" or
look like one of those muscle-clad women on the cover of a bodybuilding
magazine -- not even close!
Unlike men, your body doesn't produce enough testosterone to
stimulate large muscle growth. What you WILL get by lifting heavier weights is a
super lean, toned, fit body. Women who have discovered this secret have been
doing this for years with phenomenal results.
One of the most overlooked factors contributing to female
physical body transformations is muscle development and maintenance. For women this is the number 1 thing that will
literally transform your body into a fat burning furnace.
That means you have to get off the fancy gym machines and
lose the little "pink" dumbbells. Lifting light weights for countless reps will not stimulate your
muscles enough to get you any results. Real weights aren’t available in
pink!
Kettlebells, Dumbbells, and Barbells Aren't Just For Men
Anymore
Just because you're a woman, doesn't mean your workouts
should look more like physical therapy sessions. Forget about the balance
boards, swiss balls, yoga, and pilates. While those things might seem
entertaining, none will burn a lot of fat.
Gym machines and toys will never allow you to do functional
exercises because they restrict your natural range of motion -- keeping you
locked into a certain position. With kettle
bells, dumbbells, and barbells you can perform full-body functional exercises,
which allow you to move naturally, through full range of motion while engaging
your core.
What's more, the exercises you'll perform using these tools
get your heart rate up faster than you can bat an eye. You'll burn 10 times
more calories than you would on any piece of fancy equipment!
Here’s the bottom line: If you’re not willing to lift heavier
weights or do full body exercises at a heart-pumping pace, you’re just going to
have to learn to accept your body the way it is.
4. Repeating the Same Workout Routines Over And Over
Let's face it, we’re creatures of habit. And when it comes to
your fitness and fat-loss, staying in your comfort zone will only keep you from
achieving your "wow" body.
Did you know, it only
takes 3 weeks to adapt to a workout routine at which point you stop getting
results? Your body needs to be constantly
challenged in order to maintain your lean muscle and keep your
metabolism kicked into high gear.
Make Change a Habit
Without a well-designed training program and workout
schedule, chances are you're not planning your workouts before you go to the
gym. You wouldn't give a presentation without preparing a slide show would you?
It’s the same for your workouts. If you want to maximize your efforts, you've
got to make the best use of your time -- and in order to do that you need a good plan.
That's why MAX Workouts have been professionally programmed
so that you perform only functional
exercises in the high intensity, interval, strength, and circuit training
formats. Every training session is specifically and deliberately scheduled
-- even your rest days -- and the workout variables (time, intervals, speed, and
weights) are constantly changed up to ensure that your body doesn't adapt. That
way you get the best results possible
without having to think about a thing.
