| My 16 Week Journey To Six Pack Abs - |
[Oct. 3rd, 2008|02:53 am] |
My 16 Week Journey To Six Pack Abs -
How To Boost Your Metabolism Using Interval Training
I have observed hundreds of people in the gym that strictly perform 30-60 minutes of cardio, 3 5x per week, for at least a year resulting in the same old physique. If this sounds like your type of program, you will find out why you did not achieve the results that you are looking for.
I know many fitness trainers that put their client on 6-7 hours of cardio training per week for several months. When the clients are frustrated with the lack of results, the only thing that the trainers do is encourage their clients to just stick with the program or to do more hours.
So what is the solution? Is it to do more cardio? Of course not! Doing extra cardio will not help you. You will be surprised to know that 6-7 hours will NOT help increase your metabolism. In fact, it can actually slow down your metabolism.
Confused? There are a lot of misconceptions about aerobic training. Most people believe that aerobic training is the magic solution to weight loss. There is a dark side to aerobic training that most people are not aware of. It is NOT the solution to weight loss. Forget about the long, slow, boring cardio workout. It is not going to get you the six pack abs that you are looking for.
I will try to explain to you why people believe that steady state aerobic (i.e. jogging for 30-60 minutes) is the solution to fat loss.
Let? go back to a real life example. If you compare the best marathoners (people who can run for several hours) and the best sprinters (under one minute), who do you think is leaner? If you said the sprinter, you are absolutely right.
The first time that you attempt aerobic training, you might be able to last for only 5 minutes. As you get better and better, you increase your minutes. 5 minutes eventually turns into 10 minutes. 10 minutes eventually turns to 20 minutes. Eventually you can do 60 minutes, 5-6 times per week. Will you get the lean sculpted body that you want? Will you lose weight? Well? Just keep reading.
As you get better and better, your heart and lungs get stronger and stronger allowing you to do longer distances. HOWEVER, as you do more and more aerobic training, as you get stronger, your body becomes better at utilizing your body fat (meaning you are burning less body fat). What it means is that if it takes you 30 minutes to burn 300 calories, as you get stronger, it will take 45 minutes to burn the same amount of calories. Is there fun adding more minutes to your cardio just to burn the same amount of calories that you use to burn?
Eventually, as you do more and more aerobic to burn the extra calories, your body will start tapping into your muscles for energy. Eventually, your body can literally break down your muscle tissue to meet the energy demand. Your muscle tissue can be converted to glucose (blood sugar) to supply your aerobic training. What does that mean? You are making a smaller, less efficient fat burning machine; therefore, a weaker metabolism. .
Remember, steady aerobic training does NOT build muscle, but doing too much can actually make you lose muscle.
If steady state aerobic training does not work, what is the solution then?
The answer??br>
Interval Training (Anaerobic training)
Interval training is far more superior to boosting your metabolism than it is to do steady state aerobic training. Steady state aerobic does not increase your metabolism at all. It is true that you are burning calories while you are actually performing the aerobics. However, once you are done with your session, your metabolism returns to normal.
However, interval training (consisting of moderate to high intensity cardio) will burn more calories per minute, and will elevate your metabolism for hours and hours. The right amount of resistance training combined with an intense interval training session can keep your metabolism up for at least 24 hours and in some cases, up to 42 hours. Imagine what that can do to your body if you are burning high amounts of fat all day and all night long (even when you are sleeping).
A lot of people focus too much about ?he workout when in fact, they should focus more on the whole picture. It is not the 1 hour of workout that counts but it is the 23 hours remaining in the day.
What interval cardio activity can you do?
What ever you enjoy and willing to stick to. You can jog/run/sprint, stationary bike, spinning bike, eliptical machine, rowing, stair climbing, mountain biking, swimming, etc. It is your choice. Just get yourself moving.
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The Rule to Interval Training
Always warm up for 4-6 minutes
High intensity: Perform one minute as fast as you can.
(Level 9 or 10 intensity on a scale of 1-10)
Moderate intensity: Slow down to a moderate pace for two minutes
(Level 6-7 intensity).
Therefore, one round will last about 3 minutes.
Always cool down for 5 minutes
Warning: Do not perform interval training before resistance training. It can actually cause a negative effect on your routine.
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Week One to Four:
Complete 3 rounds, 3 xs per week.
Total time: 19 minutes per session (including the warm up and cool down).
You can perform this during your non-training days or right after your weight lifting.
Week Five to Eight
Complete 4 rounds, 4 xs per week.
Total time: 22 minutes per session (including the warm up and cool down).
You can perform this during your non-training days or right after your weight lifting.
Week Nine to Twelve
Complete 5 rounds, 4 xs per week.
Total time: 25 minutes per session (including the warm up and cool down).
You can perform this during your non-training days or right after your weight lifting.
Weeks Thirteen to Sixteen:
Complete 6 rounds, 5 xs per week.
Total time: 28 minutes per session (including the warm up and cool down).
You can perform this during your non-training days or right after your weight lifting.
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This is what the interval Training Looks like duing the first week.
Warm up for 4-6 minutes by doing some light jogging.
Followed By High Intensity Running/Sprinting for one full minute.
(Level 9 or 10 intensity on a scale of 1-10)
Followed by Moderate intensity: Slow down to jogging for two minutes
(Level 6-7 intensity).
Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 rounds: Run/Sprint for one minute followed by jogging for 2 minutes.
After completing all 3 rounds, light jog/walk for 5 minutes for a cool down.
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Warning: Do not perform interval training before resistance training. It can actually cause a negative effect on your routine.
Follow this exactly how it is laid out and with the proper amount of resistance training, it will help boost your metabolism to allow you to burn more fat through out the day.
However, keep in mind that you want to perform interval training right after your resistance training (never before resistance training). Doing interval training first can actually cause your body to break down your muscle tissue for energy during the resistance training. Interval training can also be done during your non-resistance day.
You will be amazed how only 15 minutes of interval training can help boost your metabolism allowing you to burn fat through out your body including the fat around your stomach. |
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