Yes you read that correct… Exercise Less and you will in fact see better weight loss results than what you’ve been experiencing with your current workout program. But there are certain things that you must do in order to maximize this strategy. Would you like to know what this criteria is to boost your metabolism and shed unwanted body fat without spending countless hours in the gym?
I thought you’d be interested. You’ve made a smart decision to continue reading. Before I get to the criteria for quick and effective workouts let me ask you a question…
How may people do you see in the gym who have been working out on a regular basis for years, yet their bodies have not changed at all? Do you see these same people walking or jogging on the treadmill for nearly an hour or even more than an hour every day? There’s a reason for this lack of results…
It’s ‘Lack Of Intensity’.
Now let me ask you another question. Have you ever hit a plateau where the weight loss results that you were experiencing suddenly came to a halt? What did you do at that point? Did you add in another weight training session or increase your cardio by 15 additional minutes?
Then when you stop seeing results once again do you increase the amount of exercise even more all while cutting back on what you eat to the point where your pet rabbit is eating more than you?
I’ll tell you what I’m seeing out there. People who think it’s necessary to spend 90 minutes in the gym 6 days a week in order to achieve any significant results. Who’s got time for that? I know with my busy schedule there’s no way you’ll catch me working out that much.
I’ll tell you what else I see in the gym. People aimlessly wondering around with no plan and no structure. Their just going through the motions lifting a weight that’s not challenging, walking at a speed that barely gets their heart rate going (because that’s what the program says on the treadmill is best for fat loss), and doing the same old thing day in and day out. Their rest periods are excessive and they certainly aren’t enjoying themselves.
And they wonder why they’re not seeing fat loss results.
What they are neglecting to realize is their intensity sucks! Lets face it, challenging yourself can be difficult. We have to step outside of our comfort zone and most people are just not willing to do that.
If what I’ve just said has hit a little too close to home then it’s time that you think long and hard about why you are even going to the gym.
It’s time to get the intensity back into your workouts and here are the key ingredients that absolutely must be in place:
1) You need to have purpose and passion at the foundation of each workout. Purpose comes from realizing that this individual workout is a step toward achieving your ultimate fat loss goal.
Passion comes from realizing all the benefits associated with accomplishing your fat loss goal, such as looking hot in a bathing suit, getting compliments from your friends and spouse, landing your dream job or getting a promotion, increased confidence and self esteem, knowing that you will be around to play with your grandchildren or see your own children get married, and so much more.
2) Make every workout count. You’ve got to give maximum effort to every single rep of each set of every exercise you do. One way that you can do this is by having an intense focus on the individual muscle that you are working. Feel the muscle working and push it to exhaustion. You need to connect your mind with your muscle.
If you’re going to go to the gym, you’ve got to give it everything that you’ve got!
3) Choose a weight that is challenging and push it to momentary muscular exhaustion. 5 pound dumbbells usually don’t cut it. Stimulate those muscles and force them to change to give you the defined body that you deserve.
4) Cut your rest time right down. There are times when I only allow 15 seconds rest between sets, and if I’m super setting or drop setting I may not rest at all. This is the reason why many of my workouts only last for 20 minutes. It’s also the reason why there isn’t a dry spot on my shirt at the end of the workout and my heart rate is higher than the people that have been on the treadmill for an hour.
I created The Fit Chic and The Fit Bastard workouts to be incredibly time efficient so you get the most out of your time in the gym or in your home gym so you can carry on with the rest of your life. Most of the workouts take less than 20 minutes. Some as little as 10 minutes.
When you increase the intensity you can cut your workout time way down and it will be much more effective than the long drawn out programs that most people are doing.
5) Continuous and consistent progress is a powerful way to increase your intensity. If you are better this workout than you were the last and you plan on being better the next workout than you were this one, you will force yourself into increasing your intensity.
This is where using a journal really comes into play. Record the workout that you did, along with the exercises, reps, weight lifted, rest period, and total time that it took you to complete the workout. Make a note of how you feel and how challenging it was. Create a rating system and rate each workout.
When you follow the above strategies you will have no choice but to cut your workout time in half because you simply will not be able to keep up with that pace. Basically you are getting more work done in less time.
You have a choice. You can continue to do what you’ve been doing and experience the same fat loss results or lack there of, or you can do what it takes to get your dream body and pick up the intensity.
You get what you put into your workouts. Make them fun and always put your heart and passion into every single one. Focus on your ultimate fat loss goal and know with absolute certainty that today’s workout has a significant impact on whether or not you will achieve it.
Here’s a great video that I recently came across that talks about some recent studies done on high intensity training.
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There is a time and a place for moderate paced cardio. I enjoy my morning brisk walks, hiking through the trails with my family, and long bike rides while pulling my kids in the carrier behind me.
Those things do contribute to my over all compliance to a healthy and active lifestyle and compliance is really what you should be aiming for. You’ve got to enjoy what you are doing.
But if I am looking at the workouts and activities strictly from a fat burning perspective, the long duration just doesn’t match with the high intensity interval style workouts.
I know many people who have trained for a marathon or triathlon and if what they say about long duration cardio was true, these people should have dropped a whole bunch of weight and that certainly wasn’t the case.
If you love jogging because it clears your head, gives you energy, and you enjoy being out in nature, I suggest that you keep doing it, just a little less and add some high intensity training to the mix.
Scott Tousignant, BHK, CFC is the creator of Unstoppable Fat Loss… “Empower Your Mind… And Your Body Will Follow”. Scott has also authored 2 books that are transforming the bodies of people around the world. The Fit Chic and The Fit Bastard not only contain a FULL YEAR of workouts, they provide intense motivation to drive you to fat loss success.
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