Fit Tip Tuesday: Secret 4: How to get better results in less time?

As I discussed last week, (and the week before) in this 6 part series, most people ("trainers" included)  are so focused on the newest diet or the latest exercise trend that most  (if not all) have lost all grip on reality when it comes to the science and how's/why's of an effective nutrition or exercise program.  If you missed "TEF: How To Burn  More Fat In Less Time" you can read it here

I have been so focused on giving you all my best tips, tricks and tricks, I've completely neglected the basics. 

Whenever, I begin to work with a new client, more often than not, they see at least a dress size decrease every 3 or 4 weeks. Usually, they look at me and say "that's magic" and I reply "no, it's science and the 6 components of successful weight loss" In 18 years with over 1500 clients I have used this formula to help hundreds of people lose hundreds of pounds AND KEEP IT OFF so it's time to get to the basics.

While you can certainly lose weight on a 1200 calorie a day "diet" with hours of cardio , it is typically  miserable and neither the program nor the results last. 
 

Today, I will cover component #3: Resistance Training  

Effective Resistance Training - If you want to blast fat and reshape your body, STOP doing machines and isolation exercises

Doing an exercise right does not mean that it is the most effective or best way to reach your goal.

The days of the "body building" isolation exercises followed by 45 minutes of "cardio"  are long gone except among the few who are hell bent on hanging onto outdated modalities.

"Isolation exercises" to "tone"  an area  area and machines which work only one muscle group  are completely ineffective except for the very few who  are doing sport specific training, those doing injury rehab, those who need growth in a specific muscle group to balance out body symmetry  or who  just having unlimited time to exercise. That having been said, they should only be used as a part of a well rounded program to avoid a myriad of problems.

There is no one "best" way for everyone however, science points to  MRT & HIIT as  the most effective way for most people to reach their goals with the least amount of time.

Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT)  is HIIT with added resistance training  for more benefits .MRT is completing structural and compound exercises with little rest in between exercises in an effort to maximize calorie burn and increase metabolic rate during and after the workout. MRT, uses both strength and cardio exercises that are done as a circuit.

For example, a squat with an overhead press is a great metabolic exercise because it simultaneously works your upper and lower body which also becomes a cardio workout since your heart rate goes up while doing the exercise. Several studies have shown that hormones that promote “lipolysis” (the technical term for fat loss) increase as a results of high intensity strength training.

“Structural and compound exercises” is  just a fancy way of saying exercises that require a maximum amount of energy because multiple joints and large muscle groups are involved.

Working  muscles require energy (calories) . The more muscles  your work, the more calories you burn, it's pretty simple. 

Research shows that your calorie burn following MRT (EPOC)  is significantly higher than taking a jog or traditional weight training. While calorie burn studies come to different conclusions as to the total calorie burn of metabolic training, it certainly burns a ton of calories. The calorie burn during a workout is easily around 500 calories for a 30 minute workout, but it also increases metabolic rate from anywhere between 10% to 25% for up to 48 hours, with some studies showing an increase in metabolic rate for up to even 72 hours. This equates to hundreds of extra calories, which can become significant over the course of a few workouts .

The extreme of metabolic training is  Crossfit, where a few intense exercises will be repeated in a circuit with little to no rest to push the body to its absolute limit. This training is usually reserved for seasoned athletes and the military, but more recently has been taken up by average fitness enthusiasts for better, or worse.

One of the biggest issues I see with clients coming in from other camps or programs are one set of muscles over developed to it's opposing muscle and right to left side strength disparities.  For example, most cross fitters I meet  have quads over developed to their hamstrings, pectorals over developed to their upper back stabilizers and abdominals over developed to their lower backs.  

                                                    
One study published in the Journal of Obesity¹ reported that 12 weeks of HIIT not only can result in significant reductions in total abdominal, trunk, and visceral fat, but also can give you significant increases in fat-free mass and aerobic power. In this study, in which young overweight males were randomly assigned to either HIIT exercise or a control group, the following health benefits were achieved by the exercising group doing just 20 minutes of high-intensity exercises (only a fraction of the 20 minutes is done at high intensity, the rest is recovery) three times a week for three months:

• Aerobic power increased by 15 percent
• Reduction of total fat mass: Nearly 4.5 pounds
• Visceral fat reduced by 17 percent

A Canadian research team gathered several groups of volunteers, including sedentary but generally healthy middle-aged men and women, and patients of a similar age who had been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
The participants were asked to undertake a program of cycling intervals as their exclusive form of exercise. The results were that  healthy middle-aged adults were able to improve their insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation after just two weeks of interval training (three sessions per week). A follow-up study also found that interval training positively impacted insulin sensitivity. In fact, the study involved people with full-blown type 2 diabetes, and just ONE interval training session was able to improve blood sugar regulation for the next 24 hours!

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Committed To Your Success !
Dianne Villano - Your Personal Body Sculpting Expert
www.mypersonalfitnesscoach.com

 P.S. If  you want to take the guess work out of achieving your goals, Our Signature  14 Day Rapid Results Program   is a done for you Success Plan with everything you need for fat loss success including food plans, cook book 6 Fit Camp sessions AND  access to our pros in the private members only Facebook Group. It's going to  teach you how to eat more, train less and turn your body into a fat burning machine while giving  you the direction and accountability you need !