Save time and burn more fat in Guildford
14th March 2011
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I have watched so many people go on treadmills, cross trainers, bikes etc and train at the same intensity for an hour, repeat this the next workout, and then the next month and then the next 3 months and then comes the question, Why aren’t i achieving my goals. It’s simple, you’re not training hard enough and your wasting time. How can you expect to achieve anything when you are training at such a low intensity, you can read a book at the same time? So what’s the answer? High intensity training. This will not only burn the fat but will half your workout time, meaning you can read your book in the comfort of your own home.
Ok so here is how it works. Firstly imagine a scale of 1-10 of how hard you are working . This is known as Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). 10 should be so hard that you could only keep that intensity up for 20-30 seconds maximum. 5-6 should be warming up and at an intensity where you can control your breathing, but definitely know you are doing a workout. 7-8 would be an intensity that makes you feel hot, probably sweating and breathing more heavily.
Firstly, choose the piece of equipment that you wish to use, I would recommend the bike because leg exercise has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity post workout more than any other muscle group. You will only need 20 minutes to complete this so you next need to divide the 20 minutes into periods of high intensity (8-10 RPE) and periods of low intensity (6-7RPE). An idea for when you first start would be 1.30 minutes high intensity, and 3.30 minutes low intensity. Repeat this process 4 times and you have a much more effective workout for fat loss than you had before and you’ve done it in less than half the time.
So why is this more effective?
A study by Trapp et al 2008 compared the effects on fat loss after 15 weeks of high intensity training and steady state exercise. It found that the group performing high intensity exercise lost significantly more fat than the steady state group. They even state:
“only the high intensity intermittent exercise group had a significant reduction in total body mass, fat mass, trunk fat and fasting plasma insulin levels.”
One of the mechanisms behind this is a process called excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This process is explained in my circuit training blog.
Another important factor which is mentioned and aids fat loss is insulin sensitivity. High intensity training has been shown in many studies to improve the body’s response to insulin resistance. This is important because insulin helps the body to store glycogen (used for energy) and when insulin concentrations are high, it prevents the use of fat as an energy source.
There are so many ways to perform high intensity training which means there is a workout to suit everyone. At ActivZone Gym we can design the right workout to make sure everyones individual goals can be acheived.
To book a session contact us on 01483 448666 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01483 448666 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or via our website www.activzone.co.uk
