How to burn fat fast!
Put these fast strategies into practice and watch your figure transform as the weight drops off.
Up the tempo
It’s true that when exercising at lower intensities you use a higher proportion of fat as an energy source – but you’re burning these calories slowly so it isn’t time efficient. For example, if a low-intensity, 20-minute workout burns off 80 additional calories – even if 90 per cent of them (72) are fat calories, you’re still going to be better off doing a 20-minute high-intensity interval session which is likely to quadruple the overall number of calories burned (288) and consequently burn a higher number of fat calories (50 per cent of those calories is still 144). High- intensity training also gets you fitter – and the fitter you are, the higher your basal metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories, even at rest.
Up the frequency
Work out as hard as you can for as long as you can. If time is of the essence, short, sharp sessions can still be very effective. Aim to do four to five cardio workouts per week. Try two 20-minute sessions, one 30–45-minute session and two 45–75-minute sessions. If you don’t have time for the longer sessions, do shorter ones rather than skip them – training for a shorter time but more frequently will give you better results. Warm up for a minimum of five minutes and cool down for a minimum of two minutes. Having a bath in the evening and doing some stretches in front of the TV will help your muscles recover.
Eat sensibly
You can’t get rid of fat in a particular area by just working on that part of your body. Some fat areas do tend to metabolise easier than others, though. Fat around your tummy, for example, can be easier to shift than fat around your hips and thighs. The only way to get rid of it, though, is to do lots of cardiovascular, calorie-burning exercise and to eat a sensible, well-balanced diet. Toning exercises will improve the shape and tone of the muscle, but muscle lies under fat, so to show it off, you need to do the fat-burning stuff!
Do resistance training
A recent European health club study showed women still tend to prefer cardiovascular exercise over resistance training. There are many reasons for this, such as feeling intimidated in the weights room, but increasing your lean muscle tissue can make a big difference to your figure. For example, increasing your lean muscle weight by just half a kilo can burn an additional 50 calories a day. That’s 50 calories every day with no extra effort involved. If conventional weight training isn’t for you, try power yoga, Pilates or outdoor-inspired programmes, such as Nike Training Club, where strength and power moves are combined. Do this two to three times a week.
Don’t diet!
Don’t slash the calories and turn to faddy diets for quick pre-holiday weight loss. This is no solution to a lean bikini body and just slows your metabolism. Instead, eat healthily and adopt good long-term habits, such as drinking plenty of water and staying away from refined carbohydrates, such as white bread.
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