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What Do You Mean Low-Intensity Training Isn't The Best For Fat Burning? Find out why high-intensity training may be your best bet for trimming your waistline and why low intensity cardio training is NOT where it's at!

But how can this possibly be? Everywhere you look, it's always said that long-duration, low-intensity training is best for fat loss. All high-intensity work does is burn carbohydrates, right?

Wrong.

After reading this article, I guarantee you'll develop a new respect for high-intensity cardio training for fat loss.

Low-intensity exercise is defined as working at a heart rate of about 60% to 65% of your maximum heart rate (which is equal to 220 - your age = maximum heart rate, thus if you are 20 years old, 220 - 20 = 200 max HR). High-intensity exercise is defined as working at about 75 to 85% or more of your maximum heart rate.

Using the previous example for maximum heart rate (max HR=200), working at 60% of your max HR would be 120 beats per minute and 80% of that would be 160 beats per minute.

There are several reasons low-intensity exercise is normally recommended for fat loss.

1. It's easy - In many cases people who are trying to lose fat don't always feel energetic enough to do hard training due to the caloric deficit (a.k.a. diet) that they are on. In these cases, just sticking to an exercise program can be hard enough, never mind making the exercise itself challenging.

2. It's low risk - A personal trainer generally can't go wrong by recommending low-intensity exercise to clients. Even the most out of shape person can usually do low-intensity cardio training safely. While this is certainly appropriate advice for novice trainers, it does not necessarily apply to the more experienced trainer when it comes to effective training.

3. It burns a higher percentage of calories from fat - this is very true: exercising at a lower intensity does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat than high-intensity exercise. But, as I will explain, this does not necessarily mean you're going to burn more fat.

Let's crunch some numbers to show you exactly what I mean when I say high-intensity exercise burns more fat.

Low-intensity training burns about 50% fat for energy while high-intensity training burns about 40% fat for energy. This is not a huge difference.

Say, for example, walking for 20 minutes burns 100 calories. Then 50% of 100 calories is 50 fat-calories burned.

Now say 10 minutes of interval training at a high intensity burns 160 calories. Well, 40% of 160 calories is 64 fat-calories burned.

By doing the high-intensity work, you've just burned 14 more fat calories in half the time. Starting to sound good? There's more...

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Low-intensity exercise only burns calories while you are actually exercising. That means the moment you stop exercising, your caloric expenditure goes back down to nearly baseline levels. Within minutes, you're not burning many more calories than if you hadn't done anything at all.

High-intensity exercise, on the other hand, continues to boost your metabolism long after you're done (often up to 24 hours after, depending on the length and intensity of the training session). This means you're continuing to burn many more calories all day long!

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Low-intensity exercise does nothing to build or support muscle mass. Maintaining muscle mass is critical to an effective fat-loss strategy as muscle burns fat just sitting there. Want to keep your metabolism working to burn fat? Do whatever you can to build or keep your muscle tissue.

High-intensity exercise has the potential to increase muscle mass. Compare the body of a top sprinter to a top marathon runner. The sprinter carries far more muscle mass. You won't get big bulky muscles from high intensity training but you will get shapely and more defined muscles!

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How To Do It

Now that you've seen how effective high intensity training can be for fat loss, how is it done?

The absolute easiest way to start this type of training is to get on a cardio machine at the gym and select the interval training program. As you'll see, you'll start off with a fairly light warm-up cycle, then quickly jump up to a high intensity level for a short burst. You will then drop back down to a low level for a period of time, then back up to a high level again, repeated several times and finishing with an appropriate cool-down period.

The repetition of these intervals is the nuts and bolts of high intensity interval training. You can also do it manually by adjusting your intensity level up and down over short periods of time.

For example, do 30 seconds at high power then 30 seconds at low power. Repeat. It's very simple and very effective.

Another excellent method for doing high-intensity training is called aerobic interval training. It is essentially the same concept as the previously explained interval training but the work intervals are longer with the intensity level somewhat lower. A good example would be running at a pace that you can only keep up for about 5 minutes then walking for 2 minutes then running 5 more minutes, walking 2 minutes, etc.

High-intensity training can be applied to any form of cardiovascular exercise. Anything from walking/sprinting to swimming to bike riding will work perfectly. I would recommend doing his type of training 2 to 3 times per week for best results. As always, be sure to consult with your physician before starting any exercise program.

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Remember, what you get out of exercise is directly proportional to what you put in. Work at high-intensity training for awhile and see just how much better your fat-loss efforts go.

For more information on cardiovascular training, including advice on activities you can do, reviews of different types of cardio machines, other forms of cardio training, and some well-explained, useful, basic physiology, visit out free fitness library by clicking here.

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Secret Training Tip #149 - Get a Grip! Squeeze more results from every single rep of your dumbell curls just by changing how you hold them. If you like training biceps you absolutely MUST read this tip! You will feel the difference on your very first rep!

Would you like to know how to get more out of every single dumbell curl you do? Amazingly enough, you can do this simply by changing where you grip the dumbell.

First, I'm going to tell you what the trick is, then I'm going to tell you exactly how and why it works. Then I'm going to finish by telling you how to make the trick so powerful it'll blow your mind!

In a nutshell, instead of gripping the handle in the middle (as is normally taught), grip the handle with the thumb and forefinger side of your hand pressed up against the inside of the dumbell plates. There will be a space of several inches between your pinky and the other side plates.

To take full advantage of this change in your grip, start the curl with your palms facing in to your thighs, otherwise known as a neutral or hammer grip. As you curl up, rotate your forearm so that your palm is facing up at the top of the movement. You should feel a strong cramping in your biceps.

Here's how and why it works:

The biceps muscle has two main functions. The first is flexing the elbow (in essence, bringing the forearm closer to the upper arm like when you bend your arm to scratch your nose). The other function is called supination, which is a biomechanical term for
forearm rotation. Supination occurs when you turn your hand from a palms-down position to a palms-up position.

The traditional dumbell curl without forearm rotation addresses the flexing function of the bicep. Rotating your forearm as you curl the dumbell up invokes the supination function of the bicep, working more of the muscle mass of the bicep and giving you a stronger contraction.

Holding the dumbell off-center essentially adds resistance to the supination function of the bicep muscle. If you think about it, when you hold your hand in the middle of the dumbell, the two ends are balanced like two identical-weight people on a see-saw. You get very little, if any, resistance on the supination.

By holding the dumbell off-center, you tip the balance of the dumbell towards the pinky side of your hand. Your bicep must then work against resistance to accomplish the supination, adding in more resistance to the curl movement.

This resistance translates into more efficient work for the bicep and, ultimately, more results for you!

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Now I'm going to tell you how to adapt this trick into something that will make your jaw hit the floor on the first rep you do.

You've learned about supination and adding resistance to the supination movement by holding the dumbell off-center. You've felt the difference this makes in your biceps.

Now imagine how much more effective this trick will be if you add actual weight for resistance instead of just shifting your hand over!

In order to accomplish this, you're going to need one of two things: do-it-yourself dumbells with which you can add or remove weight or Plate Mates (TM), which are small magnetic weight plates that stick to the metal of the dumbell.

The execution is simple: make a dumbell with more weight on one end than the other. That's it. For example, place 20 pounds of weight on one end and 25 pounds of weight on the other.

Grip the dumbell in the middle when you use it, making sure that the heavier end is on the pinky side of your hand. If you are using Plate Mates (TM), stick a few of them onto only one side of the dumbell to accomplish the same imbalance.

Now when you curl up and supinate, your bicep is going to have that added resistance on the supination movement. The cramping sensation you get on the very first rep as you come to the top and squeeze the muscle hard will show you just how powerful this technique is. The pump you get in your biceps after your set will seal the deal!

You will also notice that your forearm and grip are getting a lot of work with this trick. This is just icing on the cake and will not decrease the tension on your bicep in any way.

Note: If you are using dumbells that weigh less than 30 pounds total, I would recommend you use a 2 1/2 pound plate on one side rather than a 5 pound plate. Any more than 30 and you should use a 5 pound plate.

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue7-bicep-tip.htm

For more information about the anatomy of the biceps, go to

http://www.fitstep.com/Advanced/Anatomy/Biceps.htm

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Don't Blow Your Nose In The Water Fountain Discover some of the more "colorful" rules of the gym.

We all know the general rules of the gym: don't drop the weights, wipe your sweat off the machines when you're done, etc. But do you know all about the more "colorful", lesser known rules of the gym?

NOTE: These rules are JOKES! If you ever see any of these rules posted at any gym you ever go to, please take a picture for me!

1. Don't blow your nose in the water fountain.

This is a crude habit and can contribute to the spread of colds and viruses. Besides, that's what the gym towels are for...

2. No smoking on the cardio machines.

Those little circular spots are water-bottle holders, not ashtrays. If you need a cigarette that badly when you're working out, tape one to the pulldown bar and take a drag on it as a reward for each rep you do.

3. When spotting someone on bench press, be sure to wipe your face first.

You are not a stalactite, and dripping sweat into someone's eye is not a good way to make friends.

4. If you choose to wear cologne or perfume to the gym, please don't marinate in it.

If the person on the stair machine next to you lights up a cigarette, you could both be seriously injured.

5. Those stands that have all the weight plates on them should not be used for holding your donuts.

Your donuts will end up with a terrible metallic taste that even the coffee in your water bottle won't be able to get out of your mouth.

6. The Crunch Machine is not a vending machine for candy bars.

Please don't try to put money into this machine. It's for working your abdominals. You will never, EVER get a Nestle's Crunch bar out of it.

7. Even though the gym has stair machines, it is not required by law to have elevator machines.

Please stop asking about this at the reception desk.

8. Pick up after your dog when you walk him on the treadmill.

No explanation necessary.

9. If you have a habit of spraying spit when you lift, ensure there is no one in your target area.

It's bad enough that the mirrors by the squat rack look like a St. Bernard shook himself in front of them.

10. Do not give yourself C.P.R. when doing bench presses.

Bouncing the bar heavily off your ribcage instead of pressing it properly may cause damage to the bar and voids the warranty on the bench. Besides that, you don't want your spotter feeling as though he's dribbling a barbell down the court do you?

11. Beer and/or liquor in your water bottle are prohibited.

Unless, of course, you bring enough for everybody. This also goes for mochaccinos, frappaccinos, and anything with an umbrella in it.

12. Use the rowing machine at your own risk.

If it sinks, there are no lifeguards on duty.

Following these rules to the best of your ability will ensure a pleasant exercise experience for everyone.

Thank you.

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