Those rich foods can be irresistible, can’t they? We all love them, and sometimes we feel like we deserve them. But if you overdo it, it shows! So one of the most common questions I’m asked is, “how can I burn the most fat in the least amount of time?” Here’s how…
Get up 40 minutes earlier 3 days a week, have a cup of coffee (when used occasionally, coffee is an effective way to increase your metabolism ), get on your stationary bike, treadmill or any other cardiovascular exercise machine, and do 30-45 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. By moderate intensity, I mean you should keep your heart rate at about 60-65% of your maximum. To determine what your max heart rate should be subtract your age from 220.
It’s important that you don’t eat anything before this exercise, just have one cup of coffee (if you like). Here’s why you shouldn’t eat first and why this “secret” technique works so well for maximum fat burning.
Because you haven’t eaten anything since the previous day, your body has no choice but to use your fat stores as fuel for your workout. Also, the hormonal environment in your body when first waking from sleep is more favourable for burning fat and sparing precious lean tissue. Don’t forget, muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even when you’re not working out!
Bet that sounds great, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you like to get more out of every thing you do? So take my advice, lose the fat, keep the muscle! Which brings me to my next point. Doing cardio on its own without an accompanying resistance training routine cannot effectively accelerate the fat loss process. Think about it, at your gym, you must have seen people who are always doing cardio, but never seem to lose weight. They may have lost weight initially, but by doing cardio exclusively without attempting to build lean muscle they will have promptly slowed their metabolism preventing them from losing further. At this point, they increase the time they spend on the treadmill or the elliptical (who has that kind of time, anyway?) lose a bit more weight before they hit the next plateau. In the end, this person won’t look any better, maybe smaller, but still flabby. Hardly a desirable outcome! More than this, the repetitive action of this type of workout will eventually lead to muscle imbalances and injuries that can prevent you from seeing any kind of progress.
The point is this: cardio does not build muscle tissue. Just the opposite. It burns muscle tissue, and at higher intensities, equal amounts with fat! That is why we want you to do these morning workouts at a moderate intensity, because when training at this intensity your body uses a larger percentage of calories from fat.
This being said, because you are not pushing as hard your overall output of calories will be less, requiring the duration of your morning session to be a bit longer. 20-25 minutes might not cut it. I typically recommend 30-45 minutes.
By the way, if you’re already making excuses for why you don’t want to get up that early, GET OVER IT. In my experience, if you are serious about fat loss you cannot afford NOT to do this. I would estimate that my clients who employ this strategy typically achieve 50 % faster fat loss results. Besides, these same clients unanimously report feeling improved energy levels and mental clarity on days when they implement the AM cardio.
After the session, make sure to eat a balanced breakfast! Oh, and especially don’t forget to drink a glass of water to avoid dehydration.
I urge you to incorporate this powerful fat loss strategy into your overall fitness program. The first few mornings are the hardest, after a while, you’ll wonder how you managed without those AM workouts!
So, just to recap, here’s what you do:
Wake up early ( trust me, it’s not that bad!)
Drink a coffee
Perform 30 to 45 minutes of moderate intensity
cardiovascular exercise
Eat a balanced breakfast
Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, in which I break down the concept of interval training, another powerful technique you can implement in your cardio workouts right away to save time and maximize fat-burning!
