Ditch The Fat
Fat is an energy store. To make it disappear, you have to burn that energy. “Everything we do to increase physical activity will help reduce fat,” Bell says, but different tactics will yield greater results depending on who you are, what kind of fat you carry, and how you approach exercise.
1. Starter’s Orders
YOU ARE: heavy, but determined to change. “The key here is tolerability,” says Professor Jim McKenna, an exercise physiologist at Leeds Metropolitan University. Have a realistic plan. Exercise the largest muscles: glutes, quads and lats. “If you’re big, you’ll already be strong so this will suit you.” The breaks in strength training mean you’ll build your aerobic capacity without burning out, too.
2. Get In The Zone
YOU ARE: either chubby and mobile or lean but immobile. In either case, visceral fat is the danger. Sustained aerobic exercise is the answer. Research from Birmingham University found that, during endurance training, you burn the most fat when you’re at 68-79% of your maximum heart rate. Other work shows that if you exercise for longer than an hour, your fat stumps up more of the energy required.
3. The Midriff Melee
YOU ARE: fit, but your stubborn subcutaneous fat won’t shift. Adopt a zero-tolerance approach using interval training. “With intervals, you’re simply expending more energy and that has to come from somewhere – your fat reserves,” McKenna says. On a treadmill, bike or even with weights, split your work into intervals of 20sec at high intensity followed by 30sec at a gentle pace and repeat five times.
4. Final Definition
YOU ARE: in good shape. Now it’s about the finishing touches for that ice-tray six-pack. Follow stages 1-3, and increase your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). This is every movement you make outside of regular training, from finger-drumming at your desk to standing up to take calls. Mayo Clinic studies found it will burn an extra 350kcal per day. Your fat won’t know what’s hit it.
Image from Stockexchange
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