Cardiovascular exercise that keeps your heart rate sustained for a period of time, such as swimming, jogging, rowing, elliptical, and dancing or anything that works your body with low-intensity and that high duration will help you lose fat, while you’re performing the activity. For the purpose of losing weight, low-intensity jogging is considered by many one of the best types of cardiovascular exercise.

While cardiovascular exercise can allow you to lose fats during running, it is not the best way to lose weight. It is a good way but you do not get the most out of this type of training. What good is it to just burn fats during but not after your workout? I will explain what a greater post oxygen consumption is and how to get it so read on.

Secondly,  it is always recommended to throw in some weight lifting or resistance exercises to help with your weight loss. Building some lean muscle through strength training, also called resistance training is the cornerstone to consistently seeing weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight over time. You see muscle in fact burns more calories than fat.  So when you see fitness models with that lean muscle toned body it is because they regularly participate in strength training as well as cardiovascular activities.

Shape Shifter fitness teaches it’s client’s and practitioners how to develop a unique system of strength training exercises that works on body mechanics and muscle confusion. It is very big on functional training. Conversely, the nice physiques of fitness models come from the muscle they have built, with low body fat percentages. They do not look big, and they just have lean attractive toned bodies. They do weight training as a part of their workout. While diet is a key factor in making your fat loss journey successful, we all need to focus on diet and exercise to achieve a great level of fitness.

So resistance training allows you to speed up your metabolism by building a little more muscle. What this means is that you will be burning more fat while you sit, work and walk around, and who doesn’t want that. Perhaps you can even develop your body to a level you never thought possible.

Finally these two methods cardiovascular exercise and strength training should always be complemented with High Intensity Interval Training. This is the icing on the cake for that greater post oxygen consumption. I have a detailed post on the site for you to read explaining the principals behind HIIT training. This training method is about working your cardiovascular system and your muscular system both at the same time. This allows you to burn some fat during the workout, and is also proven to let you burn fat up to 24 hours after your training.

So to quickly surmise, we should keep in mind that there is no single training method that is the best way to lose weight but it is the mixture of different training regimes that gives you the most efficient routine you can ever have, in conjunction with a healthy diet where the strengths of one covers the weaknesses of another. I hope you have enjoyed the post and remember to “Shift Into Shape For Life”

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprint interval training is a method of exercise that consists of a reduced time of training sessions to produce an increase in conditioning.  HIIT training can feel cardiovascular which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. Usually HIIT sessions are no longer then 20 minutes, however they can also be accomplished in as little as 10 minutes or less. They are therefore very beneficial and are perfect for people that are short on time to devote to exercising. HIIT training exercises are intense bouts of activity though that you need to work up to like any other form of exercise. Don’t just start out at a one minute sprint. 

The procedure for a  HIIT session should begin with a warm up to get the muscles properly prepared for the high intensity. This is paramount to reduce the risk of injuries. After the warm up depending on the trainee’s level of conditioning it may be followed by six to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, alternated by moderate to medium intensity exercise, and ending with a period of cool down exercise. The high intensity part of the exercise should be completed at very close to maximum intensity. The medium exercise should be about 50% intensity. The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise. The goal is to do at least six cycles, and to have the entire HIIT session last at least fifteen minutes and not more than twenty. The better the conditioning you should aim for more cycles or to complete your existing cycles in less time.

HIIT is considered by many fitness experts such as Jeff Halevy to be an excellent way to maximize a workout that is limited on time. It is also an excellent way to overcome fitness training plateaus. Many fitness experts have made this special fitness training methodology a cornerstone of their routines for these reasons.

Tabata Method of HIIT Training

A popular regimen based on a 1996 study  uses 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at 170% of VO₂max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). In the original study, athletes using this method trained 4 times per week, plus another day of steady-state training, and obtained gains similar to a group of athletes who did steady state (70% VO₂max) training 5 times per week. The steady state group had a higher VO₂max at the end (from 52 to 57 ml/kg/min), but the tabata group had started lower and gained more overall (from 48 to 55 ml/kg/min). Also, only the Tabata group had gained anaerobic capacity benefits.

Little Method of HIIT Training

An alternate regimen based on a 2009 study uses 60 seconds of intense exercise (at 95% of VO₂max) followed by 75 seconds of rest, repeated for 8-12 cycles. Subjects using this method trained 3 times per week, and obtained gains similar to what would be expected from subjects who did steady state (50-70% VO₂max) training for five hours per week. While still a demanding form of training, this exercise protocol could be used by the general public with nothing more than an average exercise bike.

So why do HIIT training? Aside from saving you time, studies also show that there is greater post oxygen consumption and therefore  HIIT training is a greater calorie burning activity. We all know burning calories is the key to losing weight and staying in shape. Anyway enjoy your HIIT training and as always let’s make today a Shape Shifter Fitness day.

To Your Fitness Success,

Thomas George