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Strip off Fat with HIIT Workouts
The most effective way to sizzle off fat is with high intensity interval training (HIIT).
The end of each brief interval feels as though you just outran a lion nipping at your feet.
Myth: In order for cardio to melt fat, the motion must be done continually, with no interruptions.
Fact: Though a 24-minute HIIT running session may involve only four minutes of actual exertion (divided into eight “work intervals”) and 20 minutes of casual walking, HIIT is far superior to 60 minutes of steady-state (sustained pace) aerobics.
Myth: HIIT increases injury risk.
Fact: Because the time spent during actual exertion is literally only seconds, there is far less impact to the joints.
Myth: You must be fit to do HIIT.
Fact: Even a 300-pound smoker can do HIIT. You may be too out of shape to run, but this doesn’t mean you’re too out of shape to deliver your best, all-out effort: HIIT can be done on the elliptical trainer, stationary bike and even in the form of walking.
Shutterstock/Creativa Images
HIIT is sometimes called “hormonal exercise,” because it triggers release of human growth hormone and testosterone, which accelerate fat loss.
A study in a 2002 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology reported that high-intensity sprinting produced 96 percent more growth hormone when tested against the effects of jogging at a significantly slower pace.
HIIT involves alternating very short-duration doses of power-based, all-out efforts, with one to several minutes of casual effort (the “recovery interval”), over a 20- to 30-minute session.
Fat-smoking workout: Spend 15-30 seconds jumping steps, then walk around casually for a few minutes to recover; then repeat the cycle five to seven more times.
Just two HIIT sessions per week will raise resting metabolic rate and dramatically increase cardiovascular fitness.
Don’t be fooled by the “fat-burning zone” diagrams on cardio equipment.
Though a higher percentage of fat is burned during fixed-pace moderate aerobics, more total fat is burned via HIIT, because HIIT burns far more calories to begin with.
Plus, only HIIT results in an after-burn. The real fat-burning zone is when you’re at levels greater than 85% of maximal heart rate — when the body is in the anaerobic zone.
At this high intensity, the body mobilizes hormones — fat-burner hormones — leading to a faster, leaner body.
Freepik.com, prostooleh
Conventional aerobic exercise is useful for some extra calorie burn, but it’s no match for the anaerobic zone, which triggers EPOC: excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means an elevated resting metabolism.
In plain English, your body takes such a thrashing during HIIT that it’s forced to ransack fat reserves for the energy it needs to recuperate from the HIIT session – even while you sleep!
Whether it’s a slow walk up a hill or a full-out sprint on a track, HIIT works! Shutterstock/OSTILL is Franck Camhi
Example: After a warmup (which should include several sub-intense work intervals), a fit person runs eight, 30-second intervals at 12 mph on a treadmill (no holding on.)
The slow-walk recovery intervals last between two and three minutes. If only a 7 mph run wipes you out within 30 seconds, then so be it.
If you’re very heavy, then perhaps your maximum speed is just 5 mph. It’s all relative.
This principle can be applied to other cardio equipment or outdoor running (your fastest sprint), or hill-stampeding.
Freepik.com/jcomp
- You must be depleted within about 30 seconds, such that one second longer is unthinkable.
- Talking is nearly impossible after each work interval.
A trained body from consistent HIIT sessions will derive about 70 percent of its daily requirement for fuel, from body fat, and 30 percent from stored sugar: a 70/30 ratio.
On the other hand, the person who adheres only to steady-state may burn at only a 50/50 ratio, or even a 30/70 ratio, during everyday living.
Thus, you can clearly see the superiority that HIIT has over steady-state “fat-burning zone” aerobics.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Shutterstock/sangriana
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Can a Doctor Miss a Transient Ischemic Attack?
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Best Ways for Women to Lose that Potbelly
What’s the best ways for women to lose their potbelly?
So you just cannot get rid of that potbelly?
There are truly best ways for women to get rid of their potbelly, even if they have been trying for a long time to trim that gut.
Belly Bigger than It Should Be for the Rest of Your Body
I’m not talking about obese women here, but rather, smaller women who just happen to have a potbelly — a midsection that’s out of proportion to the rest of their body — one that’s just too plump, given the size of the rest of their physique.
A major mistake that some women make is blaming their paunch on pregnancies.
I don’t mean soon after a pregnancy. Obviously, recovery time and “rebound” time are necessary following giving birth.
But I’ve known women who blame pregnancies of well over a decade ago, even several decades ago, on their plump stomachs.
Interestingly, these women’s potbellies have grown in the years following their last pregnancy!
Don’t blame pregnancies.
A woman should review her exercise habits, especially if she’s over 30.
If a woman has not been strength training, then beginning at around age 30, she starts losing muscle mass.
This slows the metabolism, and guess what the result is: increasing amounts of fat in the belly. And often elsewhere, too.
The more muscle a woman has, the faster her resting metabolic rate.
And the faster the resting metabolic rate, the less stored fat there will be in the belly.
Thus, a very important move for ridding the potbelly is strength training — and hard.
Light weights and high reps won’t cut it — though novices should initially do light weights and a rep range of 12 to 15 to acclimate their sedentary body to this new form of exercise.
But eventually the protocol should be eight to 12 reps, with those last few reps very difficult to complete.
The back squat
Some sets should go to muscle failure: when the muscle being worked, just plain poops out and can’t budge for even one more repetition.
A true eight to 12 rep max means that you’ll feel the effort required from the first few reps.
You should NOT be able to get past 12 reps.
Strength train all the major muscle groups, with emphasis on the upper legs, glutes, back and chest, because the largest muscle groups will burn the most fat — including fat in the belly.
Deep dumbbell squat
Barbell deadlift
Lat pull-down. Freepik.com
This means hard leg workouts will burn fat in the belly; hardworking legs need fuel for recovery from hard exercise.
- Body fat is unused fuel.
- If your belly is loaded with fat, your legs will take from that fat, and hence, you will start losing your potbelly.
Dumbbell deadlift. Shutterstock/Robert Taylor
Bench press. Freepik/master1305
“Won’t lots of crunches trim my stomach?”
Spend minimal time on abdominal exercises. Please, the myth is over: Lots of crunches and sit-ups will NOT get rid of a potbelly.
Potent Fat Burner
In addition to intense strength training, do cardio — high intensity interval type.
This creates an “after burn” that regular long duration cardio doesn’t.
Example: On your favorite cardio machine, instead of setting the controls for a steady duration for 60 minutes, blast out your fastest effort, or use the hardest pedal tension, for one minute.
Then go easy for one minute. Do this back and forth for 20 to 25 minutes straight, two or three times a week on non-strength training days. A woman will start losing her potbelly this way.
What about diet?
“Watch your refined and processed carbohydrate intake if you’re looking to lose that potbelly,” says Sara Artigues, a registered dietician and certified personal trainer out of New Orleans.
“Insulin resistance is a huge health issue that can increase weight, especially around the midsection.
“When you eat too many sugary and processed carbohydrates, they can cause an imbalance in insulin and promote fat storage.
“Cut down on your sodium intake. Sodium causes water retention, so your body holds in excess fluids and can leave you bloated.”
Summary of Best Ways for a Woman to Get Rid of Her Potbelly
Strength train with heavy enough weights to make more than 12 repetitions impossible.
Engage in high intensity interval training.
Try to avoid refined (white flour-based) carbohydrates; fill up on fruits and nuts.
Have a nourishing breakfast.
Don’t go more than three hours without food.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Consider replacing sugary sweets with those sweetened naturally with the herb Stevia — which contains zero calories and can be part of your belly trimming plan.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Sara’s training services include fitness/body composition assessments, nutrition planning, customized programs and spin class instruction for a variety of clients.
Best Strength Training Routines for Elderly: Top 5 Exercises
The best strength training exercises for the elderly are the same for both men and women.
If you’re elderly or of “senior” age, you should strength train — no excuses. This means lift weights.
Elderly women, especially, should lift weights, to help fight off brittle bone disease which they are more at risk for than are men.
If you’re over 65 ask yourself:
- Do I want to dance at the next wedding of a grandchild?
- Or would I rather be pushed in a wheelchair into the reception hall?
Top 5 Strength Training Exercises for Elderly Men and Women
A “top 5” list will vary from one personal trainer or fitness expert to the next.
But usually, there is overlap with at least two types of exercises.
A “top 5” list will also depend on the physical condition of people over 65.
Some are already active (golf, swimming, yoga, hiking), while others are very sedentary and get winded just walking quickly in a parking lot.
Any five of the following strength training exercises are great for the elderly population.
#1) “Bodyweight squats are an excellent strength training routine for seniors because they help increase your lower-body strength allowing you to preserve the vital muscle tissue that decreases with age and inactivity,” says Monica Charlton, a senior exercise specialist and certified Silver Sneakers/personal trainer out of New Orleans.
Bodyweight squat Shutterstock/Dmytro Zinkevych
#2) Standing up from a chair and sitting down for repetitions. Don’t plop down; lower into the chair with control every time. This is sometimes referred to as chair squatting.
BrusBlaus
“The easiest way to ease into bodyweight squats is by doing chair squats,” says Charlton. “This helps you get the correct form while also giving you a chair to help with balance.
“Before going into full-blown squats, you can even start in a seated position and push up, holding the tension for a few seconds, and then go back down. This works your muscles and prepares you for regular squats.”
#3) Pushups, modified to your level, such as knees on floor, or standing pushup in which you’re pushing off a countertop.
“Pushups are still some of the best arm and chest exercises you can do, even as you age,” says Charlton.
You’ll need to first start out with your hands on a countertop, then progress to your knees on the floor, and hopefully, you’ll eventually be able to do a standard pushup. Shutterstock/Straight 8 Photography
“Pushups work the same muscles as the chest press, but it also stretches them and works to stabilize your core muscles to protect your lower back,” says Charlton.
#4) Leg press. “An important way to continue strengthening your muscles is to work them constantly in a sitting up and down motion,” says Charlton.
“A leg press can work for this when done on a lower weight. This motion can help improve strength in the quads, buttocks and hamstrings.”
Leg press. Shutterstock/Wendy M. Simmons
#5) Deadlift. “Deadlifts work wonders for your lower body,” says Charlton. “However, they can be very dangerous when done incorrectly.
“To get the best benefits and avoid injury, a personal trainer should be there to assist and make sure you have the correct form.
“The deadlift motion is used in everyday activities — from picking up grandchildren to moving laundry baskets.
“To be precise with your deadlift, it’s best to start out practicing at home, using your own body weight,” and building up to, say, holding with straight arms in front of you a tray with a few books on it for weight, “and then build up with a professional’s help at the gym.”
Deadlift
#5. Row. “Resistance bands can be very helpful for this when tied to a banister or pole,” says Charlton.
“With your feet planted firmly on the floor, pull the band straight back until your hands reach your sides, and squeeze your shoulder blades.
“For even more resistance, you can increase the distance between you and the pole.”
Row. Shutterstock/Aaron Amat
Loss of muscle, beginning at around age 30, starts occurring in people who don’t do strength training – structured weight-bearing workouts. This muscle loss equates to about five pounds per decade.
So even though an elderly woman may still be able to “fit” into her wedding dress of decades past, her body composition has radically changed if she’s been losing five pounds of muscle every decade!
“Our analyses of current research show that the most important factor in somebody’s function is their strength capacity,” states Mark Peterson, PhD, in a University of Michigan Health System study report.
Older people should strength train at least twice a week.
The best exercises that I just named are all compound strength training moves. At the gym, the bench press can replace pushups, or you can do both.
Squat and Pushup Alternatives
An elderly person who’s strong doing body-weight-only squats, can progress to weighted squats on a Smith machine, or with holding dumbbells or weight plates.
A squat with a barbell across one’s back is certainly not out of reach for the fitter 65+ person whose doctor has cleared them for this.
Monica Charlton’s personal training services include fitness/body composition assessments, nutrition planning, running programs and customized programs for clients with disabilities or injuries, as well as older and mainstream clients.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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