By Alison Wells BJ / CPTN-CPT
If there was a way to exercise that required LESS time, was proven the most effective way to lose fat, burn more calories for longer and make you stronger and leaner than you've ever been, would you try it?
There is a way and we’ve got it!
IT has many names: HITT (high intensity interval training), OBLA (onset blood lactate activation) or Lactic Acid Training, Explosive Strength Training, but all that really matters is this: EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption).
Trainers call it the 'after burn'. To put it simply, EPOC is the recovery period after exercise where there is elevated oxygen consumption which basically translates to calorie and fat burning. FAT can only burn in the presence of oxygen. The more oxygen present post exercise, the more FAT and calories burned and the longer they burn for.
So, the question needing answered is this: How do we increase the EPOC Effect?
It's simple.....It’s HARD.
I'll give you the GOOD NEWS first, then bad news and we’ll end on a high note with the GREAT news last.
It goes like this, less workout time, plus higher intensity during workout time equals maximum RESULTS. Translation? You experience better recovery time, increased fat loss and caloric expenditure, increased strength and muscle tone, and increased energy (more energy than any other form of training).
The Bad News: 'Are you comfortable?' isn’t the question you should be asking during this type of training. It goes more like this, "Are you uncomfortable?" If you answer YES with an exclamation mark (!) you're doing it right. It's very uncomfortable. But we do call it a 'work out' for a reason.
Some examples….Going as FAST as you can on the stepper until you feel really, really uncomfortable and then recovering and doing it again and again. It can be sprinting up a hill, recovering on the way back down and then sprinting up the hill again and again until you can’t because you're too tired. It's lifting really heavy weights (with good form of course) for as long as you can and then recovering and repeating it again and again up to 5-8 -15 times if that’s what it takes to fully exhaust the working muscles. It's doing as many burpies as you possibly can and then taking a break and repeating the misery!! You get my point.
So why am I telling you about this?
Because I'm frustrated, maybe not as much as some of you are but I am. Many people exercise but don't get results. They put their valuable time and money into the gym but don’t experience as many benefits as they could. Sometimes they will even throw in the yellow towel and say that fitness “didn’t work” but the truth is, they didn’t WORK. ALOT of people just aren't working hard enough to get the results they hope for because they don't like to feel uncomfortable. Instead, they do a comfortable workout, with comfortable weights for a comfortable amount of time on a comfortable machine and setting and never get results.
Comfort and Exercise simply CANNOT co-exist if you wish to GET RESULTS!
Reality? You will be very uncomfortable. You will feel a burn in your muscles, you may be slightly out of breath, you will feel VERY tired during the work phase and you’ll likely sweat BUT you’ll be finished your workout sooner and then you'll stretch, go home, re-fuel with some healthy food and water and put your feet up, after all, you've earned the relaxation, you worked HARD at the gym. And, while you relax, your bodies oxygen levels will be elevated and you’ll be burning more calories and FAT for up to 48 hours- that’s right, 48 hours! That's 47 hours more than those who do their comfortable workouts. You will get results and FAST!
The GREAT NEWS? New Heights Fitness has implemented this form of training to ALL of our fitness classes, personal training sessions and programs. Our spin instructors have been leading classes with this type of training incorporated for several years (as all of you spinners may have noticed). The Body Blast class is based on this type of training, as is the Faster, step, core and all mind body class.
The KICKBOXING program starting Oct 25th (early bird OCT 4th) will have this kind of training in it as well as the Kickboxing class included in your membership. The Fitness Boot Camps have also been programmed to fit this type of training in, as well to ensure our Boot Campers have the best shot at Fat loss.
Why? Because we want you getting results and we don't want you wasting your time!
What I like about this training is that there are no limits. It’s up to you how hard you work and the harder you do, the quicker your results occur. Good luck and please drop me a line if you have any questions or need support, advice or help with achieving your goals! That's why I am here!
HAPPY, UNCOMFORTABLE EXERCISING EVERYONE!
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