What if everything you've ever heard about the "fat-burning
zone" in cardio training was wrong? Or, if not plain
wrong, at least misleading.
Truth is, if you've read anything about fitness over the
past 20 years, or have talked to any fitness
"professional", you've probably run across the term
"fat-burning zone".
If you dug a little deeper, you were probably told that
exercising in this zone - around 50% of your maximum heart
rate - was the only way to burn fat from your body.
If you were like me, you bought into this concept. You
fell for it hook, line and sinker and wasted countless
hours torturing yourself on cardio machines doing low
intensity workouts to get rid of the unwanted flab. After
all, it was the "only way."
The problem with this "fat-burning" zone is that it doesn't
take into account the intensity of the exercise. It
doesn't use the fact that higher intensity exercise burns
more total calories, and therefore more total fat.
For example: (these numbers hypothetical for simple
calculations)
Let's say a low intensity workout in the "fat-burning zone"
gets 50% of the energy from fat and burns 100 total
calories, it would use 50 calories worth of fat.
On the other hand, a high intensity workout might only get
25% of the energy from fat but burn 400 total calories. Do
the math. That's 100 calories worth of fat burned. And
the high intensity workout would have taken much less total
time to complete.
So, if you are like me, you longed for something different.
A way to exercise that was not only effective in reducing
fat, but also that took the drudgery out of your workouts.
There is such an exercise and it can give you better
results, faster than anything you have tried before.
I'm talking about running sprints. And more specifically,
running hill sprints.
Take a look at why hill sprints are the closest thing to a
perfect exercise for trimming excess blubber from your body.
Why Building Muscle Tissue Is Essential To Fat Loss
First off, running hill sprints will work all of the
muscles in your body at the same time. It is a true full
body workout. Workouts like this have been shown to
increase the amount of muscle tissue that you have.
Strong, lean, functional muscle.
So, what does more muscle have to do with burning flab?
It turns out that muscle tissue is like a calorie burning
furnace. The more muscle you have, the higher your
metabolism and the more calories you will burn - even when
you're just sitting in front of your computer... even when
you're sleeping.
Muscle also helps regulate your blood sugar. Muscle uses
sugar for energy when it contracts. When it uses up that
sugar, it needs to absorb more from your blood. Lowering
your blood sugar levels can help prevent the onset of
diabetes and its related health problems.
Get Hollywood's "Fountain of Youth" For Free
The second advantage of hill sprints over traditional
cardio exercise is that this kind of high intensity
exercise prompts your body to release higher levels of
human growth hormone (HGH) - naturally. Low intensity
cardio does not have this same effect.
Human growth hormone in adolescence is essential for just
that - proper growth. In adulthood, HGH, which is released
from the pituitary gland, is key in kicking up your
metabolism and shifting fat burning into high gear.
Funny thing is, your body has plenty of HGH stored inside
the pituitary. It just releases less and less as you get
to age 30 and above.
But, your body doesn't do this naturally. It is a "couch
potato" lifestyle that shuts down the levels of HGH in you
system. Change the lifestyle, release more hormone, reap
the benefits.
Hollywood stars and professional athletes, eager to look
and feel young forever, are paying big bucks for synthetic
injections of this substance. If they only knew how to get
it for free...
Why You Need To Cut The Fat
So, what's the big deal about a little extra padding anyway?
Besides the obvious cosmetic reasons, there are a number of
health benefits involved with cutting the amount of fat you
are carrying around.
Being obese - or even moderately overweight - has been
linked to health risks from heart attack and stroke to
arthritis and diabetes.
And fat around your middle has been shown to be the worst
kind.
But, a recent announcement from the American Diabetic
Association stated that high intensity exercise, like hill
sprinting, is the best way to reduce that stubborn belly
fat.
What Else Hill Sprints Do For You
In addition to being an incredible fat-burning exercise,
hill sprints have a number of other advantages over
traditional cardio workouts.
Hill sprint workouts take less time.
Hill sprint workouts make you run faster
Hill sprint workouts improve your athletic performance in
any sport
Hill sprint workouts are fun
Hill sprint workouts improve lung capacity
Hill sprint workouts increase heart's reserve capacity
Adding hill sprints to your workout routine can quickly
bring about positive changes in your health. You'll drop
the excess fat in no time and feel younger and better than
you have in years.
----------------------------------------------------
Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years
experience as an athlete and coach. He has developed
champion athletes across multiple sports through speed
training, strength improvement and conditioning. Coach K
is the author of the Uphill Fitness Training, and publishes
a FREE daily training email newsletter. Tim can be
contacted through his website at http://www.makesyoufast.com
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