Weight Loss

We all know that lifting weights is an anaerobic workout. I encounter many people at the gym who ask me how I stay so lean all the time, and my response is mainly because of how I train. I’ve been able to maintain a body-fat percentage of 4-5 percent without any real dieting because of how I train. How to turn an anaerobic workout into an aerobic workout is quite simple.

For example, on a Monday I might do chest and biceps. Well, what I would do on that day is work one set of chest, and then one set of biceps, and then alternate doing ab work during this chest and bicep exercise. What I am doing is not giving myself time to rest by training two different body parts back and forth. What this does is speed your heart rate and burns a high amount of calories because of the speed of the exercises and the lack of rest time between sets and exercises. While incorporating this type of circuit training, your workout is starting to become aerobic because of the increase in heart rate, uncontrollable sweating, and shortness of breath.

When training like this, it is important to ease into it slowly because, if you’ve never trained like this, you will struggle in finishing your workout. The reason is that it takes time to build the stamina required to train like this. Another workout example is on Tuesday, I might do shoulders and back, and then alternate doing calves during those exercises. I’ll do one set of shoulders, and then do one set of back, and then I’ll go back and forth while trying to complete four exercises per body part.

This past Fourth of July weekend was unlike any other for me: I did something I never envisioned myself doing. This 35-years-old mother of three slid into a wet suit and hit the salty waters of the beach, entering the world of surfing: a fantastic world I knew absolutely nothing about. As I made my way into the ocean, and the water reached my calves, and then my thighs, the reality of what I was about to do shifted my heart into overdrive. I bravely tried to conceal it from my instructor, Phil, who smiled and said, “Are you ready?” I mustered up a smile in return.

Have you ever noticed that when you decide to begin a diet, you’re thrilled for the challenge; nothing can get in the way of your success? You map out a meal plan, then stroll through the aisles of your local grocery store to grab everything on your list. Your workout regime is mapped out, and walking into the gym (or wherever you decide to embark) seems almost refreshing?

Two or three weeks pass, you become lethargic, less motivated, and the challenge just doesn’t seem as thrilling anymore. Well maybe I have an answer. Folks, it’s not because you lack the drive and the motivation psychologically, it’s most likely that since beginning your health quest, you have probably deprived yourself of essential nutrients, making you feel weak and exhausted. This can play tricks on one’s psyche, as most of us then look into the mirror wondering why we are such failures. We revert back to our “old ways”, thinking we have failed once again.

Come on, pick yourself back up, wipe off the “I am a failure” façade, and let’s analyze your plan of attack. You see, since beginning your diet and workouts, your body is thinking “what are you doing to me?” It does not know which way to turn. It just wants to go back to its old ways, the ways that were familiar. And this is where you can utilize a few quick tips to beat the issue at hand.

It’s a question that every health book, magazine and fitness professional will say is critical to achieving health goals. Are they correct? Absolutely. I’ve lost weight enough times to know that the key to my success has always been the “Why?” I know what you’re thinking…Great, here’s another article about how “positive thinking” will help me lose weight, get healthy, yata, yata, yata. These types of articles used to annoy the heck out of me! I simply wanted to know WHAT DO I NEED TO DO to get rid of my blubber. So if you’re looking for the secret in doing this all I can do is share what worked for me.

Getting lean doesn’t have to turn you into a candidate for the Most Irritable Person On Earth award. Unless you’re preparing for the Mr. Olympia, it’s not worth it—or even necessary—to offend your friends and ruin relationships just to get a six pack.

Most people think that you have to put yourself through a torturous diet, kill yourself with endless workouts, or use the next magic supplement to get a shredded physique.

Actually, getting in top shape is more about consistency and attention to detail. Sure you’ve got to eat right and train smart, but you don’t have to go crazy in the process.

Paradigm(n.) One that serves as a pattern or model

When it comes to fitness, cardio especially, I feel too many people operate in old paradigms, follow the crowd, get stuck in a rut or keep old habits that cause them to do the same old boring routines that aren’t producing the results they desire.

It’s a new day and that means a new opportunity to start fresh. After reading this article, you will have a more exciting, time-efficient cardio workout that is guaranteed to get results. In other words, it’s time to break through any “pattern” or “model” that you’ve been following from years past.

What we are about to explore is something that has been researched for years and is now really coming to the forefront of fitness and being accepted by many experts in the field: short duration, high intensity cardio workouts or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).