Archive for August, 2010

4 Ingredients Found In Your Grocery Store That Can Accelerate Your Fat Loss Naturally

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Unfortunately deep-fried pickles is
not on the list (but the recipe is below)…

Hi everybody! My husband and I just got back from a one-week anniversary vacation up in Northern Michigan.

(You can see the pics below; the cute sign he drew me in the sand, the view from our cabin deck, one of our sunset cruise pictures (after a few drinks), and my crazy hubby doing a back flip off our boat.)

As always, there was a LOT of partying and consumption of unhealthy foods like deep-fried pickles. Ingredients: dill pickles wrapped with ham and Swiss cheese then deep-fried in a wonton.

Can you say Yummylicious! Nutrition Content = you don’t want to know!

To top it all off, I already kind of feel like a “fatso” because I’ve slacked a little more than I should have this summer.

This always seems to happen to me every summer.

You probably might be able to relate. After all, we only get 3 or 4 months of good weather up here in Michigan. We all gotta enjoy life a little bit.

Right?

Even though we realize that taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life is absolutely necessary two or three times a year, the most depressing part is coming home.

It seems like we’re always depressed for 2 or 3 days when we have to come back to the reality of everyday life.

That’s why we always take a picture (I call it a fat picture haha) and plan out at least eight weeks of nutrition and exercise.

But sometimes that’s not enough. Even if you have your nutrition and exercise planned out, sometimes we need something to give us that extra edge.

And let’s face it. If you’re using something that can give you that “extra edge”, you’re more likely to eat right and not miss your exercise sessions.

Believe or not, some natural ingredients found right in your grocery store can actually keep your metabolism “exercising” at rest making it easier to burn fat.

Four of the most studied of these ingredients are coffee, hot red pepper, cinnamon and green tea.

It’s kind of funny because I’ve used every one of these ingredients in my everyday cooking for years without even realizing they can actually have a synergistic effect.

Shaun introduced me to an article about these four ingredients that I read while we were on vacation. It was written by Jayson Hunter (head of R&D with our friends at Prograde Nutrition) and I found very intriguing.

I thought you would also find interesting.

Below are the actual results from studies cited on these ingredients from Jayson about the natural benefits.

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Here’s just a small sample of what human studies (actual humans – not animals) have reported about these four all-natural fat fighting ingredients:

1.   Coffee (caffeine)
While the proportions may shift from moment to moment, your body always burns a mixture of three fuels: carbohydrate, fat and protein.

Thus, if you increase your overall calorie-burning rate (a.k.a. metabolic rate), it’s pretty much guaranteed that your fat-burning rate will go up, bringing you that much closer to the negative fat balance territory where real slimming occurs.

About 75% of the caffeine consumed in the United States comes from coffee, a product that no supermarket can be considered complete without. Caffeine is recognized worldwide for its ability to enhance alertness and performance. However, it also displays fast-acting calorie-burning properties. For instance, a study involving lean and overweight (obese) subjects reported that a single 100-mg dose of caffeine (equivalent to a little over 1 cup of coffee) was enough to raise their calorie-burning rate by up to 4% for 2.5 hours.

While a 4% increase may not seem like a big deal, it can turn into one. The scientists who conducted the study explain, “…if it is assumed that there is no compensatory increase in food intake, the increase [in calorie-burning rate] after caffeine would represent an energy deficit of 75-110 kcal/day. These changes may be small but over several months could accumulate and lead to substantial changes in body weight.”

But wait. Regular coffee drinkers know all too well that you can become tolerant to its energizing effects over time. Won’t the same thing happen here? Fortunately, evidence suggests that caffeine’s calorie-burning effects persist with repeated exposure. Case in point: The subjects in the above study were all mild to moderate consumers of caffeine, consuming anywhere from 250-500 mg per day, equivalent to ~3-6 cups of coffee. Yet they all enjoyed a calorie-burning boost from the relatively small dose given to them.

2. Hot Pepper (capsaicin)

The waiter places a delicious meal in front of you that includes a spicy curry sauce. You devour it. For the next 30 minutes your calorie-burning rate is cruises at 10% above baseline, equivalent to burning an additional 129 Calories per day, or 27% of the caloric value of the entire meal.

Sounds too good to be true?

This fictitious scenario became a reality at Kyoto University in Japan when scientists gave young women a 481-Calorie meal consisting of a yellow curry sauce containing 3 mg of capsaicin.

Capsaicin is the compound responsible for the sharp, and for some of us, intolerably painful, sensation produced by eating hot red peppers. It’s also to blame for the beads of sweat that appear on your forehead as you do so. Thus, it may come as no surprise to learn that deep inside the body capsaicin can increase your calorie-burning rate by stimulating a process known as thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis essentially involves the release of calories in the form of heat. Once released, they can no longer be stored as body fat. In addition to increasing thermogenesis, capsaicin has been found to improve meal satiety (i.e. how full you feel after eating), thereby reducing your risk of overeating. In animal studies it has been reported to increase calorie-burning rate and reduce body fat.

Of course, the single most powerful way to increase your calorie-burning rate and get into negative fat balance is to exercise. Here, too, capsaicin may boost your slimming efforts. When scientists gave healthy subjects capsaicin an hour before performing low-intensity exercise (stationary cycling), they burned more fat. The increase was impressive enough that the scientists suggested capsaicin be used as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of elevated blood lipid levels and/or obesity.

3. Cinnamon

Cinnamon often serves as a flavorful addition to carbohydrate-rich meals. How great is it, then, to learn that it may help “push” more of those carbohydrates into lean muscle and away from fat cells (adipose tissue)?

Most of the carbohydrate calories you eat are eventually converted into glucose (a.k.a. blood sugar). The hormone insulin helps direct glucose into your body’s cells, including muscle cells. The more sensitive your muscle cells are to insulin, the more efficiently they can scoop up glucose and store it for later use, such as providing your muscles with energy during exercise. All other things held constant, this leaves less glucose available for your fat cells, which might otherwise use it to make body fat.

Of the many plants studied to date, cinnamon has been reported to be among the most powerful in terms of its ability to enhance insulin sensitivity and keep blood glucose levels in check. When added to a carbohydrate-rich meal, it reduces the rise in blood glucose normally experienced afterwards. While the effects on insulin sensitivity may take a couple of weeks to manifest, the improvements in blood glucose control appear virtually immediately.

So cinnamon increases insulin sensitivity and improves blood glucose regulation. Great. However, does this mean it can help you lose body fat more quickly? In fact, this ancient spice might help you do more than that. Dr Richard Anderson (Ph.D.) at the US Department of Agriculture has conducted numerous studies on cinnamon.  He says that if cinnamon is consumed long-term, it can enhance lean body mass (this includes muscle) and reduce body fat, something he and his scientific colleagues demonstrated in a study performed in 2006.

4. Green Tea

White, green and black varieties of tea all contain caffeine (anywhere from ~14-61 mg per 6-8 oz serving). But it’s green tea that seems to get the most attention from scientists when it comes to burning fat. And its fat-burning effects are due to more than its caffeine content.

In one frequently cited study, healthy young men were given a green tea extract three times per day. Their 24-hour calorie-burning rate was 3.5% higher than that of subjects taking a placebo. This was equivalent to burning an additional 200 Calories per day -more than enough to eventually produce substantial weight loss and reductions in body fat.

Not only did green tea cause the subjects to burn more calories, but a larger proportion of the calories burned were determined by the scientists to have come from fat. That is, green tea was pushing them closer towards negative fat balance territory, if not pushing them right into it. Based on the scientists’ comments (they used the term “remarkable” to describe green tea’s effects), they seemed to be quite impressed. Indeed, green tea’s thermogenic effects in this study were as powerful as much larger doses of caffeine.

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After reviewing these ingredients and the research behind them, you can see exactly why these 4 ingredients can give you that extra edge – naturally.

Although these studies seem like they have a lot of potential, there’s really a lot more to learn about how you make these proven ingredients work together in the right way.

And even though I love to cook, it would be nearly impossible to spend each day trying to incorporate these 4 ingredients consistently into a nutrition plan and actually know I’m getting these benefits.

Here’s a great way to make using everyone of these 4 ingredients a no-brainer.

Click Here ===> The full story how you can use these fantastic 4 to accelerate fat loss naturally

You’ll discover exactly how you can get these 4 fat fighters working together all at the same time to dramatically increase their effectiveness.

Prograde has actually put together an easy and convenient way to actually combine all these ingredients and get immediate benefits in one convenient supplement.

Plus, let’s face it. The older we get, the harder it is to keep the weight off.

That’s why I occasionally use all-natural stuff like this to get back on track after a long summer and as extra incentive to eat clean and get to the gym consistently.

One more very important point I must make.

You could take the greatest supplement in the world and still not get any benefits IF you don’t have nutrition and exercise in-line and consistent first.

Supplements should always be used to do exactly what they say. “Supplement” your current exercise and nutrition plan.

But…and this is a big but, it’s important that you stick with the “all-natural” stuff and not the artificial, hyped up fat burning pills and gimmicks you see everywhere.

Otherwise, as Shaun always says, you could just be making expensive urine.

That’s why we always take the all-natural route.

We’ll definitely be using these ingredients after Labor Day as extra motivation to stay on track.

I hope you enjoyed this and it helps you put together your “post-summer” fat loss plan.

If you’re anything like me, it’s time to get your camera out!

Have a great day,
Karen

P.S. Just to be clear, I have to say it one last time. These ingredients are not a cure-all, but science sure has come a long ways to help us use them to stay healthy and burn more fat.

Use the Fantastic FOUR to burn more fat naturally <—– Click here for the full article

 

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Posted in diet foods | 3 Comments »

 

Sequence Your Cardio And Bust Through Exercise Plateaus

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Mix things it up, Have more fun, Get more results…

We’re hanging out at Torch Lake (one of the top 10 lakes in the world) for a week for our anniversary, and finally found some time to get this out to you.

This is the view from our dock.

Pretty sweet huh? We’re going to enjoy this week for sure, because right when we get back, we’re going full force on the plan below.

When we left off with the last blog post (read it here) we introduced you to an actual workout that you could apply from each of the 3 individual proven cardio pillars of attacking fat (Turtles, Hamsters, and Gazelles).

We also based these specific examples on your current level of condition so virtually anybody can take this proven approach. Then we talked about how crucial this is for overcoming exercise adaption and making your plan fun for the long haul.

Hopefully you’ve been experimenting with these a little bit and you’re ready to take it to the next level. No turtles allowed for this one. Sorry.

Today we’re back to introduce you to an actual training protocol and schedule that you can strategically use to implement the 3 pillars sequentially and synergistically. Kind of a tongue twister, but it’s powerful.

Synergistic Sequencing will give you the greatest (and fastest) fat burning effect and maximize time you spend exercising.

As always, if you really want to flatten your belly and see your abs, you MUST be doing this in conjunction with some type of resistance training and consistently cycling your carbs.

This type of protocol can be very demanding on the body. If you do traditional high intensity weights, there’s a high chance of over-training unless you’re advanced and understand some accelerated recovery strategies.

One of the best result oriented approaches to prevent overtraining is super quick and efficient bodyweight workouts like Craig Ballantyne’s MRT (metabolic resistance training). (See It Here)

Also make sure you’re using a macro-patterning (glycogen manipulation) nutrition plan like our 8-week Home Study Course.

You have been coached by Wendy right? <==== If not, go here.

Ok, we kept this schedule fairly easy to follow for simplicity and flexibility, but there are a few basic rules that must be followed in order to make this work properly.

First, always warm-up and cool down for 4 to 5 minutes minimum before and after your workouts. Also, remember to walk briskly for 10 to 30 minutes after all pillar 3 workouts if time permits (to accelerate the burning of free fatty acids).

Also, make sure you perform the workouts below directly after your resistance training workouts, after waking up on an empty stomach, or 3 to 4 hours after a healthy balanced meal to maximize fat loss and metabolic hormones properly.

This synergistic sequence is specifically designed to burn that stubborn (hard to get rid of) fat and progressively get you leaner week by week.

This particular sequence requires no more than about 3 hours per week of total cardio (4 hours max if peaking or losing the last 10 to 15 pounds).

A quick recap:

Pillar 1 (P1): Aerobic/Endurance (Steady State) usually 65% to 85% of max heart rate.

We strategically schedule the majority of these longer duration workouts during or after the weekend to maximize glycogen burn. This is assuming you’re a weekend warrior like us and you end up consuming more calories (especially carb calories) on the weekend.

We also use this to help you create a foundation of endurance during the first couple weeks as we progress you into a more intense regimen week-by-week.

Pillar 2 (P2): Threshold (2 to 5 minute intervals)

Because pillar 2 helps your metabolism burn more fat and calories when performing exercise within the other 2 pillars, we strategically place these in the middle of the week.

First, it helps condition your cardiovascular system (raises your threshold) to tolerate the higher intensity and demand of system 3. Second, you’ll perform them right in-between pillars 1 and 3 to maximize the natural benefits of working this system.

Pillar 3 (P3): Creatine Phosphate (GL-12 or H.I.I.T.)

Since you’ve already performed pillars 1 and 2 workouts earlier in the week, it only makes sense to place the most demanding (pillar 3) workouts towards the end of the week. Your body has been conditioned and your metabolic triggers are primed to respond to the higher intensity workouts of pillar 3.

Make no mistake about it. Pillar 3 will kick your butt.

Ok, it’s GO TIME!

Click Here To Download An Easy-To-Read PDF Version

There are a bazzillion ways you can do this, but this is an easy way to synergistically sequence your cardio so you can burn fat while still maintaining lean muscle tissue.

Notice how we start adding in morning and evening sessions starting on week five. This is done intentionally to force your body to bust through adaption and trick your metabolism.

If you ever feel like you’re at a sticking point or getting stuck in a rut once you reach maintenance, just change the time of day. Your body will wonder what the heck is going on and “snap” just like that…you’ll start burning more fat.

Now that summer is coming to an end, our plan is to start this ourselves (when we get back form Torch Lake) in conjunction with MRT workouts and our macro-patterning.

We don’t try to reinvent the wheel. We use what works.

That’s exactly why we use our buddy Craig Ballantyne’s bodyweight workouts. After all, if you’re going to invest your precious time working out, why not use the world’s best?

Speaking of the world’s best. Here’s a special link where you can learn about bodyweight MRT workouts that fit perfectly (like a hand and glove) with our GL-12 Cardio Sequencing.

The no-equipment, anywhere, anytime bodyweight workout system that works in perfect synergy with GL-12 Sequencing. <==== Click here

Well, what do you think? Pretty freakin cool eh?

Don’t forget to leave your comments (and share the love by hitting the “like” button).

Helping you live lean for life,

Shaun and Karen

P.S. We’ll be back soon with some fat loss time management techniques and motivation from Karen next week.

 

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Posted in Fat Burning Cardio | 2 Comments »

 

Bring Out Your Animal Instinct To Save Time AND Synergistically Attack Stubborn Body Fat

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Eliminate Your Turtle And Hamster Mentality To Transform Yourself Into
A Lean And Mean Fat Burning Gazelle…

In the last blog article, we introduced you to the 3 PROVEN pillars of fat loss.

Today we’re back (just like we promised) to give you an example workout from each individual Pillar (animal) so you can transform your turtle and hamster mentality into that of a short burst, fat burning gazelle.

And we’re not talking about a Tony Little-style Gazelle here either. This isn’t some gimmicky philosophy. This IS the real deal.

Remember that if you want to be a real fat-burning Gazelle, you will sometimes act like a hamster (Pillar 1). This is for recovery purposes and to prime your metabolism to burn more fat when coming out of your turtle shell to act like a Gazelle (Pillars 2 and 3).

Also, it’s crucial that you incorporate some type of resistance training like weights or MRT (Metabolic Resistance Training) into this plan if you really want this to work. We know this is kind of obvious to most of our readers; we just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave it out.

Speaking of metabolic resistance training (MRT), one of the world’s best metabolic resistance training experts (our “go to” guy and friend), recently shared some of his best stuff with us…you can learn more about how to use it at the end of this post.

Before we give you some sample workouts, remember that you’ll never see results unless you understand the number one component of fat loss. What is it? One word.

INTENSITY

Without applying proper intensity you’ll simply be stuck in your turtle shell or be trapped forever on a hamster wheel. (Ok. Enough of the animal analogies already

Are you intimidated by intensity? If so, relax. You’re not alone.

Here’s the key. Apply our intensity scale below to YOU personally.

Your current age…your gender…your current level of condition (or any other limitations you may have).

*GL-12 Intensity Scale

• Level 1 = Warm-Up or Slow Pace
• Level 2 = Jog or Medium Pace
• Level 3 = Run or Hard Pace
• Level 4 = Fast Run or Very Hard Pace
• Level 5 = Sprint or All Out Burst (based on your current level of personal condition)

*Intensity levels are different for every person and are based on your current condition, age, gender, or other limitations, so please gauge your intensity level based on where you’re at right now personally. You can also apply this scale to other types of exercise besides running or sprinting.

IMPORTANT: Always warm-up and cool down for 4 to 5 minutes minimum

PILLAR 1: Aerobic/Endurance (Steady State Cardio)

In the aerobic pillar, oxygen is used to break down fatty acids and glucose to release energy. In other words, oxygen is primarily present so you can go for longer durations at a steady pace and the majority of fat calories burned happens during the workout itself.

Just remember: Aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic means without oxygen.

	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
Duration:	30 minutes	45 Minutes	60 Minutes
Intensity:	Level 1 to 2	Level 2	Level 2 to 3

PILLAR 2: Threshold (Intervals)

This is the pillar just above Aerobic training. You can typically stay in this anaerobic pillar for 2 to 5 minutes at a time before letting your heart rate come back down and recovering.

This pillar has several important benefits.

Research shows that threshold training allows your body to respond continuously from the aerobic type training discussed above.  This is important to know because so many people hit a wall when they get stuck in the aerobic pillar (a.k.a. the hamster wheel).

It will also help you burn more fat and calories when incorporating a base of pillar 1 and pillar 3 along with it.

	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
Duration:	30 minutes	40 Minutes	40 Minutes
Intensity:	2 min @ 3 2 min @ 1 (repeat x 5)	3 min @ 3-4 3 min @ 1 (repeat x5)	3 min @ 4 3 min @ 1 or 2 (repeat x 5)

PILLAR 3: Creatine Phosphate (High Intensity Bursts or Intervals)

Gazelle time!

Lastly is creatine phosphate (Get Lean In 12 intervals and H.I.I.T.). This system can only support high intensity effort for 15 to 60 seconds at a time.

The main thing to remember with Get Lean In 12 intervals and H.I.I.T. workouts is that although they are only 12 to 20 minutes in duration, they will increase both the “aerobic” AND “anaerobic” systems at the same exact time.

This is typically unheard of when it comes to exercise. Also, study after study shows your metabolism will be elevated for up to 48 hours from just one pillar 3 workout.

Again, just remember the “more” is not “better” GL-12 philosophy. Doing a bunch of pillar 3 workouts every week is not the answer, but it definitely yields the most results for the time invested.

Continuously using all 3 pillars is the solution.

	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
Duration:	20 minutes	12 Minutes	12 Minutes
Intensity:	1 min @ 4 2 min @ 1 (repeat x 5)	30 sec @ 4-5 30 sec @ 1 (repeat x 5)	20 sec @ 5 10 sec @ 1 (repeat x 8.)

It’s nice to know that the time and effort invested into pillar 3 will still be working up to 2 days later…even while you’re sleeping. Now that’s a beautiful thing!

One final note on Pillars 2 and 3.

Feel free to walk briskly for 10 to 30 minutes afterwards if time permits. A lot of research shows this will help the heart utilize oxygen properly and enhance fat loss by burning off the Free Fatty Acids that your body will release during high intensity bursts of exercise.

The strategy above is how we personally went from exercising 8 to 10 hours every week, alllllll the way down to just 4 or 5 hours a week. Ironically, we doubled our results at the same exact time. I know we’ve beaten this drum to death, but more is NOT better. Got it?

There’s one more final strategy that will help you maximize your body’s natural fat burning potential with this approach. We call it “sequencing”.

When you use this approach sequentially in the proper order, you can force your body to feed on more fat.

At least 20 comments and we’ll be back in a few days with the exact weekly exercise schedule you can use to make all 3 of the PROVEN pillars work together synergistically and sequentially.

There’s more metabolic trickery coming your way in a couple of days. But you have to leave your comment and we’ll be back to help you cross the finish line.

Committed to your fat burning success,

Shaun and Karen

P.S. If you want to learn how to use this exact same approach (at home or anywhere) with resistance training, just check out Metabolic Resistance Training guru and expert (and friend of ours) Craig Ballantyne’s bodyweight cardio…

Never miss a workout again with super fast in-home MRT workouts that blowtorch body fat <—— Click Here

 

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Posted in Fat Burning Cardio | 25 Comments »

 

The 3 Proven PILLARS Of Attacking Stubborn Body Fat

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

How to overcome the “adaptive response” from exercise and bust through fat loss plateaus…(Are YOU a Turtle, a Hamster, or a Gazelle?)

Most people approach exercise haphazardly with absolutely no plan. In other words, they decide what workout they’re going to do for that day while they’re walking into the health club or their home gym.

I used to do the same thing. Do you? This is a HUGE exercise mistake.

I learned a long time ago that you must have a strategic plan to overcome adaption if you really want to burn fat and get solid results.

It amazes me how many people have been working out year after year (sometimes for hours at a time) with absolutely no visible fat loss results to show for it.

Their heart might get stronger and they probably even get cardiovascular benefits from exercise. But without a strategic plan to keep their bodies from adapting, they’ll NEVER see visible fat loss results.

Really think about this. If you’re going to spend the time AND effort exercising, shouldn’t you know for a fact that you’re actually burning fat so you can see visible as well as physical results?

People generally fall into one of three categories when it comes to cardio.

1. Turtles: This is the person who gets on a treadmill or some other machine and uses their time to read a book, watch the latest negative news or talk show, and gossip with their friends. This will burn up some calories, but is basically useless.

You might as well be working around the house. You’ll burn just as many calories, you won’t fill your head with so much crap AND you’ll get more accomplished. (Turtles really get on my nerves for some reason. If this is you, I apologize, I just feel like you should be using your time more wisely.)

2. Hamsters: These are the people that have a “more” is “better” mentality (with too much time on their hands – must be nice!). You see them jogging or cranking away at a medium pace for hours on end.

I’ll get to the gym, crank out our workout, stretch, go get some 1 on 1 sauna or cultivation time, and the Hamster is STILL cranking away on their machine a couple hours later. Can you say insanity?

The Hamster is the most likely to burn out, get injured, and burn up a lot of valuable fat burning muscle. It’s actually kind of humorous. What’s even funnier is when they ask you for help, then don’t listen.

3. Gazelles: This is a rare breed, but they’re easy to recognize. How? They’re in-shape. They sweat more, make more noise, they’re efficient and they workout with a goal and a purpose. Gazelles push themselves out of their comfort zone consistently and get visible results.

I’m happy to report that I’m a Gazelle! The Gazelle (the actual animal) is not a leaper, but instead eludes predators with incredible bursts of speed, sometimes reaching 60 miles/hour. They’re also super lean.

Gazelles will sometimes intentionally act like a Hamster for recovery purposes and to help overcome adaption. But the majority of their time is spent using higher intensity metabolic bursts.

I figured out a long time ago how to formulate an effective plan for attacking body fat using the 3 pillars below (with Gazelle type cardio and metabolic bursting).

This will help you do three very important things.

• Dramatically cut down the time you spend exercising. Gotta love that.
• Immediately know – for a fact – that you’re always tapping into and burning fat when you exercise (so you can actually see visible results from your effort).
• Completely prevent burnout and boredom in your long-term exercise approach (by using variety and flexibility to make exercise more fun AND overcome adaption).

PILLAR #1: Aerobic / Endurance (Steady State) Cardio

Perform 1 or 2 times weekly for 45 to 60 minutes. No more, no less.

Pros:

• Easier to use and apply immediately because of lower intensity.
• Great conditioning for heart and cardiovascular system.
• A strategic primer for your body to respond to “other pillars” properly.

Cons:

• Consumes more time than intervals like H.I.I.T. or GL-12 bursting workouts (The other 2 pillars).
• Only burns fat and calories DURING the workout. This type of cardio only elevates your metabolism for about an hour afterwards. In other words, after this type of “old-school” type of exercise, your metabolism will be back to its normal level in about 60 minutes (The other 2 pillars will elevate your metabolism for 4 to 48 hours afterwards).
• Your body adapts VERY quickly to this type of exercise so it’s only effective if you use it synergistically with the other 2 pillars.

PILLAR #2: Threshold (Interval training)

Perform 1 or 2 times weekly for 30 to 40 minutes.

Pros:

• Generally fun to do because it’s constantly changing.
• Moderately efficient so it can save you some time.
• Intense enough to produce results even though more recovery time is required between intervals or bursts.
• Conditions and primes your cardiovascular system to burn more calories (especially fat calories) when applying the other 2 pillars.

Cons:

• Sometimes difficult to gauge intensity because intervals (bursts) last 2 to 5 minutes long.
• Only elevates your metabolism for about 4 hours afterwards (this is still a more effective post workout metabolic burst than pillar 1, but not nearly as efficient as pillar 3 – see below).
• Must pay close attention to the protocol for it to have the proper effect. In other words, you must plan your work and work your plan when doing this type of training.

PILLAR #3: Creatine Phosphate (High Intensity Interval Training: H.I.I.T. or GL-12 Metabolic Bursting)

Perform 3 or 4 times a week for 12 to 30 minutes.

Pros:

• Saves you a ton of time. This pillar is what allowed me  to cut my exercise time in half over 12 years ago and I’ve never looked back.
• AFTERBURN: Elevates your metabolism for up to 48 hours (2 full days) afterwards. This is known as EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). Simply put, the accumulative effect of doing 3 or 4 GL-12 metabolic bursting workouts every week can radically alter your metabolic rate and your body’s ability to efficiently mobilize and burn fat.
• Promotes the release and stimulation of very powerful fat burning hormones (Growth Hormone, Free Fatty Acids, Adrenaline and Brain Chemicals like endorphins).
• Lowers insulin dramatically to help you burn more fat and have better energy.

Cons:

• Difficult to perform if you have limitations or heart challenges (but can still be applied by anybody).
• FACT: Most people don’t have the guts to push themselves hard enough and reach the intensity levels necessary to actually “activate” the metabolic triggers that this system can unleash.
• More potential to cause an injury if not approached safely (always need a thorough warm-up and cool down).
• Not a quick fix or cure-all (but definitely gives you the most bang for your buck), so it needs to be combined with the other 2 pillars in order to work effectively and efficiently.

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Now that I’ve introduced you to the 3 proven pillars (and animals) of real fat burning, it’s time to take action!

After all, the Big Man above can move mountains – but you gotta bring your shovel!

If you do, here’s just a sample of what can happen:

“I started about 3 wks ago seriously working out using your metabolic bursting techniques. I started doing exactly what you explained on your blog about fat burning (Turtles, hamsters, and gazelles).

I focused on several 12 minute bursting workouts with weight lifting as well. BUT let me tell you… I have NEVER gotten so many comments from people this fast after starting a weight loss plan for myself. It’s been just 3 weeks and I have clothes that I have never worn because they never fit on my body and now….they are falling off me!

I will never stop doing this. I feel amazing and the fast results are what I needed.  Also… I have (or should I say had) like 50 lbs to lose so this is doable by anyone.  I LOVE that I can go to the gym and get right in an out. People can’t believe I am getting far better results than anyone else. ?Thank you so much for being a constant in my email… It took awhile but I finally started to listen. I’m a true believer now!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Diane

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Unsolicited comments and feedback like this is what drives me to share this message with you – because it proves anybody can do it.

I know first hand from real world experience. Fact is, once I got out of my comfort zone and actually start applying these strategies, I created more time and energy in my day. But most importantly, I started liking what I saw when I looked in the mirror or lifted up my shirt.

Do you?

As you can see from the picture above, high intensity training trumps old-school cardio and exercise.

Every. Single. Time.

If you enjoyed this read, make sure to hit the “like” button below and leave a comment if you have any questions and let me know what your favorite pillar is.

I love GL-12 metabolic bursting, but usually have to force myself to do Aerobic / Endurance (steady state) cardio. I know it’s necessary, but always seems to take too much time (and it’s really boring too).

What’s your favorite pillar?

Your friend and coach,

Shaun

P.S. If you’d like to turn this philosophy into a lifestyle and learn how to make it work in synergy with your nutrition plan, just click the link below, grab your FREE CD and check out our Lean Body Insider Member’s area.

You can instantly put these philosophies to work in your life.

Learn how to be a fat burning GAZELLE <<== Claim your FREE CD

 

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Posted in fat burning program | 7 Comments »

 

Is Your Cardio Making Your Butt And Legs Bigger?

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

If You’re Adding Resistance to Your Cardio Machine, YES!

As a former bodybuilder who went on to own a gym, I have spent more than my share of time around cardio and weight machines.

The one thing that always amazes me is how people will take a perfectly effective, scientifically designed, thoroughly adequate exercise machine and adapt it thinking “more is more.”

In fact, more is more is one of the worst philosophies to have when exercising because, in fact, when you do it right less is actually more.

Less time, less effort, less weight, less often – IF you follow the rules and give it your all each time.

Unfortunately, everyone is so busy multi-tasking in every other part of their lives – eating while in the car, taking a conference call on your morning commute, with multiple windows open on every computer screen – that we naturally think we must do the same at the gym.

So I see people barely using any weight and trying to perform an exercise while talking on the cell phone. They use the gym more as a time to socialize than for what they are meant to do there: lift weights!

Others do the same workout every time (with no break in the routine): they come in and go down the circuit of machines in the same order and then decide, “Well, that’s it; workout’s over and I feel good! Time for a post-workout smoothie…”

Resistance training (free weights, stationary weight machine, etc.) can be a fabulous way to build muscle, boost your metabolism, increase toned muscle mass and increase your overall health.

Likewise, cardio exercise (Stairmaster, exercise cycle, treadmill, etc.) can increase your heart rate, burn fat and expend calories quickly.

So naturally, you might think, combining the two is the surest way to both build muscle and burn fat, get your heart rate up and expend lots of calories fast. But, in fact, doing more when it comes to resistance and cardio actually produces fewer results.

That’s because when exercising you should put like with like.

In other words, a great resistance workout can produce much better results when you concentrate purely on resistance, focusing on the tension of the weight, the number of sets and reps, really feeling the burn and completely focused on those main goals of resistance, i.e. building muscle and boosting metabolism.

Likewise, a great cardiovascular workout should focus strictly on cardio to produce maximum results.

The last thing you want to be doing while running around the neighborhood is fiddling with your weight straps or figuring out how to drink from your water bottle in one hand while adjusting your easy-grip, five- pound barbells in the other!

So when it comes to exercise, put like with like; resistance, resistance, resistance, cardio, cardio, cardio – not resistance, cardio,  resistance or cardio, resistance, cardio.

I see this drastic mistake at the gym all the time.

I witness people, especially women, on a stair stepper machine, who add resistance thinking, “Wow, my butt (glutes) and legs are getting a hard workout.”

And they are, but the fact of the matter is this is THE most counterproductive way to perform cardio.

In fact, this is using a method of weight training called “time under tension” and what it will do is force the body to store more glycogen – and possibly fat – to the lower half of your body—actually making your butt bigger, because your body has to know how to anticipate the load, so the body says, “We need help; store more there!”

And that sure isn’t the reason why you are doing cardio in the first place, right?

So remember to use no resistance when doing cardio and only apply resistance when weight-training.  One of the best methods I teach my clients to burn the most amount of fat is to do a method called H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) or fat burning intervals.

The treadmill should always be set with no incline and if you use other exercises remember to stay away from resistance or any type of tension when doing cardio.

ALWAYS make sure to do weight training first and cardio last to get the most fat burning results out of your workout.

Remember, like with like: resistance with resistance, cardio with cardio for the most effective results every time.

Written by N.Y. Times Best Selling Author and Fat Loss Expert: Wendy Chant

*END ARTICLE*

Now that you understand “time under tension”, just hit the “like” button below and we’ll be back in a couple days with THE absolute best approach to interval training and cardio.

Conclusion: 25 people or more hit the “like” button = The 3 most powerful, proven, and effective Pillars of Attacking Body Fat with the GL-12 interval cycling workouts. (coming your way in the next few days).

Yours truly,
Shaun and Karen

 

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Posted in Fat Burning Cardio | 4 Comments »

 

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