The Best Form of Cardio to Eliminate Fat and Maintain Muscle

By Ty Ferrell

As a frequent gym patron, I am many times shocked at the amount of time people (especially women) will spend on an aerobic machine. The sad part is many of them do not change much at all for the better.

After spending two hours on an elliptical for a month you expect to see something amazing happen, right? Hopefully you know that is absolutely wrong. The only thing amazing is just how "rundown" a person can look after that torture. Unlike aerobic loving patrons of the gym, I hate long duration aerobics. I hate it so much I have researched and experimented with other modes of training to see if fat loss can become less "mind-numbing" and more efficient. Also, it needs to ensure that precious metabolism-raising muscle will not be burned away in the process. After some serious research and trial and error, I have found that undulating interval training is the most superior way of taking off fat pounds, maintaining muscle and keeping the joints safe.

For the sake of this article remaining as simple as possible, I will not dwell on the long research and complex results, but rather provide you with a "cliff note" version. Let's first look at the major benefits and downsides of both long duration aerobics and undulating interval training.

Long Duration Aerobics:

1. Uses calories for energy at a low rate, but calories come from muscle, consumed food, and fat
2. Increases endurance, but does not do much for increasing strength nor speed
3. Increases the efficiency of the body's aerobic system, which means if you are running a marathon then this is great, but if you are simply trying to burn fat, not good at all.
4. Increases chances of joint connective tissue deterioration.
5. Is plain out boring.

Undulating Interval training:

1. Uses calories for energy at a high rate, and the calories come from fat stores and food consumed.

2. Increases endurance, reaction time, speed, maximal potential strength.

3. Keeps the aerobic system from becoming efficient, but increases efficiency of body to use fat and lactic acid as fuel. Maximal amount of fat will be oxidized (burned).

4. Promotes tendon adaptation along with muscle adaptation, allowing for the body and joints to become healthier and better.

5. Heart increases in strength and EPOC (excessive post exercise oxygen consumption) is set off (which means you will burn fat even after you leave the gym and go on about your life).

6. Studies have shown that people have better workout sessions and higher performance when the training is frequent and efficient.

I'm sure I have your attention now. Now let me briefly go over what undulating interval training is and how to use it. First off, undulating simply means the intensity (speed and difficulty) and volume (duration and amount of rounds) fluctuate constantly throughout the training. In lay mans terms, each interval will fluctuate, whether the fluctuating deals with speed, amount of rounds and sets, or duration. Second, undulating interval training should never last more than ten minutes. If it does you are not pushing yourself near hard enough. UIT (undulating interval training) needs to be done with high quality and with a strong push to go as fast and as safely as possible. Finally, before trying this, check with your doctor and make sure you are up to the challenge, health-wise.

Here is an example of UIT for a beginner. If you are more advance, then adjust the training to your abilities.

1. Jumping Jacks - at a speed that you can maintain for two minutes Do for one minute
2. Sprint Jog - jogging with full range of motion in legs (feet should nearly kick your butt when brought back)Do for one minute
3. Walk - nice pace with good form
Do for three minutes

Now repeat the UIT, but change the amount of time to look like this:

1. Jumping Jacks - Faster Pace Do for twenty seconds
2. Full Sprint
Do for forty-five seconds
3. Walking in good Form
Do for one minute

Last round would look something like this:

1. Jumping Jacks - at a speed that you can maintain for three minutes Do for ninety seconds
2. Full Sprint
Do for twenty seconds
3. Walk
Do for three minutes

That's it my friend. Be creative with the exercises you use for the intervals. Make sure they are exercises you are familiar enough with to really push yourself. Now is not the time to try something exotic.

Ty Ferrell is a NASM certified personal trainer, PN nutrition practitioner, and a constant student of the vast field of fitness. He is the founder of http://thefitnessroad.com and can be reached there.

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BMI, Body Fat & Health Risks

You may have heard of the body mass index, but what does your BMI number mean?
By Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness

BMI is a formula that factors in height and weight to produce a number designed to estimate the presence of excess body fat. Compared to going by body weight alone, a BMI measurement is a better assessment of fatness since it takes height into account. For example, only knowing a person weighs 160 pounds isn’t enough information to assess whether they carry too much fat. Factoring in a person’s height helps put their weight into perspective: Someone who is 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds may not be over-fat, while someone who is 5-foot-1 and 160 pounds is more likely to carry excess fat.

BMI and health risks
Higher BMI numbers are associated with increased risks of disease and death, from conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Research has found that the lowest and highest BMIs are associated with highest risks. So BMI numbers are grouped into categories meant to reflect the degree of risk a person faces. Those people with the lowest risks of disease seem to fall in the 18.5 to 24.9 BMI range, so they are considered to be “normal.”

A BMI of 25 seems to be the threshold where disease risk significantly increases, and a BMI of 30 confers even greater health risks. So these ranges have been separated into “overweight” and “obese” categories.

Extremely high BMIs are linked to even greater risks of certain diseases. An “underweight” category is included because being overly thin is also associated with increased health risks. For example, people in the underweight category may have anorexia nervosa, cancer (which is associated with weight loss), or be smokers (who tend to be thinner.)

Are you really fat or overweight if your BMI is 25 or above?
A BMI of 30 or above likely means that you are over-fat. But a 25+ BMI merely indicates that you are heavy, and while a heavier person is usually over-fat, this is not always the case.

People who are heavy may be that way because they are highly muscular. They may have a very low percentage of body fat, despite weighing more than expected on a scale. So their BMI number might unreliably suggest they have more body fat than they do. Athletic people, for instance, often have higher BMIs—but since they’re fit and lean, they are not necessarily at increased risk of certain diseases simply because they have a higher BMI.

On the other hand, older people may have more body fat and less muscle, but their BMI number may be on the low end of the scale, suggesting that they have less body fat than they do.

Very short people (under 5 feet) may also have high BMI numbers that do not reflect their degree of fatness. People who are ill or on medications that cause abnormal amounts of edema, or swelling in the body, may weigh more from excess fluid accumulation; a potentially higher BMI number may not reflect the absence or presence of body fat.

BMI is a useful tool when working with research data to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity and related diseases risks in thousands of people. It is also a useful way to monitor weight changes over time.

But since it does not directly measure body fat, or where body fat is distributed, it may not be the best method of judging individual levels of fatness and how it relates to health risks. That’s why other factors, such as waist size, are taken into account when assessing a person’s overall health risks.

How can you find out how fat you are?
Body fatness needs to be measured in a lab setting. Some lab equipment such as underwater scales, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and other scanning methods such as the Bod Pod measure it directly. These methods may be impractical and too expensive for most people. Less reliable methods (but still more accurate than BMI) include skin fold testing and a commercial body fat scale. You may be able to be tested with these methods at a local health club.

Since fat in the abdominal area is considered to carry the greatest health risks, waist measurements are considered to be a valid way to assess risk associated with excess fat, and to monitor changes in belly fat over time.

Fat Burning - Carbs, Proteins and Fats

By John C White

How efficiently we burn fat depends on our energy sources, namely our carbohydrates, protein and and yes, fats. These sources determine your overall body function and, as such, play the single most important role in fat burning.

Success at burning fat not only relies on you following your weight loss plan, but also obtaining a certain mastery about details involved in the process. The more you understand what's going own, the more likely you'll stay motivated to stick with it.

So what part does energy sources play in burning fat?

The first thing that must happen is that they must be broken down into components before they can be useful to the body. This starts to happen when you first start to chew. Saliva in your mouth starts the chemical breakdown of the food through the use of enzymes. As you continue to digest, it goes to your stomach where the gastric acids take over.

Because of there different composition, however, carbohydrates, protein and fats are broken down differently. It takes proteins the longest to breakdown, while fats are the quickest. When the process has finished, a compound called adenosine triphosphate, ATP, is produced, which supplies energy to your cells.

The completion of this entire process requires energy that comes from the processing of the bodies stored fat. Thus, by simply eating you are aiding in your body's battle to burn fat. Contrary to the opinion of popular culture, you need to eat to lose weight. This is why it's recommended that you eat several meals a day to keep the process going.

Secondly, during the digestive process, insulin is released from the pancreas to control the glucose that comes from the carbohydrates you've ingested. carbohydrates come in two varieties, simple and complex. When your carbohydrates consists primarily of complex in an adequate amount, then the insulin release is normal.

However, if you overeat or the carbohydrates are primarily simple, then there's a spike in the amount of insulin secreted from the liver. This spike is a signal to your body to start storing fat. So to efficiently burn fat, or in this case keep fat from being stored on your body, you need to control your insulin levels and this is done by monitoring the type and amount of carbohydrates you eat.

So you see, by choosing the right kind of energy sources and making sure that your body has a continuous supply of them throughout the day, you are then able to efficiently burn fat. On the other hand, bad choices and bad eating habits will lead to more weight gain and further frustration with your body.

To learn more about how to burn fat and keep it off, go to http://www.How-to-Burn-Fat.com It's your one-stop source for fat burning information. Be certain to check out information on some of the hottest selling weight loss plans and the right way to set fitness goals

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Looking For The Top 10 Diets? - Start Losing Fat Fast Now

By Monica Green

Do you want to know which the top 10 diets available are now? As a dieter who has tried almost every diet available, I have written this article to let you know which the best and worst ones I have tried are.

Top 10 Diets Review
The following is a list of the best diets in my opinion. However, every bodies respond differently to different types of foods, so there is no guarantee that what has worked for me, or did not work for me, will have the same effect on you.

#1: Calorie Shifting Diet (Fat Loss 4 Idiots)
This diet claims to help you lose 9 pounds within 11 days, and I have discovered that it is true as I have lost close to that amount of weight within the same time too! If you have looked around the internet, you will find that it is highly popular and has helped many people, including myself, to successfully achieve weight loss.

This diet shifts the amount of calories you eat to specific times of the day that helps you lose fats most efficiently. By understanding the calorie shifting diet, you will discover that you might be eating your meals in patterns that are not helping you lose weight, or you are eating the wrong amounts of food at every meal.

#2: Low Carb Diets
Carbohydrates that is broken down by your body turns into glucose and enters the blood. When they are not used up, especially when your activity level is low, the excess glucose will be stored as fat stores. The low carb diet therefore encourages that you eat foods that are low in carbohydrates and high in protein to help you lose weight.

#3: Jenny Craig
This plan involves eating foods that help you to increase your energy level, and have more balance in your diet. It is a comprehensive weight loss program that will involve buying some packaged meals.

#4: Weight Watchers
This program involves online support techniques and meetings, and has been around for nearly 45 years now. It encourages exercise, eating the right foods, and having a supportive environment to help you lose weight.

#5: South Beach Diet
This plan may seem like a low carb diet, but it actually involves eating carbs and protein, but only the ones that promote fat loss. They have specially customized meal plans and recipes that usually include lots of vegetables and whole grains.

#6: Nutrisystem
This diet system involves eating foods of low glycemic index and the right protein level to help keep your blood sugar levels stable. Like Jenny Craig, this plan also involves the buying of their packaged meals.

#7: Atkins Diet
This is another form of low carb diet that claims to help you lose more fat than any other type of type when eating the same amount of calories.

#8: Slim Fast
This company believes that weight loss can be accomplished by replacing meals with the right foods. They have developed meal bars, snacks, pastas and soups in the past couple of years.

#9: Optifast
This plan aims to replace foods in your diet without the use of additional supplements.

#10: Low GI Diets
This method was initially made for diabetic patients to lower and maintain their blood sugar levels. Now that sugar consumption has been linked to fat increase, many people are using this diet to avoid eating excessive sugars.

Which Diet Should You Choose?
There are plenty of diets to choose from if you want to start losing fats today. The calorie shifting diet has been the most effective for me, helping me lose 55 pounds in the process.

Whichever method of weight loss you choose, it will require your commitment to succeed. To learn more about the best diet that has helped me tremendously, visit the website link below to learn more.

Do you want to learn the real truth about weight loss diets and fat burning foods to increase metabolism? See the author's review of the Top 3 Breakthrough Diet Plans discovered at http://www.review-best.com/best-weight-loss-site/fat-loss-4-idiots.htm that has helped her lose 55 pounds in total!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Monica_Green

Want to Burn More Fat? Try Increasing Your Lean Muscle Mass

By James C.

Everybody talks about going on diets to lose weight, but what we really mean when we say this is that we want to lose fat. Nobody wants to just lose water weight or lose their muscle tone, right? That means that instead of focusing on just losing weight you should concentrate on losing fat. One of the best ways to lose fat is by adding lean muscle to your body.

The more lean muscle you have in your body the faster your metabolism will run, and a faster metabolism means that it will be quicker and easier to get the body that you have been wanting. As the fat melts away off your body you will be left with lean, toned muscle which is a great look for both men and women. In fact, building muscle can help you lose fat much more quickly than just doing cardio exercises alone.

If you are a woman you may be concerned that adding muscle to your body is going to cause you to get bigger. The truth is that it takes a lot of effort for a woman to bulk up and it isn't going to happen unless you want it to. Instead of bulking up when you build muscle you will find that as the fat starts to disappear you are left with a sleek, sexy toned body much like you see on many of today's actresses and models.

To start building muscle you should incorporate strength training into your workout several times a week. Try to do your strength training before you do any cardio exercises so that your muscles are still fresh. This will help you get a better strength workout and build muscle more quickly. Also focus a lot of your effort on the largest muscle groups in your body like your legs and glutes (rear end). Lunges and squats are a both great exercises to target these muscle groups. Building the larger muscle groups will really boost your metabolism quickly and turn your body into a fat burning machine in no time.

Instead of weighing yourself to track your progress take your body measurements when you begin and then track how many inches you have lost. Because muscle is denser than fat just weighing yourself won't give you an accurate reflection of how well you are doing. Instead, taking measurements will help you to stay motivated as you see the inches dropping off your body.

Be sure to eat a healthy, balanced diet that gives your body enough calories, vitamins and nutrients along with your workouts. Before you know it any extra fat you may have been packing around will melt away and you will be left with the body you have been dreaming of.
For lots more weight loss, diet and fitness tips, tricks, tools and information check out the Diet Buzz Blog. Learn common diet myths, see what really works to lose weight, get reviews of the latest diets and a lot more at http://www.dietbuzz.com

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How To Lose Body Fat With The 11 Minute Power Session

By John Davenport

If you're looking for a way to lose a lot of body fat fast in the privacy of your own home, you've come to the right article. Use the 11 Minute Home Workout Power Session and you can lose an easy 120-180 calories each day.

The 11 Minute Home Workout Power Session
Minute 1: Do lumber jacks. Do them at a fast pace. This is a great exercise to loosen up all of your joints and warm up your muscles. It also gradually increases your heart beat.

Minute 2: Jump rope at a rapid pace. Make sure to rotate your arms from the shoulders and always land on the balls of your feet. If you live in an apartment house with neighbors below, it's best to do this on a rug or out on a balcony. While you do this, I want you to concentrate on the exercise and imagine the way your body fat is burning away.

Minute 3: Rapid biceps curls. Use two light dumbbells (5 pounds each is the maximum) and do biceps curls one hand at a time as fast as you can. I know that in the gym you usually do weight exercises slowly. That's the way to do it in order to increase muscle mass. The reason we do this fast is to lose as much body fat as possible. You'll feel you arms burning with strain. Just think to yourself that you're losing body fat with each curl.

Minute 4: Sprint in place. I want you to sprint as fast as you can where you stand. Make sure to swing your arms when you do this. This is very difficult to do and you may feel out of breath. I want you to push through the pain and keep thinking that you are losing more and more body fat.

Minute 5: Shoulder thrusts. Take the light dumbbells, stand with your feet apart and knees slightly bent with the dumbbells at shoulders level. Now thrust them up over your head as fast as you can. If this becomes too difficult, do it without the dumbbells. You will still feel the intensity of this massive exercise.

Minute 6: Another minute of jumping rope. The same as you did in minute 2. Imagine a calorie counter in your head racing up. These are the calories you're burning with each jump.

Minute 7: Squat and jump. I want you to do squats and when you return to your starting position, to jump high and bring your knees as close to your chest as possible. This exercises alone is worth a lot of calories each day.

Minute 8: Bicep curls again. Imagine yourself 2 weeks from now looking much leaner after you've lost all that body fat.

Minute 9: Sprinting in place, the same as minute 4. Chant in your head: "I am losing body fat. I am losing body fat, " at the pace of the sprinting you're doing. You're nearly over and doing so well.

Minute 10: Squat and Jump. The same as minute 7. By this time you will feel almost wiped out. I want you to try to give it one more small push. You will lose more body fat faster because of it.

Minute 11: Shoulder thrusts again. The same as minute no. 5. Think to yourself, I'm almost done. I've burned a lot of body fat.

Do some light stretches and congratulate yourself: You've finished the 11 Minute Home Workout Power Session, the effective and fast way to reduce body fat at home.

That's it. You've done so well. You should be proud of yourself. I hope you'll use The 11 Minute Home Workout Power Session to lose body fat fast and forever. I wish you the best of luck.

To rid about more exercise routines to lose body fat fast, click here: Tips and Secrets To Burn Off Body Fat Fast.

To discover 27 additional nutritional tips to boost your metabolism rate and more fitness tricks to take your workouts to a new level, click here: http://TruthAboutGreatabs.com. John Davenport achieved his flat stomach and six pack abs. To read how he did it, click here How To Get A Flat Stomach Fast.

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Burn That Fat - Never Go Hungry - Here's How To Do It!

By Jim Keayes

I don't know anyone who wants to battle those hunger cravings while they're on a diet.
How about you?

The last thing we want in a diet is to have to be disciplined, white knuckle it, hang in there and hope we'll be strong… it just isn't fun! In fact it's misery!

And every time, somewhere along the way, we break down and reach for those carbs… our old and trusted friend that brings us comfort in the dark times. And all the weight we've lost comes rushing back on.

Is that a familiar story?

Those carbohydrates are not really your friends. In fact they're your enemy.

They stroll on in, all smiles saying: "Hi there good lookin', you seem down today. Let me make you feel better". Here… have some of this delicious cake. You eat the carbs and before you know it you've fallen off your diet plan.

Now you know you're worthless… you've failed again!

So what can we do to make this easier? The thing is very simply this… carbs make you hungry and carbs create fat.

I can go into all of the body chemistry about why this is so… and I have done in lots of articles… but I don't think most people really care.

So let's look at it this way: Carbohydrates are highly addictive. They're as bad or worse than alcohol and drugs. Not everyone is set up to get addicted to carbohydrates, but if you are susceptible then carbohydrates will take you down.

It's not your fault!!!

You fall into this trap by accident. After all, carbs are food and we all like food. And carbs are delicious and satisfying.

But carbs screw with our insulin/sugar cycles and eventually (often it takes years) we become "insulin insensitive" and our muscles and lean tissue can no longer take up the glucose in our bloodstream. The glucose is then deposited as fat around our belly and in our liver.

As this point in our lives we can actually begin to eat less calories and gain weight.

If we continue to eat a diet rich in highly processed carbohydrates, we will continue to gain weight and eventually contract Diabetes 2 and heart disease.

We hear a lot of talk about high glycemic foods these days. These are foods which are quickly and easily converted into glucose in our blood by our stomach. They spike our blood sugar levels way above the normal operating range and trigger massive inflows of insulin to our system. This is how the problem starts and continues.

The solution is very simple. Get off those high glycemic foods and get onto a diet rich in protein, fruits, vegetables and unprocessed natural grains.

I can show you how to reverse that carbohydrate addiction and as a bonus lose up to 5 pounds or more in 5 days.
You will lose your food cravings and not go hungry. If you continue with the program for 12 weeks or more you will almost certainly lose significant amounts of weight and begin to restore your health.

I have recently written a book entitled "Lose Weight - Never Go Hungry" which lays out a plan for overcoming carbohydrate addiction and losing weight.

You can download it FREE here: "Lose Weight - Never Go Hungry"

Total Body Workouts Are Better Fat Burners

By Craig Ballantyne

Total body fat burning workouts beat cardio every day of the week. If you want to sculpt your body weith fat burning exercise sessions, burn fat with total body workouts.

Cardio (a.k.a. aerobic exercise) is no longer the King of Exercise. Research now shows that you can burn fat, improve your heart health, increase your quality of life, and reduce your risk of disability with resistance training.

Sure, you can get some benefits by using machines at your local health club. But total-body "functional" exercises (like squats, push-ups, and bodyweight rows) are even better. And resistance training doesn't mean barbell bench pressing with heavy weights. You can use dumbbell free weights or a variety of creative bodyweight exercises at home.

An extra benefit of bodyweight or free-weight exercises is that they give you the ability to complete a total-body workout in less time. For example, if you do a bodyweight or dumbbell squat, you will replace the need for the leg extension and leg curl machines in a health club.
Push-ups or dumbbell chest presses replace the chest fly and triceps extension machines. And chin-ups replace the need for machine-aided pulldowns and biceps curls.

In three or four "functional" moves, you can complete a total-body workout. Do each exercise two to three times for 8 to 12 repetitions per set. Rest one minute between sets. You can do your exercises in a circuit (all exercises done back to back without rest) or in supersets (two exercises done back to back without rest) to cut even more time from your workout. Aim for three total-body strength-training workouts per week.

Total body workouts are where its at.

Commercial Gym Example:

• Squat
• Seated Row
• Bench press or DB Chest Press
• DB Split Squat

That's a thorough workout, and you'll be sweating up a storm and your heart rate will be up - but that only matters for people that are addicted to the sweat and increased heart rate of cardio. What really matters is the turbulence put on the muscle and the increased metabolism and muscle growth that happens outside of the gym

Do the work in the gym, and burn the fat during recovery,
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked total body fat burning workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. The TT fat burning workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig's bodyweight workouts for fat burning help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

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Six Tips On The Best Way To Burn Fat

By Paul Foley

Are you looking for the best ways to burn fat? If you are then do not worry, you are not alone. Here are six tips that if followed correctly will help you to burn fat.

1. The most obvious tip I can give you is to watch what you eat. The best way to burn fat is to stop eating so much and start watching what you eat. Rather than eating a bowl of ice cream have an apple. Simple things like that can help you to considerable burn fat.

2. Move around as much as possible. Most trainers will tell you that the best way to burn fat and lose weight is to move whenever possible. The best way to do this is to walk after you eat, go for a walk with your dog or just walk to the park. If you go somewhere do not look for the closest parking spot but try to park far away and walk, it will be good for you in the long run.

3. Do as much weight training as you can. The best way to build lean muscle and burn fat is to lift weights whenever possible. I would recommend you join a club or get on a weight lifting program.

4. The most important meal of the day is breakfast, so make sure you eat a healthy breakfast.
You should eat every two to three hours. Make sure you eat healthy food but you should only be eating small meals and snacks because they will help your body burn fat much easier than only eating large meals.

5. You need to exercise more. Go out and find an exercise you enjoy. If you find an exercise you enjoy then you will want to do it more than if you are doing something you do not enjoy. Go for a jog through the mountains, walk a dog, anything that will get you exercise.

6. Do not stop eating food! Many people believe that if they do not eat food they will begin to burn fat, this is not true though. The body needs you to continue to eat food, just watch what you eat and eat small amounts every three hours or so and you should be fine.

These are just six tips that I have found to be helpful when you are looking for the best way to burn fat.

The author used to suffer from a serious weight problem, but after a short battle has overcome it. To find out how I burn the fat - You can find more here Free Fat Burning Info