Your Fat-Burning Workout Routine
Supercharge your workout routine with these small but powerful changes to lose weight fast
Everyone has her/he own workout routine, and while we approve of the "workout," the "routine" has us worried. Familiarity might be comfortable, but it's not effective — certainly not when it comes to a sweat session. Doing the same thing over and over lulls your muscles into an I-can-do-this tedium and lessens your calorie burn.
The good news: You don't need to ditch your current workout to see more weight loss success results. You just need to learn how to rev it up. Follow these tips from some of the top trainers around the country for an ultra-efficient workout that zaps more calories and burns more fat. For calorie-torching foods and exercises, check out PRF's Best Fat-Burning Foods and workout "Accelerate the Burn."
The Treadmill
Your Comfort Zone
Flipping channels on the tube, you lope along, either running or walking, at the same ho-hum speed you were at yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.
Blast More Fat
Don't bounce. You're not in an allergy-drug ad, running through fields of flowers. Keep your movement forward, not up and down, says Los Angeles-based personal trainer Gunnar Peterson. "Anything vertical is wasted energy: It doesn't help you." By focusing on what's ahead, you'll go faster and burn more calories in a shorter period of time.
Squeeze your glutes. "Do it as you push off your toes," says Jan Griscom, a personal trainer at New York City's Chelsea Piers. By focusing on your backside, you'll contract — and tone — the muscle (and make it, not the fat surrounding it, the star of your Sevens). And the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll need to maintain it — and the more fat you'll burn.
Challenge your muscles. At the end of a workout, slow your speed to 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour. Skip for 30 seconds, walk for 30; walk backward for 30, forward for 30; stand sideways and shuffle with your right foot leading for 30 seconds, walk for 30, and repeat with left foot leading. "You'll call into action other muscles that don't work while going forward," Peterson says. "Which means they'll be surprised" — as will the person on the treadmill next to you — "and add to the calorie burn."
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Form Fix
Tread lightly. Runners should land lightly to minimize impact on the joints; you shouldn't be able to hear your foot strike over your iPod. If you can, pretend as if you're landing on eggs and don't want to break them; you may need to slow the speed to get control of your strides.
Elliptical Trainer
Your Comfort Zone
Gliding along at a medium pace, your legs are on autopilot. And, if the machine has arms, your upper body is too.
Blast More Fat
Never stop working. To maximize fat burning, don't let the machine's gliding momentum dictate your pace. Your leg muscles should push the pedals around. If there are rails, lightly rest your hands on them — but no white-knuckling, since you may end up supporting your body weight that way.
Use intervals. During every third song on your MP3 player or every commercial break, ramp up the intensity and go as hard as you can. "A steady pace at a sustainable speed burns calories consistently, but intervals blast up the count," Peterson says.
Use your whole body. Every other minute, concentrate on strengthening your arms or core — you'll recruit more muscles and incinerate more fat. For example, if you're on a full-body machine, consciously engage your arms; push and pull with the same intensity as you're using for your legs. If it's a lower-body machine, put your arms in an athletic position — elbows bent, upper arms close to your ribs — to strengthen your core. For tips to blast your buns at the gym, see PRF's "Rump Shakers."
**WEB EXCLUSIVE: Form Fix
Make sure your knees are pointing in the same direction as your toes. "Don't let your knees fall inward," says Mark Nutting, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, fitness director at Saco Sports & Fitness in Saco, Maine, "That puts severe stress on your ligaments
The good news: You don't need to ditch your current workout to see more weight loss success results. You just need to learn how to rev it up. Follow these tips from some of the top trainers around the country for an ultra-efficient workout that zaps more calories and burns more fat. For calorie-torching foods and exercises, check out PRF's Best Fat-Burning Foods and workout "Accelerate the Burn."
The Treadmill
Your Comfort Zone
Flipping channels on the tube, you lope along, either running or walking, at the same ho-hum speed you were at yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.
Blast More Fat
Don't bounce. You're not in an allergy-drug ad, running through fields of flowers. Keep your movement forward, not up and down, says Los Angeles-based personal trainer Gunnar Peterson. "Anything vertical is wasted energy: It doesn't help you." By focusing on what's ahead, you'll go faster and burn more calories in a shorter period of time.
Squeeze your glutes. "Do it as you push off your toes," says Jan Griscom, a personal trainer at New York City's Chelsea Piers. By focusing on your backside, you'll contract — and tone — the muscle (and make it, not the fat surrounding it, the star of your Sevens). And the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll need to maintain it — and the more fat you'll burn.
Challenge your muscles. At the end of a workout, slow your speed to 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour. Skip for 30 seconds, walk for 30; walk backward for 30, forward for 30; stand sideways and shuffle with your right foot leading for 30 seconds, walk for 30, and repeat with left foot leading. "You'll call into action other muscles that don't work while going forward," Peterson says. "Which means they'll be surprised" — as will the person on the treadmill next to you — "and add to the calorie burn."
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Form Fix
Tread lightly. Runners should land lightly to minimize impact on the joints; you shouldn't be able to hear your foot strike over your iPod. If you can, pretend as if you're landing on eggs and don't want to break them; you may need to slow the speed to get control of your strides.
Elliptical Trainer
Your Comfort Zone
Gliding along at a medium pace, your legs are on autopilot. And, if the machine has arms, your upper body is too.
Never stop working. To maximize fat burning, don't let the machine's gliding momentum dictate your pace. Your leg muscles should push the pedals around. If there are rails, lightly rest your hands on them — but no white-knuckling, since you may end up supporting your body weight that way.
Use intervals. During every third song on your MP3 player or every commercial break, ramp up the intensity and go as hard as you can. "A steady pace at a sustainable speed burns calories consistently, but intervals blast up the count," Peterson says.
Use your whole body. Every other minute, concentrate on strengthening your arms or core — you'll recruit more muscles and incinerate more fat. For example, if you're on a full-body machine, consciously engage your arms; push and pull with the same intensity as you're using for your legs. If it's a lower-body machine, put your arms in an athletic position — elbows bent, upper arms close to your ribs — to strengthen your core. For tips to blast your buns at the gym, see PRF's "Rump Shakers."
**WEB EXCLUSIVE: Form Fix
Make sure your knees are pointing in the same direction as your toes. "Don't let your knees fall inward," says Mark Nutting, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, fitness director at Saco Sports & Fitness in Saco, Maine, "That puts severe stress on your ligaments
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