Most researchers will agree that Interval Training is SO much more effective than long slow boring cardio for fatloss.
You can get your workouts done in half the time and burn far more calories long AFTER the workout finishes in comparison to regular cardio.
So why are SO many people STILL doing regular cardio?
You know the kind I mean right? the 20 mins on the stationery bike or treadmill keeping the intensity the same throughout.
You only have to set foot into a gym or healthclub these days to see the treadmills and cross-trainers all being pounded by frustrated members who haven't achieved fatloss yet.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely knocking regular cardio. It's ok for some stamina and endurance improvements and let's be honest it's better than doing absolutely nothing,
but purely for fatloss?
Definitely not.
Performing interval training instead (either after your weights workout or on your day off) will not only skyrocket your stamina but will also speed up your fatloss massively in comparison to regular cardio.
So what is Interval Training?
Interval training basically means any kind of sprint or activity lasting 0-90 seconds followed by a period of easy exercise.
You don't have to workout in a gym for intervals to be effective. They can be done in the park, with a skipping rope,on your bike provided the right structure is there.
By the end of the interval, you should be getting tired, but you shouldn't be gasping for air. Start conservatively and you will get the hang of it.
I explain it better in the video below that I made when I was at the gym with one of my good buddies (He's holding the camera for me actually and we filmed this just before our workout) : )
Make sense?
So anyway below are some sample interval workouts you can use starting from today whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced.
Interval Workout 1
5 minute warmup then 90 seconds hard followed by 60 seconds easy (or however long it takes to fully get your breath back)
Repeat above sequence x 4-6
Finish with 5 minute cooldown
Interval Workout 2
5 minute warmup then 30 seconds hard followed by 60 seconds easy (or however long it takes to get your breath back) then 60 seconds hard followed by 60 seconds easy then 90 seconds hard followed by 60 seconds easy
then back down to 60 then 30
Finish with 5 minute cooldown
I use all of these workouts (along with many others) with my private clients and, combined with a sound strength training and nutrition plan have gone on to see some great results.
For more free fatloss workouts you can go to my new network I'm building and see what you think
So do yourself a favor and just say no to cardio and perform fatburning intervals instead.
Last week, I decided to relive some of my youth and pay a visit to Thorpe Park with one of my best friends. Don't get me wrong, I'm no thrill seeker, far from it infact!
The last time we visited a theme park was probably around 10 years a go when we were alot younger and since then I had discovered I suffer from motion sickness so why in god's name would we want to go to possibly the worse place in the UK for bringing on motion sickness?
The answer?
Because it's FUN!
No scientific reason just good ol' plain fun.
We had both decided a while back that there was a lack of fun in our lives and that we'd been working way too much and not scheduling in enough fun so we thought we'd change that and set off for Thorpe Park in Surrey, UK.
I knew the individual rides that would bring on my motion sickness and the ones that wouldn't (and no, I didn't spend all day on the tea cup ride with all the 5 year olds!)so it was just a case of avoiding them.
Surprisingly, roller coasters don't bring my motion sickness on so we spent pretty much most of the day going on all the roller coaster rides enjoying all the highs and lows.
(Infact it was actually my best friend who was feeling sick by the end of the day!!!)
Anyway, enough talk of all this sickness! Sorry to bring it up (sorry, couldn't resist that one)
So what the hell has my trip to Thorpe Park got to do with your fatloss plan? I hear you ask.
Relax, I'm getting to that : )
Well, whilst we were cueing for Collasus, Thorpe Parks' biggest rollercoaster ride, I watched the ride from start to finish, how it would go slow then fast, high then low, how it would corkscrew then twist and turn and it reminded me of your fatloss plan.
How you could be on your very own ENERGY roller coaster!
What do I mean?
Blood Sugar Levels
Your blood sugar levels play a huge role in your fatloss plan. If you can keep them regulated and steady throughout the day then this will help you dramatically with keeping your body fat levels down.
On the flip side to that however, if your blood sugar levels are up, down and generally all over the place then your more likely to plateau with your results or worse still, actually PUT ON weight.
So how does this work?
Let me shed some light on this...
When we eat our body converts our food into sugar (or glucose). Glucose is our main energy source and can affect how hungry and how energetic we feel.
Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that transports blood sugar into our body's cells where it is used for energy.
When we eat food that is quickly processed into blood sugar (sugar, soda, pasta, white bread etc.) the pancreas goes into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.
However, the greater concern with the insulin surge is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway.
The greater concern is that the insulin surge causes too much blood sugar to be transported out of our blood and this results in our blood sugar and insulin levels dropping below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more.
You're on your very own energy roller coaster and it's not at Thorpe Park!
Not good huh?
The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us reach for sugar to pick up our energy levels and the cycle repeats all over again.
So how can we stop this?
It's simple (although not always easy!)
By eating the way mother nature intended us to thats how!
Unfortunately, there is so much hidden sugar in our western diet these days that its hard to know what products have and haven't got sugar in them so I've devised a 4 step plan to help you know what to watch for when your buying your food.
Simple Carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates can be metabolized very quickly and are therefore most likely to cause an insulin surge. Simple carbs include the various forms of sugar, such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar, yep if you snack on nothing but fruit all day then this will affect your fatloss plan), lactose (dairy sugar), and glucose (blood sugar). Watch for the "-ose" ending.
Hidden Sugar in Processed Foods.
Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, pasta and soups.
Sugar in Beverages.
Be aware of the amount of sugar in beverages, especially coffee and coke etc. It can add up quickly, and most such drinks aren't filling.
Cereals claiming less sugar
Many newer cereals do contain less sugar, but the calories, carbohydrates, fat, fiber and other nutrients are almost identical to the full-sugar cereals. The manufacturers have simply replaced sugar with other refined, simple carbohydrates and will leave you no better off than before!
So there you have it, apply all 4 steps and you will certainly see an improvement in your blood sugar levels, which means your energy levels will improve and more importantly, your fatloss success will kickstart too!
And if you haven't downloaded it already yet then my Fatloss report "9 Powerful Ways To Losing Bodyfat" looks at stabilising your sugar levels and achieving maximum fatloss in just 60 days.
Just read this post from my good buddy Dax Moy and it got me thinking.
Have a read of Dax's latest post and let me know what you think in the comments section here: )
***
I've been re-writing a few sections of www.themagichundred.com The MAGIC Hundred today in order to update a few of the chapters with things I've learned since I originally launched the program in January 2007.
As I was writing away, it dawned on me how much my life has changed in the 2 short years since the program was released and how a simple decision at one moment in time can DRASTICALLY alter the hundreds, thousands and even MILLIONS of moments that follow.
You probably know what I'm talking about as it's happened to all of us, but I've got to tell you, when I started out with my 'little idea' all those years ago (even before I wrote the program) I had no idea where it would eventually lead me. No idea at all!
I mean, when I left the regular army about 8 or 9 years ago I had nothing.
No qualifications (I'd left school at 16 without taking my exams), no money (I was completely broke) and no obvious means to get either. To make matters worse, I had a young wife, 3 young kids and another one on the way, and nothing remotely approaching the slightest hint of how I was going to support them, let alone give them the things that every father and husband wants to provide for their family.
We were living in high crime council accommodation on a housing estate in North London (in what in the U.S would be known as 'projects') and claiming social security benefits in order to pay the bills and get by and dreaming of ways to improve upon our situation so that we could give our kids some of the better things in life.
I took many temporary jobs including bodyguarding, roadsweeping and even working in sewers in order to get the little bit of extra cash we needed and supplemented my income with my Reserve Forces pay from my territorial army unit weekends, camps and courses, but as fast as I was able to earn a little money it seemed to be eaten up on bills of every conceivable type so that, no matter how hard I worked, we were never able to get ahead.
It was frustrating to say the least but, like most people, it was a frustration i just had to learn to tolerate. After all, my bills had to be paid, right?
Then one day after an army weekend, I noticed one of the other guys in my patrol was reading a book in the back of the truck on the way home. He was coming to the end of it and as he finally turned the last page he glanced up and noticed me looking in his direction. Seeing I was bored he offered me the book, which I gratefully took and in that moment... started a chain reaction of events that would totally transform my life!
I'm not exaggerating.
I read that book all the way home, persuaded my patrol-mate to lend it to me until later in the week and took it home and read, and read and read.
Now, what was surprising to me was that this wasn't a new book. It was old. REALLY old, like 1920's, yet as I read through it I felt as though it had been written specifically with me in mind as it described many of the very things that I had been going through and, more importantly, why.
It told me to hold a major definite purpose uppermost in my mind, pursue it with all vigor and not to quit on it until I accomplished what I'd set out to accomplish.
So I did!
I'd always had an interest in fitness and having boxed, done martial arts and been a soldier, knew that I was naturally gifted in this area as well as passionate. I'd seen ads posted for gym instructor jobs but when I enquired they told me to go get a civilian qualification and they'd consider employing me. Trouble is, I didn't even have the £325 I needed for the YMCA gym instructor course, but the book said that I shouldn't let that put me off, so I set about getting a bunch of temporary jobs to raise the cash.
Eventually I did the course, got qualified and went back to the gym where they told me they only had work for me for 2 hours a week in the shifts that no-one else wanted and that the pay was a measly £5 an hour. I took the job and again, changed the course of my life.
In short, that job led to me becoming a personal trainer, becoming a trainer led me to owning my own studios, owing my own studios led to me working directly with people like Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale from The Secret and working with those guys led to me writing the www.themagichundred.com MAGIC Hundred Goal Achievement Program which sold over $107,000 in the first 7 days of launch and that has led to me traveling the world, speaking at international events and teaching my own rapid goal achievement philosophy to thousands and thousands of people.
Since making that first teeny-tiny decision to read that book instead of going to sleep like my patrol-mates, literally EVERYTHING about my life has changed and I find myself in the weird and rather unlikely position of being some kind of 'goals guru' to people from all around the world who I've never even met and earning more money than I ever thought I'd earn whilst traveling the world and having all kinds of adventures.
It's very strange indeed!
Nice, but strange : )
I now live the kind of life that I'd only dreamed about before with travel all over the world to jungles, deserts and arctic wastelands as well as luxury hotels, secluded islands and all manner of other places that I'd only ever seen in books before I started on this amazing journey that my life has become.
But looking back at how I got to this point in my life and the opportunities I now have before me, I can honestly say it all started with reading that one book. It's as though that one decision was like setting a compass bearing just slightly off course to the original path I'd been on at the time, yet which over the weeks, months and years has moved far off the original course to deliver me to the place I'm at now.
I guess you're wondering 'What's this got to do with me?' right?
Well, nothing I guess...
...and EVERYTHING!
You see, just as my own life has been created by each of the decisions I've made along the way, so has yours.
Everything you've experienced so far is the result of the decisions you've made (or failed to make) up to this point.
That's a fact.
The good news is that that means you can also decide where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be just by the simple and straightforward act of making a decision right now. I mean LITERALLY right now!
Just choose to act on something you've been putting off, something you've been 'thinking about' or something that's been tickling away at the edge of your mind and you too could find yourself living the life of your dreams in some not-too-distant future.
Today I want to share an interesting discussion I had with one of my friends only the other night. We were eating out in a swanky Thai restaurant that I’d been meaning to check out for a while so I thought I’d invite my friend along and make a night of it.
Towards the end of the night, our conversation turned to food and weight loss as it usually does when I’m out with friends. Now normally, I try to avoid beating my friends over the head with the “diet stick” when I’m out, however on this occasion my friend made a remark that I simply couldn’t let lie.
Here’s how it went:
After we had finished our meal (and yes it was healthy by the way!), my friend turned to me and said “God I really need to lose weight, I want to lose a stone.” I had heard this comment form her many times before so it was no surprise when I heard it again. “You don’t need to lose weight.” I replied. I got a puzzled look from my friend. Without sounding disrespectful, she won’t mind me saying that she’s a fairly big girl and we’ve had plenty of chats about her starting a course of healthy eating in the past and she’d be the first to admit that she DOES need to lose weight, so she was a little perplexed from my comment.
“What are you talking about?” She remarked, “Of course I need to lose weight, just look at me!” I could she was getting a little animated from my comment so I thought I’d best explain myself a little better. “You don’t need to lose weight.” I repeated, “you need to lose bodyfat.” “Is there a difference?” She said, thinking I was being funny with her.
“Yes…..a massive difference.” I replied deadly serious.
Let me explain the difference:
You see, losing Weight can be easy. All you have to do is stop eating, or reduce your calorie intake, lets say for a month and your weight on the scales will plummet.
Easy right?
You don’t even have to start an exercise program and you don’t really need to watch what you eat, just as long as you restrict those calories everything will be fine won’t it! After all, you want to lose weight right?
30 days pass and hey presto you’re half a stone lighter on the scales but you still have that bodyfat around your thighs that just doesn’t seem to shift and you’re still not happy with that wobbly area around your arms.
Hmm, bit of a problem right?
The problem with this method, (as some of you may already know) is that you’re heading for one big results plateau and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this isn’t the most healthiest way to achieve your ideal bodyshape either. The weight lost isn’t all bodyfat (more of a water loss actually) and you may have lost more muscle tissue than bodyfat during this process especially if you weren’t consuming the right calories .
The exact opposite of what you should be doing when it comes to fatloss.
Let me put this another way…
By eating in this way you would have obtained what I call, a “damaged metabolism”, meaning your metabolism would have dropped like a stone making it even harder to burn bodyfat in the long run.
So in just under a month, you would have damaged your metabolism, you would have lost vital muscle tissue and your health would also take a bit of a battering too. Not only that but the weight that you lost will gradually creep back on aswell.
Great! What a complete waste of time!
Infact, you’d actually be in a worse position than when you started your nutrition journey. Not bad for a months work huh?
Ok, I’m being sarcastic here but you see what I’m getting at right?
I’ve been helping people with their weight, bodyfat , fitness and health for well over 10 years now yet so many people that I’ve come across during this time seem to be obsessed with weightloss and how much they weigh on the scales, whether they’ve lost a pound this week or put on another the following.
Here’s what we need to do:
Ditch the scales!
Scales are not the answer to fatloss.
The first thing I tell my clients in their first session is to stop weighing themselves every 5 minutes and use alternative ways of monitoring their results like body measurements, clothing sizes and how they generally feel as these methods tend to be far more accurate.
Take a look at THIS weekly weigh in and then carry on reading!
(If you don’t mind some bad language that is)
Ok, I’m using this “fun” video to label my point about the use of scales, but I firmly believe that weekly weigh ins or scale use are NOT the answer for monitoring fatloss success.
You see, scales don’t give you the full picture when it comes to fatloss. Infact they give you anything BUT the full picture!
Lets say you’ve lost bodyfat but gained some muscle tissue over a 4 week period which is a good thing because having more muscle tissue on your body frame will help you burn calories at a quicker rate. You hop on the scales and it looks like you haven’t lost anything when infact you have.
You’ve lost bodyfat and gained muscle but your weight on the scales has remained the same. This is then usually followed by a knee-jerk reaction with people thinking that they need to lose weight again so they begin to reduce their calories again and then the metabolism drops causing another fatloss plateau.
Anyway, where were we?
Back to the subject of weight loss versus fatloss. Losing Bodyfat (and bodyfat alone) is so much harder than losing weight although is so much more effective.
Losing bodyfat (not bodyweight) is what everyone should be focusing on if they’re serious about their fatloss success instead of constantly turning to the scales to monitor their improvements.
Boosting our metabolism is what we should be concentrating on rather than excessive use of the scales and calorie restricted diets that don’t do anyone any favors for the long run.
Losing bodyfat requires discipline & commitment.
It requires organisation & lifestyle changes.
It requires workouts that are going to kickstart your metabolism.
It requires good, clean wholesome nutrition free from additives, preservatives, stabilisers, pesticides etc.
It requires the right sleep at the right time.
Sounds a lot to do right, however if you can implement all these things whilst maintaining a positive can-do attitude throughout then I guarantee that you’ll start to see some great results.
I don’t need to say that fatloss ALWAYS wins over weightloss.
And if you’re still wondering why you haven’t achieved the body of your dreams yet or you’re still holding that excess bodyfat then do yourself a favour and get the ball in motion.
Start working on fatloss rather than weightloss.
Do it today!
My friend is definitely going to make the change (after I bent her ear for near enough half an hour although she does now know the difference between weightloss and fatloss).
I hope you do too now?
If you want some more advice on fatloss strategies that work then My free fatloss report “9 Powerful Secrets To Losing Bodyfat” is a major step in the right direction. No calorie counting, no meal restrictions, no weighing and measuring or any other nonsense, just good, clean, healthy and wholesome foods that focuses on boosting your metabolism for the long run.
