Efficient Aerobic Alternative
Now we have a better understanding of how and what we should eat; and we have also talked about how to properly exercise for strength. Now we need to talk about aerobic workout.
Most people go into a gym, or get on a bike, or set out to jog and think they need to stay at it for 30, 60, 90 minutes or longer. If a few minutes is good, more minutes is better right? Wrong! It is not so much about the quantity of time spent, but the quality of workout in that time.
Research indicates that not only does high-intensity training burn more fat effectively than low-intensity exercise -- up to 50 percent more efficiently -- it also speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. So forget about the "calories burned" readout on the stairstepper or stationary bike; with our method of training, the majority of calories will be used up the hour after our workouts, provided we don't eat for one hour after our exercise sessions.
To further enhance the fat-burning effects of these workouts, do them in the morning, in a fasted state (before eating). Scientific studies indicate that fat is burned up much faster -- up to 300 percent faster -- when you exercise in the morning as opposed to doing the same exercise in the afternoon. (By the way, if your primary goal is to lose body fat, consider doing your weight-training workouts in the morning on an empty stomach, too.)
Ok, How Do I Do It?
This workout only requires 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week -- no more, no less.
What you do is select an exercise like walking, jogging, riding a stationary bike, using a treadmill, etc. You can vary your aerobic exercise every session if you want. Just as long as it's the type of aerobic exercise that allows you to increase the intensity in intervals.
Start with a two-minute set-up phase where you perform the activity at about a level 5 intensity. If you haven't been exercising regularly, you could reach level 5 by just walking. However, if you've been doing a lot of exercise, level 5 might be a pretty brisk jog.
Now, after two minutes at a level 5 effort, take it up a notch. When you reach a level 6 effort, keep it there for one minute; then increase the intensity of effort up to level 7 for one minute. Now increase it again to an intensity level 8 for one minute, then up to intensity level 9 for one minute. After a minute at level 9, drop back down to an intensity level 6 again -- a relatively moderate effort.
Now repeat that pattern three times, but on the last cycle (between the eighteenth and nineteenth minutes of the 20-minute workout), don't stop at level 9 -- try to reach a high point -- go for level 10! Then bring it back to a level 5 for one minute and you're done.
By the way, a "high-intensity effort" does not mean an all-out sprint. If you haven't tried to run all-out since you were a kid, you're in for a shock. Don't take off like you're fleeing from a burning building, or you'll burn out well before the twentieth minute.
For some, an intense effort may mean just walking up a hill. If that's the case, don't be at all discouraged. The program is about improving -- moving forward in a positive way, and that's something we all have the capability of doing, if we choose to do it.
That's it...now you know the "rest of the story". I have given you the keys to achieve health for yourself, now it is up to you to use them. I will continue to document my progress and occasionally provide words of encouragement and support. Feel free to comment or ask questions along the way...I'm no personal expert, but I have successfully used this program in the past. It began to transform me in ways I never expected...and this time I expect to follow it through to the end.
I hope you join me on this pilgrimage and together we can become lean, mean, healthy machines!
Your fellow pilgrim,
Larry
Most people go into a gym, or get on a bike, or set out to jog and think they need to stay at it for 30, 60, 90 minutes or longer. If a few minutes is good, more minutes is better right? Wrong! It is not so much about the quantity of time spent, but the quality of workout in that time.
Research indicates that not only does high-intensity training burn more fat effectively than low-intensity exercise -- up to 50 percent more efficiently -- it also speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. So forget about the "calories burned" readout on the stairstepper or stationary bike; with our method of training, the majority of calories will be used up the hour after our workouts, provided we don't eat for one hour after our exercise sessions.
To further enhance the fat-burning effects of these workouts, do them in the morning, in a fasted state (before eating). Scientific studies indicate that fat is burned up much faster -- up to 300 percent faster -- when you exercise in the morning as opposed to doing the same exercise in the afternoon. (By the way, if your primary goal is to lose body fat, consider doing your weight-training workouts in the morning on an empty stomach, too.)
Ok, How Do I Do It?
This workout only requires 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week -- no more, no less.
What you do is select an exercise like walking, jogging, riding a stationary bike, using a treadmill, etc. You can vary your aerobic exercise every session if you want. Just as long as it's the type of aerobic exercise that allows you to increase the intensity in intervals.
Start with a two-minute set-up phase where you perform the activity at about a level 5 intensity. If you haven't been exercising regularly, you could reach level 5 by just walking. However, if you've been doing a lot of exercise, level 5 might be a pretty brisk jog.
Now, after two minutes at a level 5 effort, take it up a notch. When you reach a level 6 effort, keep it there for one minute; then increase the intensity of effort up to level 7 for one minute. Now increase it again to an intensity level 8 for one minute, then up to intensity level 9 for one minute. After a minute at level 9, drop back down to an intensity level 6 again -- a relatively moderate effort.
Now repeat that pattern three times, but on the last cycle (between the eighteenth and nineteenth minutes of the 20-minute workout), don't stop at level 9 -- try to reach a high point -- go for level 10! Then bring it back to a level 5 for one minute and you're done.
By the way, a "high-intensity effort" does not mean an all-out sprint. If you haven't tried to run all-out since you were a kid, you're in for a shock. Don't take off like you're fleeing from a burning building, or you'll burn out well before the twentieth minute.
For some, an intense effort may mean just walking up a hill. If that's the case, don't be at all discouraged. The program is about improving -- moving forward in a positive way, and that's something we all have the capability of doing, if we choose to do it.
That's it...now you know the "rest of the story". I have given you the keys to achieve health for yourself, now it is up to you to use them. I will continue to document my progress and occasionally provide words of encouragement and support. Feel free to comment or ask questions along the way...I'm no personal expert, but I have successfully used this program in the past. It began to transform me in ways I never expected...and this time I expect to follow it through to the end.
I hope you join me on this pilgrimage and together we can become lean, mean, healthy machines!
Your fellow pilgrim,
Larry
