Women probably hate belly fat more than the dreaded butt, hip and thigh fat. Burning belly fat should have a higher priority. Subcutaneous (just underneath the skin) and the more dangerous visceral fat (in the abdomen and organs) are targets of concern.
Belly fat can be dangerous for your health. According to the International Journal of Obesity, butt fat is healthier than belly fat. Their research shows that belly fat increases risks of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and premature death.
If you could burn more of your belly fat in less time, would you take that deal? I hope so because you can. You will have to work out harder but smarter. And as a result, you will have more time to do other things in your busy schedule. You should never work out longer than one hour. Most times, 30-45 minutes of workout time will help you reach your goals.
Take a look at these two research studies:
1. A University of Virginia study found that middle-aged women who exercised intensely for 16 weeks lost more abdominal fat than those who exercised at a low intensity.
The low-intensity group trained at 50-60 percent of maximum effort, usually walking. The high-intensity group did a combination of walking and jogging, or intervals.
2. Research at Duke University, directed by Dr. Cris Slentz, also supports high-intensity exercise for better fat loss. The eight-month study showed that people could lose weight with exercise and no dieting. Those who exercised intensely (especially using interval training) lost much more fat than those who exercised moderately.
According to the research, the high-intensity exercisers had these advantages over the low-to-moderate intensity exercisers:
--more release of fat from cells
--more fat used as fuel during exercise
--increased metabolic rate after exercise
I will note that you don’t have to do sprint intervals to achieve great results. But you will get even better results if you are able to do them. As your body adapts to low-level intervals, you will need to steadily progress to tougher and tougher intervals to achieve results.
So, how do you apply this information to your situation?
1. Take inventory of your eating habits. It is possible to have layers of fat covering your hard-earned muscles. Severely limiting sugars, processed foods, boxed/bagged foods and fast foods will help you control calories and weight gain.
Try to eat as many foods with one ingredient as you can. The food itself would be the ingredient. Fruits and vegetables are common examples.
2. “Middle age spread” is not inevitable. Gaining excess weight is not something you are destined to do starting at about age 40. Actually, you can start depositing excess body fat and weight starting in your mid-20s if you become a couch potato.
Your body will change as you age, partly due to life events and hormonal changes. Functional training is designed to adjust your eating and exercise routines based on the current state of your body and how you need to live.
3. How do you work out? If you are accustomed to working out at a slow pace, you will have to gradually mix in more intense exercise. If you are working out for two hours a session, you need to shorten your workout to 30-45 minutes and go harder with intervals.
4. Include more high-intensity exercises and workouts in your program. You will burn more total body fat as well as belly fat. It includes exercise modes such as:
--jump training intervals
--bodyweight cardio intervals
--walking/jogging intervals
--sprint intervals
--bike intervals
--circuit weight training
Workout smarter and get better results!
Source:
International Journal of Obesity
University of Virginia
Dr. Cris Slentz, Duke University
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark is the owner of My Fitness Hut, Her Fitness Hut, Sports Fitness Hut and My Nutrition Hut. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s main site:
Your Fitness University http://yourfitnessuniversity.com