Top 4 Ways To Improve Your Fitness

#1 – Slow Down Your Workout

To achieve optimal fat loss, you need to address and improve lifestyle, diet (including supplementation) and exercise. The type of workout you choose can be a deciding factor in whether pounds and inches of fat are lost or not. You want to exercise in a manner that encourages your body to use fat for fuel.

The energy to perform most types of exercise does not come from a single source but from a combination of anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen) sources. For example, when performing a short-term, intense exercise such as a spinning class, your body demands more oxygen and will use anaerobic sources for energy like glucose from carbohydrates and ATP. When performing a longer duration activity such as a slow jog, your body will use aerobic sources of energy, including fat.

Carbohydrates and fats are the primary energy sources during exercise. During prolonged exercise of low to moderate intensity (longer than 30 min) a gradual shift takes place from carbohydrates toward an increasing reliance on fat. Therefore if you are looking to decrease body fat, a long slow jog may be more effective than a quick sprint. So, when it comes to burning fat, slow and long is the way to go.

#2 – Weight Train to Tone

For reasons ranging from time constraints to not wanting to become “bulky”, strength training is often overlooked in favor of cardio. Strength training is key to promoting fat loss, and its other benefits include:

- increased bone mineral density
- increased metabolism
- decreased risk of certain injuries

Previously, we learned how slower exercise uses more stored body fat for energy.  Not only does lifting weights rely on fat as an energy source, but it also keeps the metabolism elevated for over 24 hours post workout.

Lean muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so for each pound of muscle added to the body another 35 to 50 calories per day are burned. For example, changing 10 lbs of fat on the body to 10 lbs of muscle will burn an additional 350 to 500 calories per day.

#3 – Work Out Your Total Body

It seems like each pound of fat we gain goes right to the spot we like the least. It stands to reason that working on that spot will make the excess fat disappear. The fact is that fat gain is a total body problem that requires a total body solution.

In your weight training, make sure you work your entire body. The American College of Sports Medicine Suggests:

- Choose a mode of exercise that is comfortable throughout the full range of motion (ROM).
- Perform a minimum of 8-10 separate exercises that train the muscles of the hips, thigh, legs, back, chest, shoulder, arms, and abdomen.
- Perform at least one set of each exercise.
- Traditional recommendation is 8-12 repetitions of each.
- Exercise each muscle group 2 to 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

For more detailed information on total body workouts, visit our Wellness Center.

And to ensure that you get the most out of all your workouts, make sure to take your Intellitrim. It will help you to reduce fat and build lean muscle mass. 

#4 – Reduce Stress

Stress affects everything from our mood to our appetite, so it makes sense that it can also affect our weight. We have all had a rough day and rewarded ourselves with a little treat. Beyond the occasional treat though, when we feel stress our bodies release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol to help move carbohydrates and fat for fast energy. When the stress has dissipated the adrenaline disappears, but the cortisol stays in an effort to bring the body back into balance. One way it brings about balance is to increase our appetite to replace the carbohydrates and fats it believes were burned.

The problem is most of us do not react to stress in a physical way that would require burning up those carbs and fat.  Stress in modern society is often more mental and it lasts for extended periods of time. As a result the adrenaline and cortisol are constantly being released. Insulin levels also stay elevated because the cortisol is sending signals that food is on the way. High insulin in the blood stream encourages fat deposition.

Such stress build-up is a part of our lives. If we want to prevent this biochemical reaction that leads to fat gain, we need to engage in stress-relieving activities.  Regular exercise is among the best, and can help by:

- Producing hormones called endorphins which have a calming effect on you.
- Distracting you from the stressor while burning calories.
- Regulating your insulin secretion.
- Contributing to your blood sugar regulation.

Anything you can do to reduce stress is beneficial, and will help you keep those fat pounds off.