Taking a Break During a Workout May Help Fizzle Fat
Looking to burn fat through exercise? Resting during your workout may help, Japanese researchers report.
Here's the fat-burning fitness plan they tested: Exercise for 30 minutes, take a 20 minute break, and finish with another 30 minutes of exercise.
That revs up fat metabolism even more than a solid hour of exercise, note the researchers, who included Kazushige Goto, PhD, of the life sciences department at Japan's University of Tokyo.
Goto's (I love this name) team studied seven healthy, physically active men who were 25 years old, on average.
At the researchers' lab, the men pedaled stationary bikes for an hour without taking any breaks.
On another day, they rode the stationary bike for half an hour, sat in a chair and rested for 20 minutes, and then pedaled for 30 more minutes.
For comparison, the men visited the researchers' lab one more time just to rest for an hour, without exercising at all.
The researchers monitored the men's fat metabolism and hormone levels before, during, and after each session. As expected, an hour of pure rest was a dud when it came to fat metabolism, compared with the fat-burning effects of exercise.
But resting during exercise revved up fat metabolism during and after exercise, compared with a solid hour of exercise with no breaks.
The findings, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, may mean that to burn fat, you're better off budgeting a breather into long workouts. I have always recomended that 2 short intense workouts are better than 1 long less intence workout.
But the study was small, and the men weren't new to exercise, so the researchers plan to test the theory in other groups of people.
Meanwhile, if you're ready to start exercising, contact me for your Burn More FAT program: email me at bmusick@prairielife.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Early Morning Cardio
When is the best time of day to do your cardio? The answer is any time! The most important thing is that you just do it. Continuous cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, jogging, stairclimbing, or cycling, sustained for at least 30 minutes, will burn body fat no matter when you do it.
However, if you want to get the maximum benefits possible from every minute you invest in your workouts, then you should consider getting up early and doing cardio before you eat your first meal - even if you're not a "morning person." Early morning cardio on an empty stomach has three major advantages over exercising later in the day:
Early morning before you eat, your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) are low. If you eat dinner at 7 p.m and you eat breakfast at 7 a.m., that's 12 hours without food. During this 12-hour overnight fast, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar - the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrate. How much more fat you'll burn is uncertain, but some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state.
Morning Cardio Benefit #1
So how exactly does this work? It's quite simple, really. Carbohydrate (glycogen) is your body's primary and preferred energy source. When your primary fuel source is in short supply, this forces your body to tap into its secondary or reserve energy source; body fat. If you do cardio immediately after eating a meal, you'll still burn fat, but you'll burn less of it because you'll be burning off the carbohydrates you ate first. You always burn a combination of fat and carbohydrate for fuel, but depending on when you exercise, you can burn a greater proportion of fat relative to carbohydrate. If doing cardio first thing in the morning is not an option for you, then the second best time to do it would be immediately after weight training. Lifting weights is anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) by nature, and therefore depletes muscle glycogen. That's why a post lifting cardio session has a similar effect as morning cardio on an empty stomach.
Morning Cardio Benefit #2
The second benefit you'll get from early morning cardio sessions is what I call the "afterburn" effect. When you do a cardio session in the morning, you not only burn fat during the session, but you also continue to burn fat at an accelerated rate after the workout. Why? Because an intense session of cardiovascular exercise can keep your metabolism elevated for hours after the session is over. If you do cardio at night, you will still burn fat during the session, so you definitely benefit from it. However, nighttime cardio fails to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolism drops like a ton of bricks as soon as you go to sleep. While you sleep, your metabolic rate is slower than any other time of the day.
Morning Cardio Benefit #3
Burning more fat isn't the only reason you should do morning cardio. The third benefit of morning cardio is the "rush" and feeling of accomplishment that stays with you all day long after an invigorating workout. Exercise can become a pleasant and enjoyable experience, but the more difficult or challenging it is for you, the more important it is to get it out of the way early. When you put off any task you consider unpleasant, it hangs over you all day long, leaving you with a feeling of guilt, stress and incompleteness (not to mention that you are more likely to "blow off" an evening workout if you are tired from a long day at work or if your pals try to persuade you to join them at the pub for happy hour.)
You might find it hard to wake up early in the morning and get motivated to workout. But think back for a moment to a time in your life when you tackled a difficult task and you finished it. Didn't you feel great afterwards? Completing any task, especially a physically challenging one, gives you a "buzz." When the task is exercise, the buzz is physiological and psychological. Physiologically, exercise releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins are opiate-like hormones hundreds of times more powerful than the strongest morphine. Endorphins create a natural "high" that makes you feel positively euphoric! Endorphins reduce stress, improve your mood, increase circulation and relieve pain. The "high" is partly psychological too. Getting up early and successfully achieving a small goal kick starts your day and gives you feelings of completion, satisfaction and accomplishment. For the rest of the day you feel happy and you feel less stress knowing that the most difficult part of the day is behind you.
So, you say you're not a morning person? Take heart; neither am I. But I get up anyway because I know the effort is worth the results. When I have a goal that I am clearly focused on, such as reaching 4% or 5% body fat for my wedding, I'm on the Stairmaster or treadmill for 45 minutes every morning at the crack of dawn without fail. Sure it's a challenge at first, but you know what? After a few short weeks, It's no longer a chore and I'm "in the groove" - and you will be too.
Just try it. Make a commitment to yourself to do it for just 21 days. Once those 21 days have gone by, you'll already be leaner and you'll be on your way to making morning workouts a habit that's as natural as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Once you start getting used to feeling that buzz, you'll become "positively addicted" to it. The more you do it, the more you'll want to do it. Before you know it, early morning cardio will your new habit; you'll be leaner, your metabolism will be faster and you'll feel fantastic all day long!
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
However, if you want to get the maximum benefits possible from every minute you invest in your workouts, then you should consider getting up early and doing cardio before you eat your first meal - even if you're not a "morning person." Early morning cardio on an empty stomach has three major advantages over exercising later in the day:
Early morning before you eat, your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) are low. If you eat dinner at 7 p.m and you eat breakfast at 7 a.m., that's 12 hours without food. During this 12-hour overnight fast, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar - the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrate. How much more fat you'll burn is uncertain, but some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state.
Morning Cardio Benefit #1
So how exactly does this work? It's quite simple, really. Carbohydrate (glycogen) is your body's primary and preferred energy source. When your primary fuel source is in short supply, this forces your body to tap into its secondary or reserve energy source; body fat. If you do cardio immediately after eating a meal, you'll still burn fat, but you'll burn less of it because you'll be burning off the carbohydrates you ate first. You always burn a combination of fat and carbohydrate for fuel, but depending on when you exercise, you can burn a greater proportion of fat relative to carbohydrate. If doing cardio first thing in the morning is not an option for you, then the second best time to do it would be immediately after weight training. Lifting weights is anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) by nature, and therefore depletes muscle glycogen. That's why a post lifting cardio session has a similar effect as morning cardio on an empty stomach.
Morning Cardio Benefit #2
The second benefit you'll get from early morning cardio sessions is what I call the "afterburn" effect. When you do a cardio session in the morning, you not only burn fat during the session, but you also continue to burn fat at an accelerated rate after the workout. Why? Because an intense session of cardiovascular exercise can keep your metabolism elevated for hours after the session is over. If you do cardio at night, you will still burn fat during the session, so you definitely benefit from it. However, nighttime cardio fails to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolism drops like a ton of bricks as soon as you go to sleep. While you sleep, your metabolic rate is slower than any other time of the day.
Morning Cardio Benefit #3
Burning more fat isn't the only reason you should do morning cardio. The third benefit of morning cardio is the "rush" and feeling of accomplishment that stays with you all day long after an invigorating workout. Exercise can become a pleasant and enjoyable experience, but the more difficult or challenging it is for you, the more important it is to get it out of the way early. When you put off any task you consider unpleasant, it hangs over you all day long, leaving you with a feeling of guilt, stress and incompleteness (not to mention that you are more likely to "blow off" an evening workout if you are tired from a long day at work or if your pals try to persuade you to join them at the pub for happy hour.)
You might find it hard to wake up early in the morning and get motivated to workout. But think back for a moment to a time in your life when you tackled a difficult task and you finished it. Didn't you feel great afterwards? Completing any task, especially a physically challenging one, gives you a "buzz." When the task is exercise, the buzz is physiological and psychological. Physiologically, exercise releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins are opiate-like hormones hundreds of times more powerful than the strongest morphine. Endorphins create a natural "high" that makes you feel positively euphoric! Endorphins reduce stress, improve your mood, increase circulation and relieve pain. The "high" is partly psychological too. Getting up early and successfully achieving a small goal kick starts your day and gives you feelings of completion, satisfaction and accomplishment. For the rest of the day you feel happy and you feel less stress knowing that the most difficult part of the day is behind you.
So, you say you're not a morning person? Take heart; neither am I. But I get up anyway because I know the effort is worth the results. When I have a goal that I am clearly focused on, such as reaching 4% or 5% body fat for my wedding, I'm on the Stairmaster or treadmill for 45 minutes every morning at the crack of dawn without fail. Sure it's a challenge at first, but you know what? After a few short weeks, It's no longer a chore and I'm "in the groove" - and you will be too.
Just try it. Make a commitment to yourself to do it for just 21 days. Once those 21 days have gone by, you'll already be leaner and you'll be on your way to making morning workouts a habit that's as natural as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Once you start getting used to feeling that buzz, you'll become "positively addicted" to it. The more you do it, the more you'll want to do it. Before you know it, early morning cardio will your new habit; you'll be leaner, your metabolism will be faster and you'll feel fantastic all day long!
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
It's about time!
First I want to thank everyone who has been asking me about why I haven't been blogging. I will continue to update the blog each day and apoligize for the recent delay.
So Don't worry, everything is OK. I want to offer all non-clients the opportunity of the year!
I'm going to give you a 50% discount on Burn more FAT! online training program.
If you are serious about getting in shape in 2009. You can save $900 by starting before the begining of the year. This includes 12 months of complete nutrition, resistance, flexiblity, core, and cardiovascular programing.
...and all I ask for in return is some honest feedback and motivation.
For example, what are your goals?
How is your fitness level coming along right now?
Do you think that Burn more FAT! is too "cutting edge" for most people?
Really, it could be anything. I just value your input an would love to know
what you think.
Let me know what you think, please.
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
PS. This offer expires in 2008. So there's no pressure or anything ...it's just that if you want in, you have to act now.
So Don't worry, everything is OK. I want to offer all non-clients the opportunity of the year!
I'm going to give you a 50% discount on Burn more FAT! online training program.
If you are serious about getting in shape in 2009. You can save $900 by starting before the begining of the year. This includes 12 months of complete nutrition, resistance, flexiblity, core, and cardiovascular programing.
...and all I ask for in return is some honest feedback and motivation.
For example, what are your goals?
How is your fitness level coming along right now?
Do you think that Burn more FAT! is too "cutting edge" for most people?
Really, it could be anything. I just value your input an would love to know
what you think.
Let me know what you think, please.
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
PS. This offer expires in 2008. So there's no pressure or anything ...it's just that if you want in, you have to act now.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Workout of the day Dec 2nd
Leg ext 4x6-15
Giant set:
Front Squat 3x10
Leg press 3x10
Hack Squat 3x10
Jump Squat 3xF
*remember this is my personal workout and works great for me. For a custom workout contact me at bmusick@prairielife.com
Giant set:
Front Squat 3x10
Leg press 3x10
Hack Squat 3x10
Jump Squat 3xF
*remember this is my personal workout and works great for me. For a custom workout contact me at bmusick@prairielife.com
Monday, December 1, 2008
Work out of the day December 1st
Bench Press 3x6-10 3 negatives 10sec. isohold
Incline Press 3x6-10 3 negatives 10 sec isohold
Hammer Decline Press 3x6-10 10 sec isohold
Overhead press 1xF
*this is my personal workout and works great for me. If you would like a custome workout, contact me at bmusick@prairielife.com
Incline Press 3x6-10 3 negatives 10 sec isohold
Hammer Decline Press 3x6-10 10 sec isohold
Overhead press 1xF
*this is my personal workout and works great for me. If you would like a custome workout, contact me at bmusick@prairielife.com
Help Me Help You!
I value every person's opinion who views this blog and it is because of this that I need your help to make this site even better! Over the upcoming months, I really want to focus this blog on your greatest needs.
Instead of trying to guess what this is, or simply writing about something that I think you should care about, I would like you to email me and tell me!
So here are some questions that I'd like you to email me a response to at elitetraining@hotmail.com or Bmusick@prairelife.com :
1) What is your biggest challange each day?
2) What is your biggest obstacle to getting fitness results you want?
3) To make my fitness blog indespensably valuable for you, what information should I focus on presenting?
4) Why do you continue reading the blog? What am I doing you like, and dislike?
5) What could I do to make the blog so great that you would rave about it (if you already don't) to all of your relatives, friends, and co-workers?
It is with this feedback that I will continue to strive to make this a great resource for all those who are interested. Thank you for reading and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
Instead of trying to guess what this is, or simply writing about something that I think you should care about, I would like you to email me and tell me!
So here are some questions that I'd like you to email me a response to at elitetraining@hotmail.com or Bmusick@prairelife.com :
1) What is your biggest challange each day?
2) What is your biggest obstacle to getting fitness results you want?
3) To make my fitness blog indespensably valuable for you, what information should I focus on presenting?
4) Why do you continue reading the blog? What am I doing you like, and dislike?
5) What could I do to make the blog so great that you would rave about it (if you already don't) to all of your relatives, friends, and co-workers?
It is with this feedback that I will continue to strive to make this a great resource for all those who are interested. Thank you for reading and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
Comfort food....Your 2 sided friend
With one holiday under your loosened belt, you're gearing up for many more celebrations...and piles of seasonal comfort food.
If you don't mind, I'd like to be totally candid with you today. Sure, I could write you a 'feel good' article about cutting back a few calories and exercising a few minutes each day, but I'd rather be perfectly frank (and truly helpful).
Here's the real deal: You abuse food.
That's right. You're overweight because you eat too much, and you eat too much because it brings immediate pleasure. I am here to point out that this pleasure comes at high price...
The other side of comfort food: You've heard dishes being referred to as 'comfort food'—some restaurants even have an entire section of their menu designated as comfort food. But comfort food is more than just a hearty dish.
It's those extra calories that you eat to feed an emotional need rather than a nutritional need.
It's excessively big portions that leave you stuffed.
It's high calorie snacks.
It's sugary treats.
It's fried, cheese smothered appetizers.
It's whatever you indulge in with mindless munching.
Could you relate to any of the above? Most of us tend to gravitate toward a particular form of comfort food. For many women it's chocolate or other sugary treats. For men it often takes a saltier form. Think of the last time you ate for pleasure rather than nourishment. Why'd you do it?
Out of Habit: Your body loves routine. If you always snack while watching television then you'd probably find it hard to relax without going through that munching motion. The good news is that once you break the cycle your body will quickly adapt to a healthier routine.
To Change Your Mood: Does the thought of a cupcake bring a smile to your lips? How about a large pizza to lift your mood? Pay attention to the emotions that trigger you to overeat—you may be surprised how often you use food to feel better.
Because Everyone's Doing It: Who can resist comfort food when it's offered among friends? Peer pressure doesn't just apply to teenagers—it's another reason to overeat. Remember that true friends will support your decision to refrain.
Can you remember how you felt after you last filled up on comfort food? If you're honest, you'll admit that the stuffed and bloated feeling was downright awful. So why do it? Come on, where have your eating habits gotten you?
Into clothes that are a few sizes larger.
Drained and with less energy than ever before.
Plagued with health concerns and prescriptions.
Embarrassed and frustrated with your body.
Most people don't realize it, but the battle to overcome your eating habits is decided by a single body part—and it's not your mouth. (Your mouth is simply a puppet.) It's your brain. Once you've made up your mind, for better or for worse, you can bet that your body will obey your decision to the letter. You've proven it time and time again.
So make the decision to give up your unhealthy dependence on comfort food. There is no better time than now. Making a change is hard—that's why I'm committed to being with you every step of the way. Call today to schedule a consultation. 417-353-1349 NOW is the time to Burn More FAT!
If you don't mind, I'd like to be totally candid with you today. Sure, I could write you a 'feel good' article about cutting back a few calories and exercising a few minutes each day, but I'd rather be perfectly frank (and truly helpful).
Here's the real deal: You abuse food.
That's right. You're overweight because you eat too much, and you eat too much because it brings immediate pleasure. I am here to point out that this pleasure comes at high price...
The other side of comfort food: You've heard dishes being referred to as 'comfort food'—some restaurants even have an entire section of their menu designated as comfort food. But comfort food is more than just a hearty dish.
It's those extra calories that you eat to feed an emotional need rather than a nutritional need.
It's excessively big portions that leave you stuffed.
It's high calorie snacks.
It's sugary treats.
It's fried, cheese smothered appetizers.
It's whatever you indulge in with mindless munching.
Could you relate to any of the above? Most of us tend to gravitate toward a particular form of comfort food. For many women it's chocolate or other sugary treats. For men it often takes a saltier form. Think of the last time you ate for pleasure rather than nourishment. Why'd you do it?
Out of Habit: Your body loves routine. If you always snack while watching television then you'd probably find it hard to relax without going through that munching motion. The good news is that once you break the cycle your body will quickly adapt to a healthier routine.
To Change Your Mood: Does the thought of a cupcake bring a smile to your lips? How about a large pizza to lift your mood? Pay attention to the emotions that trigger you to overeat—you may be surprised how often you use food to feel better.
Because Everyone's Doing It: Who can resist comfort food when it's offered among friends? Peer pressure doesn't just apply to teenagers—it's another reason to overeat. Remember that true friends will support your decision to refrain.
Can you remember how you felt after you last filled up on comfort food? If you're honest, you'll admit that the stuffed and bloated feeling was downright awful. So why do it? Come on, where have your eating habits gotten you?
Into clothes that are a few sizes larger.
Drained and with less energy than ever before.
Plagued with health concerns and prescriptions.
Embarrassed and frustrated with your body.
Most people don't realize it, but the battle to overcome your eating habits is decided by a single body part—and it's not your mouth. (Your mouth is simply a puppet.) It's your brain. Once you've made up your mind, for better or for worse, you can bet that your body will obey your decision to the letter. You've proven it time and time again.
So make the decision to give up your unhealthy dependence on comfort food. There is no better time than now. Making a change is hard—that's why I'm committed to being with you every step of the way. Call today to schedule a consultation. 417-353-1349 NOW is the time to Burn More FAT!
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