There are SO MANY myths about weight loss.
I’ve heard them all.
There’s the myth about ab exercises melting off belly fat. (Sorry, spot reduction doesn’t exist, except with liposuction.)
Then there’s the one that says the faster you do an exercise the better, even at the expense of form. (Ouch. This philosophy has caused many injuries. Never sacrifice form for speed.)
I’ve even heard one that says recovery days are not necessary. (Rest days are actually of vital importance to your recovery and weight loss.)
But of all the fitness myths out there, the one that gets under my skin the most is the belief that the best way to lose fat is to do lots of cardio. That means lots of walking, running, biking, spinning, or swimming.
I’ve seen many people waste their time and effort on this one. And especially for women in their 40's, 50's, 60's (and my awesome clients in their 70's) who are fighting belly fat.
The truth is that shorter workouts that incorporate resistance training will burn body fat better than a long, steady cardio session.
Plus...
Who doesn’t love to save time?
If you are still plodding away on the treadmill 60 minutes at a time, you are spending way more time and getting less results.
A much more effective, and time saving, technique is HIIT.
High-Intensity Interval Training is an exercise strategy that improves performance with short training sessions. These sessions involve a warm up period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts that are separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cool down period.
The addition of resistance training into your HIIT workout will increase your power, muscle tone, speed, strength, endurance and best of all it allows you to burn even more calories than cardio alone.
There you have it—all you need to know to take your workouts to the next level. But, don't do intense HIIT workouts every day. We do three workouts per week in our group fitness program and our members are now in GREAT shape! (All of the workouts are on zoom and in person, so people are getting in shape without having to drive/park/take a long lunch break, etc.)
Do you have questions about how to get better results? I would love to hear from you.
It's important to have a well rounded fitness program that includes weight training, endurance training and flexibility. AND one that is safe and appropriate for YOU.
Call or email today and I will schedule a time to chat with you one-on-one to strategize the quickest and most effective route to meeting your fitness goals.
