As a body transformation coach, one of the number one areas that people want to 'lose' is the stomach. The problem is, though, that most of those people are trying to get rid of their belly fat by doing an endless amount of crunches and abdominal exercises.
Unfortunately that doesn't work. Another way people are trying to lose their belly fat is by doing a long, steady state aerobic cardio. This is what the fitness industry has taught since the Arnold days and especially in the 80's and 90's. Long cardio, however, hasn't really proven to be totally efficient at bringing everybody shredded six-packs.
Over the last few years the tide has been shifting to a training protocol called High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. HIIT is performing a short burst of high intense activity at about 80-90% of your maximum effort (100% is as hard as you can possibly go) and then 'resting' for a longer period of time at about 30% of your maximum effort.
Keep in mind that your 100% intensity might not be what mine is, for example. Mine is a full out sprint. Yours might be a fasted pace walk.
Another thing you need to know about how to perform interval training properly is taking into consideration the length of the 'work' interval. If the 'work' interval is 30 seconds long then your 80% intensity should be able to handle the 30 seconds, but you should not be able too much longer than that.
Steve Boucher, a fitness professional in Australia, came out with some interesting findings in a research study he performed about HIIT.
During a 15 week study he had women perform either HIIT or steady state cardio for 45 minutes 3 times a week. The HIIT group performed a 5 minute warm-up, did 8 seconds of bike sprints at 90% intensity with 12 seconds of 'rest' at 30% intensity for 20 minutes, and then finished with a 5 minute cool-down.
At first the HIIT group only did 5 minutes of HIIT and built up to 20 minutes by the sixth session (2 weeks).
Here's what he found:
&bullThe HIIT group lost 3 times MORE fat then the steady cardio group &bullThe HIIT group worked out HALF as much then the steady state cardio group &bullThe HIIT groups aerobic fitness actually increased MORE than the steady state cardio group (26% and 19% respectively) &bullThe HIIT group lost a SIGNIFICANT amount of fat off of their stomach
If you are currently performing long, steady state cardio you could be holding yourself back from maximum fat loss. And if you're trying to shed that ugly belly fat from your body then interval training is the way to go.
Here's what I do with my clients.
If you are a beginner you should shorten up the length of your high intensity intervals. Generally, most of my beginning clients do 15-20 second intervals at 80-90% of their max with 90-120 seconds 'rest' at 30% of their max intensity. Typically 5-6 intervals are sufficient to begin with.
Remember to always do a 5 minute warm-up and a 5 minute cool-down.
As you progress all you have to do is make the intervals longer. Perform anywhere from 30-60 second hard intervals with 30-120 'rest' intervals. Perform anywhere from 6-8 intervals and you'll be shedding belly fat in no time.
If you want to get rid of belly fat and lose weight, then you will have to commit yourself to a diet plan. For many people it can turn into an obsession to get rid of unwanted fat around the midsection. The main reason people will take out a gym membership or start a weight loss regiment is nothing less than belly fat. But to target the stomach area to try to lose some of the extra pounds you might be carrying around is not very easy to do. One day there might be a pill that we can take, and the next morning all the belly fat is gone, but that is only a dream right now. If you want to get rid of your belly fat, and lose weight quickly, you have to get used to the idea of changing your lifestyle. Start with changing what you are eating at the moment. It's your eating habits that have given you the body you have today. What to Eat This may seem logical enough, but the majority of people who struggles to get rid of fat around the waist, fail to make any changes to their diet. Start by eating more leaner meats like chicken and fish. Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables which have a high nutritional value. Try to eat more meals every day. So eat more often, but smaller servings, as this will make your body burn more calories. This will also keep your body's metabolism in a higher gear. The Crunches, The Sit-Ups Now that you have stopped feeding your waist with empty calories, and you are spacing out your meals, it's time to exercise. You can do crunches and sit-ups to target you waistline, as it will now all come together and work for you. The key to losing belly fat is a combination of what you have read in this article. Eliminating even one of these tips will make it take longer to slim your waistline. Millions of other has been successful by following these simple steps, which is the proof that it works. All the Best!
Both Dan Grant & Roland Du Preez are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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