Stomach Fat!!!

mnichol

I belong to a fitness center as well as have a recumbent bike at home. So on the bike you recommend 1-2 minutes full blast (so to speak) then a few minutes of rest, and keep that up for what 10 minutes??

stillkristi

I just read a great article about this today in OnFitness magazine (it's a Physical Trainer's magazine), they were citing all kinds of great studies on how High Intensity Interval Training is THE best way to get rid of body fat, even better then straight cardio (which is also good).

Interval training - is that the same as circuit training?


Also, jamie - how much stress is there in your life? Women tend to hang on to or create belly fat when we are under a lot of stress.

Nope, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is doing periods of really high intensity cardio type training, pushing well outside your comfort zone, close to total failure, for anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 minutes at a time (depending on your fitness level), and following it up with a similar period of rest, rinse, repeat (usually 15 to 25 minutes including 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down included), it's shorter then most workouts, but because of the intensity level, and what it does to growth related hormones, it increases fat burn as opposed to just plain calorie burn. It also drastically increases the burn from EPOC (Exercise Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), which is how many calories we burn after we work out. With straight cardio, once the heart rate returns to normal, EPOC is the same as pre workout, but with HIIT, it's higher for a few to many hours after (effectively allowing us to burn extra calories for hours after we are finished). It's intense, and not for beginner exercisers, but can be hugely beneficial if done properly.

Circuit training is usually multiple different routines of resistance, weight, cardio, or a mix of any done in quick succession to change the way we use our rest periods, resting one muscle group while working another. Also a good workout, but for different reasons.

Thanks, Banks - helpful as always. Would you recommend that for someone who has significant weight to lose? I have been doing circuit training for a about a week and I like it.

Jamiegirl2009

Oh! sounds very interesting I bet Boot Camp would count? right? I have been going to Boot Camp once a week for 5 week's now and I definately FEEL more muscles and greatness

I also do at home on top of that Billy Blanks no less than 2ice a week : ) and have started a few weeks ago running and I can now do a solid mile and a half and I will add a new lap each week or each running session so I feel it will be a great month and summer : )

stillkristi

Oh! sounds very interesting I bet Boot Camp would count? right? I have been going to Boot Camp once a week for 5 week's now and I definately FEEL more muscles and greatness

I also do at home on top of that Billy Blanks no less than 2ice a week : ) and have started a few weeks ago running and I can now do a solid mile and a half and I will add a new lap each week or each running session so I feel it will be a great month and summer : )

WTG! You rock! Be a while before I am in boot camp. But, I'm working on it! Your inspiring! Good luck on losing the belly fat!

SHBoss1673

Oh! sounds very interesting I bet Boot Camp would count? right? I have been going to Boot Camp once a week for 5 week's now and I definately FEEL more muscles and greatness

I also do at home on top of that Billy Blanks no less than 2ice a week : ) and have started a few weeks ago running and I can now do a solid mile and a half and I will add a new lap each week or each running session so I feel it will be a great month and summer : )

Depends on the type of boot camp, if you're doing high intensity cardio stuff, then yeah it would count.

SHBoss1673

Thanks, Banks - helpful as always. Would you recommend that for someone who has significant weight to lose? I have been doing circuit training for a about a week and I like it.

depends. Do you have an physical conditions that would preclude you from high intensity?
Like heart issues, chest pains...etc

You could always work up to a more intense workout if the only thing holding you back is the weight. You don't need to jump right in to super high intensity (in fact, it's not recommended). It's as much about the delta between the Heart Rate during work/rest as it is about the level of intensity. In other words, for me I get my heart rate between 85 and 92% max during the work, and drop it to about 70 to 75% during rest, but if 75% is really hard for you, then that can be your max to start with, if you lower it to the mid 60% during the rest phase, then you're still getting some of the benefit. But just know, this goes up fast, you'll be hitting the 80% quick, and as you feel more comfortable at the higher range, you need raise the bar to stay in the anaerobic area.

stillkristi

Thanks, Banks - helpful as always. Would you recommend that for someone who has significant weight to lose? I have been doing circuit training for a about a week and I like it.

depends. Do you have an physical conditions that would preclude you from high intensity?
Like heart issues, chest pains...etc

You could always work up to a more intense workout if the only thing holding you back is the weight. You don't need to jump right in to super high intensity (in fact, it's not recommended). It's as much about the delta between the Heart Rate during work/rest as it is about the level of intensity. In other words, for me I get my heart rate between 85 and 92% max during the work, and drop it to about 70 to 75% during rest, but if 75% is really hard for you, then that can be your max to start with, if you lower it to the mid 60% during the rest phase, then you're still getting some of the benefit. But just know, this goes up fast, you'll be hitting the 80% quick, and as you feel more comfortable at the higher range, you need raise the bar to stay in the anaerobic area.

Thanks again. My biggest problem is constant pain in my knees due to osteoarthritis and the weight being such a burden. My cardio has to be very low to no impact. Hard to get my heart rate up in the pool, but the recumbant bike works. Anyway, thanks, you've given me some good stuff to work on.

Jamie, sorry for hijacking your thread! :flowerforyou: