According to Wikipedia:

Anaerobic exercise is exercise intense enough to trigger anaerobic metabolism. It is used by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power and by body builders to build muscle mass. Muscles energy systems trained using anaerobic exercise develop differently compared to aerobic exercise, leading to greater performance in short duration, high intensity activities, which last from mere seconds up to about 2 minutes. Any activity after about two minutes will have a large aerobic metabolic component.

A study from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Japan compared the effects of 6 weeks of traditional aerobics training to high intensity interval training.

The aerobic group exercised at 70% of their maximal aerobic uptake for 60 minutes 5 days a week during the study. At the end of 6 weeks the endurance group did not increase their anaerobic capacity and only increased their aerobic capacity slightly (from 53 to 58 ml/kg/min).

The interval training group also exercised 5 days a week during the 6 week trial. Their workouts consisted of 7-8 sets of 20 second sprints, followed by a 10 second recovery. After the 6 weeks, this group increased their aerobic capacity slightly MORE than the aerobics group (7ml/kg/min increase for the sprint group compared to 6ml/kg/min for the aerobics group). The interval training crew also increased their anaerobic capacity by 28%!

Let’s compare total exercise time for the two groups over the six week study:

Aerobics:
6 weeks x 5days/week x 60 minutes = 1800 minutes

Intervals:
6 weeks x 5 days/week x 4 minutes = 120 minutes

So… in less than one tenth the time, the interval group beat the aerobic group in both aerobic and anaerobic improvement!

Hooray science!

If you’re interested in checking out this study, here’s the citation:

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.
Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max.
Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K.

And here’s a link to the abstract: Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max

Ok, today’s scien-tastic study will really appeal to you if you’re pressed for time to work out.  (And who isn’t?!?)

Researchers from McMaster University in Canada compared low volume sprint (interval) training to high volume aerobic (endurance) training.

Without bogging down in too many details (I’ll link to the study at the bottom of this post), the aerobics group worked out at 65% of their maximal oxygen uptake for 40-60 minutes, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks.

The interval training group did 4-6 “all out” 30 second sprints with 4.5 minutes rest between sprints, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks.

Total training time for the aerobic group was 4.5 hours per week.  Total for the interval training group was 1.5 hours per week (with 90% of that time being rest!!).

After the six weeks both groups showed the SAME metabolic changes!

Now, I would have expected the interval training group to be burning more fat, but even though the results were the same, look at the total training time!  90 minutes a week of interval training gave the same fat loss benefits as 270 minutes of aerobics training!

That’s pretty freakin’ cool

So, if you want to save time in the gym, start hitting some intervals.  Here’s a step-by-step plan to get you started: Interval Training For Fat Loss

Here’s the citation for today’s study:

J Physiol. 2008 January 1; 586(Pt 1): 151–160.
Published online 2007 November 8.
Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans
Kirsten A Burgomaster,1 Krista R Howarth,1 Stuart M Phillips,1 Mark Rakobowchuk,1 Maureen J MacDonald,1 Sean L McGee,2 and Martin J Gibala1

And here’s a link to the abstract: Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans

A few of my friends on facebook have posted a question like this: “How can I get an action hero body?”

Now, Hollywood action stars have a few advantages: they all have a personal trainer, they can get someone to cook healthy meals for them, and they have lighting technicians making sure they always look their best.

But you can totally steal their workout and do it on your own.

Have you seen “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” on TV?  I’ve caught a few episodes – pretty cool.

And the stars definitely have that “action hero” look:

Here’s a video of the Spartacus stars working out:

(Don’t copy their kettlebell form! Everything else is all good )

The Spartacus workout above was written by Rachel Cosgrove, owner of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, CA.

Here’s the complete program:

60 seconds work / 15 seconds rest

1. Goblet Squat
2. Mountain Climber
3. One Arm Dumbbell Swing
4. T-Pushup
5. Jump Lunges
6. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
7. Dumbbell Side Lunge and Touch
8. Dumbbell Renegade Row
9. Dumbbell Lunge with Rotation
10. Dumbbell Push Press

Total Time: 12:30.

Rest 2 minutes and repeat.

Total Work Time: 27 minutes!

After trying one of my bootcamp workouts, you’ll know that a circuit like this are no joke.

By working every muscle in your body, you not only strengthen and shape, you get a whole body cardiovascular workout… at the same time!

If your idea of “cardio” is running on a treadmill or playing on an elliptical machine, you’ll find that a workout like this is really fun, really intense, and more effective at building an Action Hero Body than anything else.

Talk to you soon,

~ Luke Wold
291 Rhodes St
Carson City NV 89703

When I walked up into the weight room someone’s Dad was in there “working out.”

He gave me a sheepish look when I told him the upstairs of the gym is reserved for private clients.  But since he’d already started I said to go ahead and finish.

After a quick warm-up I hit this circuit 6 times: Kettlebell snatch x6 each arm, ValSlide Reverse Lunge x 10 each leg, and Weighted Chin Ups x 5, repeat with no rest.

Then a quick sip of water and my second circuit was 3 rounds of: ValSlide Double Reach-Out x 10, Handstand Push Up x 3, and Bodyweight Row x 12.

It took me about 25 minutes.

In that same 25 minutes this guy did 5 sets of Dumbbell Curls.  Seriously.

Unfortunately, spending more time in the gym than you need to is super-common, and I think that’s why people whine that they have no time to work out.

Now, today I’m going to drop 2 studies showing that not only will high-intensity circuits get you out of the weight room faster, they’ll also give you BETTER results.

(Of course, you could spend the same hour in the gym training with this style and get more done in those 60 minutes than the standard gym-goer does in 2 weeks of screwing around.  I think that’s freaking cool!)

This is the first study:

Kelleher et al. The Metabolic Costs of Reciprocal Supersets vs. Traditional Resistance Exercise in Young Recreationally Active Adults. JSCR 2010 Mar 17.

Kelleher et al examined the difference between traditional “straight set” resistance training to “reciprocal superset” training.

Here’s two quick definitions for you:

STRAIGHT SET: Standard resistance training protocol – One set of presses, rest.  Set of presses, rest.  Repeat until all sets are done.

RECIPROCAL SUPERSET: Pairing opposite movements – Set of presses, quick rest, set of rows, quick rest.  Not only do you actually get the same amount of rest between presses, you get twice as much work done in the same time.  And thanks to a principle called “reciprocal innervation” you will actually be able to handle more weight in the paired exercises.

The researchers above concluded: “Reciprocal supersets produced greater exercise kJ.min, blood lactate, and EPOC than did [traditional straight sets]. Incorporating this method of resistance exercise may benefit exercisers attempting to increase energy expenditure and have a fixed exercise volume with limited exercise time available.”

In plain speak: You will raise your metabolism and make greater changes in your body IN LESS TIME with reciprocal supersets than with straight sets.

INSIDE LUKE’S HEAD: How can I create reciprocal supersets in all of my workouts?

The second study:

Paoli et al. Effects of three distinct protocols of fitness training on body composition, strength and blood lactate. JSMPF. 2010 Mar;50(1):43-51

Paoli et al compared 3 different training methods: cardio-only, low-intensity circuit, and high-intensity circuit.

Out of the 3 groups, the high-intensity circuit group lost the most weight, lost the most fat, lost the most off their waist measurement, raised their metabolism the most, and gained the most strength.

Here’s an excerpt from their conclusion: “The results obtained favored the conclusion that high-intensity exercise combined with endurance training in the circuit training technique is more effective than endurance training alone or low intensity circuit training in improving body composition, blood lactate, moreover high intensity circuit training results in significantly greater strength increase compared to traditional circuit training”

So… high-intensity circuits kick ass compared to low-intensity circuits and totally blow traditional cardio out of the water.

INSIDE LUKE’S HEAD (con’t from above): How can I put reciprocal supersets into high-intensity circuits?

When the chips are all on the table and changing your body really counts, forget traditional weight training and endurance-style cardio – use high intensity resistance training circuits instead.

Putting It All Together

Resistance training includes bodyweight exercises.  Build your workouts around bodyweight and loaded exercises either paired or put into circuits, combine them with interval training, and clean up your diet and you’ll have a totally slamming body in wayyy less time.

I design all of the circuits for my personal training and bootcamp members – all you have to do is show up and push hard.  If you’re not in bootcamp (why not?) start tweaking your workouts with these two ideas and you’ll finally start to see some results from your time in the gym!

Every morning I leave my Carson City Bootcamp and I see women making this mistake on the roads and paths around my gym…..

One Mistake All Women Make

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

Following the cardio mentality and depending on the cardio
confessional is the biggest mistake that all women make when it
comes to fat loss. Let me explain…

On Saturday morning I was walking home from the gym when I passed
by a young women – about 28 years old – who was talking on her
iPhone.

And I heard her say, “I’m going for a walk now to get some exercise
because I’m going out for a bad dinner tonight.”

And I just wanted to yell, “No – no – no – no – no! That doesn’t
work. It never has, it never will!”

You can’t out-cardio a bad diet.

Every woman I’ve ever met has made this mistake and had that
“cardio confessional mindset” at one time or another – and it goes
for most of the guys I know, too.

Unfortunately, at best, this poor girl will probably burn an extra
300-500 calories during her walk – if it’s a really, really long
walk. But at dinner, she’s likely to eat 400-700 calories during
the appetizer or consume that in liquid calories alone!

(NOTE: By “bad dinner”, I’m guessing she meant a high-calorie meal,
and not a pity date with a deadbeat ex-boyfriend.)

The bottom line is that a single cardio session will not beat a bad
diet.

Now you might be thinking, “At least it’s better than nothing.”

But is it?

Remember, as I’ve mentioned in the past, one British study found
that some people OVEREAT in response to cardio exercise.

So when dinner comes around, this poor girl might think, “Oh, I did
that long walk today, so I can treat myself to a bigger dinner or
dessert.”

The only thing that comes close to beating a bad diet is interval
training and resistance training.

Back in 2007, an Australian research study on interval training was
getting a LOT of press for the surprising results. In the study,
women who did interval training were able to lose belly fat without
changing their diet.

In fact, one subject, named Louise, said this:

“My diet was pretty bad back then, with lots of sweets, lots of
junk food…doughnuts and sugar — it was awful.”

And yet by the end of this study, interval training helped Louise
burn 8kg of fat in just 15 weeks – WITHOUT changing her diet.

Perhaps it IS POSSIBLE for you to out-train a bad diet – but only
if you use interval training.

And that’s just another reason the best short, burst fat burning
workouts are based on this specific type of fat burning exercise.

So here’s what you need to do:

1) Give up the “Cardio Confessional Mentality” and understand that
you can’t “out-cardio a bad diet”.

2) Stick to your simple lifestyle nutrition plan 90% of the time
and then enjoy your 10% reward meals GUILT-FREE.

3) Use interval training to burn the fat and resistance training to
sculpt your body.

It’s that simple – a 3-step system for fat loss success that is
guaranteed to work every time.

Here’s the program that shows you EXACTLY what to do:

=> Check Out Turbulence Training

Enjoy guilt-free eating and fat loss with this mindset.

If you go to the gym right now, you’ll see hundreds of people working on their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight.  And almost all of them are doing the exact same thing: 45 minutes in their “fat loss zone.”

Research and experience has proven time and again that interval training is superior to steady state training when it comes to fitness, health, and fat loss.  The problem is that most people don’t know how to set up an interval-based session.

Here is a handout from my last seminar, with an EXACT plan of what to do.  This can be recycled every month (with week one having a higher intensity each time).

Do this on the “off days” from your metabolic resistance training sessions.

Interval Training For Extreme Fat Loss

This program is designed to raise your metabolism so that you will liberate and shed as much body fat as possible.  Do this routine 2, 3, or 4x a week and choose a different piece of cardio equipment each time.

Week 1:

5 Minute Warm Up

Intervals: 3x through this set

1 min high intensity (9/10 effort)

2 min moderate intensity (6/10)

5 min Very Low Intensity (2-3/10)

20 min moderate intensity (5-6/10)

3 min cool down

Total time: 42 minutes

Week 2:

5 min warm up

Intervals: 4x through this set

      1 min high intensity (9/10 effort)

      2 min moderate intensity (6/10)

5 min very low intensity (2-3/10)

20 min moderate intensity

3 min cool down

Total time: 45 min

Week 3:

      5 min warm up

      Intervals: 5x through this set

            1 min high intensity (9/10 effort)

            2 min moderate intensity (6/10)

      5 min very low intensity (2-3/10)

      20 min moderate intensity (5-6/10

      3 min cool down

      Total time: 48 min

Week 4:

5 min warm up

Intervals: 6x through this set

      1 min high intensity (9/10 effort)

      2 min moderate intensity (6/10)

5 min very low intensity (2-3/10)

20 min moderate intensity (5-6/10

3 min cool down

Total time: 51 min

An interview with John Alvino of How to get Ripped Abs.

Luke Wold: Hey John, I consider you a “real world” guy – in that you work with real people with busy lives and hectic schedules. We all know that there is a ton of fat loss advice for pre-contest bodybuilders (fasted cardio, two-a-day sessions, egg whites and steamed fish 6 times a day…).

And we also know that there’s good advice out there for the overweight guys who have never exercised before (like don’t eat Oreos, and take the stairs instead of the elevator…).

But what about the “in between” person? You know, the professional man or woman who works a solid 9-5 job with maybe up to an hour commute each way, and still tries to spend time with the family and kids. There’s a serious lack of information for this demographic. How do you set up a solid “real world” fat loss nutrition plan for these people?

JA: I couldn’t agree with you more. Earlier in my career, I would tell this type of client that they had to eat a broccoli and alfalfa sprouts omelet for breakfast every single day! When they told me that they didn’t have the time to prepare that, I would accuse them of not being committed.

Looking back on it now, I realize that as a young trainer, I had no idea how difficult it is to work a stressful job, raise a family, and still summon up enough energy to even get to the gym.

It wasn’t too long before I realized that my expectations were unreasonable, unnecessary, and unrealistic for them to stick to. Thus, I had to be creative enough to devise meal plans that would deliver results while being realistic and easy enough for this busy folks to actually follow.

After years of trial and error, I have found several ways to accomplish this goal. For starters, these clients have a tough time following a diet that has very precise parameters.

For instance, instructions such as: “eat exactly 3.35 ounces of salmon with 1 ¾ cups of broccoli at exactly 10:25 a.m. each morning”, or “You must prepare and eat 7 meals per day.” Their lives are simply too stressful and busy to be this rigid. They need more flexibility in their diet protocol.

Trying to force this “all or nothing” approach onto a person such as this will more often than not result in total failure. After your client realizes that he can’t follow the plan, he will fall off the wagon and feel completely defeated.

This may discourage him from ever trying to lose fat again. And it is just unnecessary. A successful diet, first and foremost, must actually be feasible. If it’s not, it doesn’t matter how great it is, because it will most surely fail.

To make an eating plan realistic for a busy businessman or woman, I would suggest that they eat 3 meals per day. Most people eat breakfast, lunch and dinner anyway, so this would not be disruptive to their extremely busy day. In between these “regular” meals, I would suggest eating 2-3 convenient snacks.

LW: What about training? Doing six or seven days a week, or multiple sessions for these people is just fantasy land. What about some real world workouts? I’ll give you an example – a 40 year old father of two – with a full time job (40 plus hours per week) who is maybe 19-20% body fat but wants to see his abs for the first time this summer?

JA: In my experience, when someone has a restricted schedule like this, I am usually only able to meet with them around train 3 times per week. So it is imperative that we get the most out of each training session. The most important goal for each of these training sessions is to create a metabolic elevation that will last up until the next training session.

Let’s assume that he would be using a Monday, Wednesday, Friday training schedule. Our goal is to perform a workout that increases metabolic rate for 48 hours. In order to accomplish this, we must work all major muscle groups – so that means full body training routines.

These full body routines should emphasize exercises that have a high metabolic cost. In addition, this routine should be designed using a multi-station approach.

Because there is a time constraint, you will spend very little time resting in between sets. Therefore, exercises performed back to back should not interfere with each other. In other words, consecutive exercises should not fatigue the same exact muscle groups.

Immediately following the resistance phase of this routine, he would perform a special type of interval training. For the actual interval, you will work hard (about 90% of your max) for 30 seconds. Then decrease the intensity to about 60% of your max for 60 seconds. That is one interval.

After the 60 second “easy” period, increase the intensity back up to 90% and begin the second interval of the workout. Start with 6 intervals per workout, and build your way up to doing 12 intervals per workout. Once you can perform 12 intervals at maximal intensity, it is time to vary your workout.

Varying your workout from time to time, when done in a calculated manner, will keep your body constantly stimulated to respond positively to this type of training.

LW: Can you give us a sample workout based on your training principles?

JA: Sure. I’ll give you’re a workout that I designed for my client JR. He fits the “busy working client” criteria perfectly. He works about 70 hours per week, has a wife and 2 kids that he spends a lot of time with. To his credit, he still manages to train hard 3 times per week. This is the workout that he just performed:

1: Dynamic Movement Phase (5 min):

Rope Jumping 3×60 seconds with 30 sec rest.

2: Joint Prep Phase (3 min):

Overhead Squat 30 seconds, Reaching Split Squat 30 seconds, Forward Flexion 30 seconds, Supine Hip Raise 30 seconds, Intermediate Plank 30 seconds

3: Resistance Phase (25 min): This is a multi station circuit. Perform 5 rounds without any rest.

1a) DB Squat Push Press Combo 5x 12,10,8,6,4

1b) Strap Chin Ups 5x 12,10,8,6,4

1c) DB Step Up 5x 12,10,8,6,4

1d) Hands Elevated A Frame Push Up 5x 12,10,8,6,4

1e) DB RDL With Shrug 5x 12,10,8,6,4

4: Interval Phase: (12 minutes)  Do 4 continuous sets

2a) Med Ball Slams 30 sec maximal effort

2b) Jumping Jacks 60 sec easy pace

2c) Rocket Jumps 30 sec maximal effort

2d) Seal Split Shuffles 60 sec easy pace

5: Static Stretch Phase: (5 minutes)

This routine has JR out of the gym in 50 minutes. And the results speak for themselves. JR has lost 22 pounds of fat in 9 short weeks and is in the best shape of his life.

LW: Nice. Any other tips for these people?

JA: There are several little things that they must do in order to succeed. Some of the keys to success are:

• Since you are only training 3 times per week you must make each workout count.
• You must be consistent.
• No missed workouts.
• Prepare food in bulk. (Most cheating stems from not having healthy food readily available).
• Keep the house stocked with quick and accessible healthy foods and snacks.
• During the first week of your meal plan, I encourage you to weigh/measure your food.

For instance, if one of your meals requires 1 cup of rice, you should have a pretty good idea of what a cup of rice looks like. That way, when you are eating out, or on the road, you will be able to estimate your portions with reasonable accuracy.

LW: Thanks so much, John, for taking the time to share these great insights with us. For those of you who are interested in creating an amazing body transformation and losing fat at an incredible rate, you should definitely go to John’s website, How to get Ripped Abs

He has changed a lot of lives with his amazing fat loss techniques, and clearly he is sensitive to the working class person who is busy, but still wants and deserves to get in great shape!

JA: Thank you, Luke. It’s always a pleasure speaking with you. I look forward to next time!

~ Luke Wold

PS – Click here to check out How to get Ripped Abs

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training

If you are looking to cut down on the amount of time you spend in
the gym without jeopardizing your fat loss goals, then including
interval training alongside your strength training program is the
only way to go.

Just imagine spending half the time in the gym – if not more – and
getting way better results. Isn’t that what you deserve?

I thought so.

And to make the notion of ditching long, slow, boring cardio even
more convincing is the fact that you will be far less susceptible
to sustaining an overuse injury with interval training.

For some of you, however, the thought of giving up your daily
cardio machine routine is too much to bear. But not to worry
because you can still use your favorite machine, but we’ll just
tweak things a bit so that you get more out of your workout in half
the time.

1) Interval Training Option #1 – Classic Intervals

For example, try incorporating intervals on the treadmill by
running hard for 30 seconds, at an 8 out of 10 intensity level,
followed by 60 seconds of light recovery at a 3 out of 10 intensity
level.

That is one interval, and so you will repeat this process up to 6
times, while using a five minute warm-up and a 5 minute cool down.

Each week try to do more squats in the same amount of time. This
may sound easy, but trust me; it can be as difficult as you make
it!

2) Interval Option #2 – Short Burst Squats

I personally recommend a Gymboss timer for this type of training,
but it isn’t essential.

So, for the bodyweight interval training you will do as many
bodyweight squats as you can for 20 seconds and then hold the
bottom position for 10 seconds, then repeat your squats for 20
seconds, and then hold at the bottom for 10 etc. Repeat these
intervals for 8 rounds.

3) Interval Option # – Kettlebell Swings

If you have a kettlebell, you can do swings or kettlebell squats for
30 seconds and then walk for 30 seconds and alternate for 6-10
rounds. That’s a great way to finish a fat burning workout.

Alright, so those are just three of the countless ways in which you
can include interval training into your workouts that will burn fat
faster and help you avoid spending more time than necessary in the
gym.

Turbulence Training

All of my bootcamp clients know that I’m constantly on the lookout for new research that can make my Unstoppable Fitness Formula even MORE effective.

For example, I noticed that a certain type of workout was getting clients better weight loss results in less time.  When I went looking for the reason why, I found out research has proven that training in a certain way can elevate your metabolism for 39 hours AFTER your workout.

And that’s only one tiny piece of what I do to get your body changing.  For instance, adding interval training greatly improves your results, as does the correct exercise choices and set/rep scheme.

Well… I was looking through some newly published studies (in preparation for my next seminar) and I found this…

McKay et al.
Effect of short-term high-intensity interval training vs. continuous training on O2 uptake kinetics, muscle deoxygenation, and exercise performance.J Appl Physiol. 2009 Jul;107(1):128-38. Epub 2009 May 14.

This study used 8 sessions of 8-12 intervals. The intervals were one minute hard, then one minute easy, repeat.

The “cardio” group did 8 sessions of 90-120 minutes steady-state exercise (like going on a treadmill or elliptical at an even pace)

To compare times: The interval group exercised 80 minutes over the 19 day study. The steady-state group exercised for 825 minutes.

As it turns out, the subjects had the SAME adaptations despite the interval group exercising for only a tenth of the time as the steady-state group.

If you know what you’re doing you can cut down your workout time by 90%!

Let me repeat: YOU CAN CUT YOUR WORKOUT TIME BY:

This proves the importance of following the right training program!

In my seminars I share studies that show:

• How one type of interval training burns 900% MORE abdominal fat than regular training…
• How ONE simple change in your eating makes the difference between losing thirteen pounds of fat or thirteen pounds of toned muscle…
• How endurance training makes NO change in your resting metabolism (where you burn most of your calories)
• That the addition of 45 minutes of hard aerobic training, 5 times a week for twelve weeks – has NO effect on fat loss!

Those are just a few of the things that my research and experience has shown me.

If you train with me, you’re great!  You’re following a proven, research-backed system that delivers incomparable results.

If you’re training in your own, don’t just “wing it”.  Do some research in publications that don’t have glossy covers and find out what REALLY works.

Here’s one of my favorite free research tools: http://www.PubMed.gov

All right, I’m going to get back to geeking out over some new studies, talk to you soon!

By Brad Pilon, MS
www.eatstopeat.com

Losing weight sounds simple but it can get confusing if you don’t know where to start. This is the top 5 most important things you can do to lose weight and keep it off.

Eat Less – This one sounds obvious but it can’t be stressed enough. The only way to lose weight is burn more calories than you consume. One easy way of doing this is eating less. As a matter of fact the only way any of the popular diets cause weight loss is because you end up eating less while you follow them. It doesn’t matter if the diet is low carb, high protein or low fat. As long as you are eating less calories than your basal requirement you will lose weight. The easiest and most effective calorie reducing system I have come across is detailed in my book Eat Stop Eat

Do High Intensity Exercise – High intensity whole body circuit training will ensure that you are burning lots of calories and working all the muscles in your body. This works better than traditional ‘cardio’ workouts for 2 reasons. First high intensity circuits burn more calories than ‘cardio’ can. Two, they build and tone muscle which keeps your metabolism up.

Get A Weight Loss Team – Social Support is the most important factor to realizing your weight loss goals. Get as many of your close friends and family on your side as possible. The more people that are pulling for your success the better. Make sure you always have at least two or three people to call that will help keep you on track when you feel like skipping a workout or cheating on your nutrition plan.

Eat more Fruits And Vegetables – This seems a bit simple but its one of the most effective things you can do to lose weight. Fruits and veggies take up lots of space in your stomach and fill you up without adding too many calories. They will also take the place of some high sugar and high trans fat foods you may have eaten instead.

Set Short Term Goals – Short term goal setting is often overlooked and is a powerful tool to realizing your eventual long term weight loss goal. Set multiple and attainable short term goals, and the shorter the better. At the start set goals for each day, morning evening and night. Set short term goals for finishing each one of your workouts, as well as for eating your fruits and vegetables. Set them each day, and mark it down each time you achieve one. As you build up your list of goals you have accomplished you will build up confidence and momentum towards your overall long term weight loss goal. Keep the list somewhere safe and keep marking down each goal as you achieve it. After a few weeks you should have a nice looking list of accomplishments to be proud of. Remember, every little bit counts.

Put these 5 strategies into effect and you will be well on your way to achieving your weight loss goals in record time.

****
Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over eight years experience working in the nutritional supplement industry specializing in clinical research management and new product development. Brad has completed graduate studies in nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss.

His trademarked book Eat Stop Eat has been featured on national television and helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat without sacrificing the foods they love. For more information on Eat Stop Eat, visit www.eatstopeat.com