How to burn belly fat first!
For years and years, we have all been told that one-off reduction is not possible. However, recent research could be saying something different.
As a body transformation coach, one of the number one areas that people want to ‘lose’ is the stomach. However, the problem is that most of those people are trying to get rid of belly fat by doing an infinite amount of sit-ups and sit-ups.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. Another way that people are trying to lose belly fat is by doing long and steady aerobic cardio. This is what the fitness industry has taught since the Arnold days and especially in the ’80s and’ 90s. Long cardio, however, has not proven to be totally effective in bringing everyone shredded six-packs.
In recent years, the tide has been turning to a training protocol called High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. HIIT is doing a short burst of high intensity activity at about 80-90% of your maximum effort (100% is the hardest you can do) and then ‘resting’ for a longer period of time at about 30 % of your maximum effort.
Keep in mind that your intensity at 100% might not be mine, for example. Mine is a full sprint. Yours can be a brisk walk.
Another thing you need to know about how to properly perform interval training is to consider the length of the “work” interval. If your ‘work’ interval is 30 seconds, then your 80% intensity should be able to withstand 30 seconds, but you shouldn’t be able to do it for much longer.
Steve Boucher, a fitness professional in Australia, presented some interesting findings in a research study he conducted on HIIT.
During a 15-week study, he had women do 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 cycling 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 it increased to 20 minutes in the sixth session (2 weeks).
This is what he found:
o The HIIT group lost 3 times MORE fat than the stable cardio group
o The HIIT group worked HALF of the steady state cardio group
o The aerobic fitness of the HIIT groups actually increased MORE than the steady state cardio group (26% and 19% respectively)
o The HIIT group lost a SIGNIFICANT amount of stomach fat
If you’re currently doing prolonged, steady-state cardio, you could be avoiding 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.
This is what I do with my clients.
If you are a beginner, you should shorten the duration of your high intensity intervals. Generally, most of my beginning clients do 15-20 second intervals at 80-90% of their maximum with 90-120 seconds of ‘rest’ at 30% of their maximum intensity. Normally, 5-6 intervals are enough to start.
Remember to always do a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down.
As you progress, all you have to do is lengthen the intervals. Perform 30-60 seconds in hard intervals with 30-120 ‘rest’ intervals. Do 6 to 8 intervals and you will lose belly fat in no time.