That's the question on the top of everybody's tongue. How Long Does It REALLY take to Burn Fat? How long does it really take to change your body and your life? When was the last time you went a day without thinking about your own fat loss adventure, talking with somebody about how they so desperately want to be in better shape or even overheard someone talking about finally getting in shape? It's everywhere. Fat loss really is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Which needless to say, begs the next question; if so many of us are consumed by fat loss, then why are so many of us fat and unhappy with our body?
So you made a New Years Resolution. You plucked up the courage to take out a gym membership. Everyday right? Everyday until this god awful fat is burned from your bones. Right? Nonsense. You might be full of good intention right now but research shows that just 8% of people actually achieve their new years goals. Yes, that does mean that a whopping 92% of people give up and actually go backwards. Not to worry though, there's always next new year, right? I mean it's just 11 months away. You really should excuse the facetious nature of what I'm saying. I really only want to help.
I keep a membership at a local gym to keep myself up to date and current with all the problems every day people are having when it comes to changing their body. I like to know how people work out to lose fat and more importantly I like to see them six and 12 weeks down the line and note their progress. Or, more often than not their 10 steps backwards.
Here are three problems with your workout's and why they're actually making you fatter;
#1 You Spend Too Long in The Gym
How long do you really work out for? I mean you probably spend at least an hour at the gym right? How much of that is REALLY working out? How long do you spend sucking for air wishing the world would cave in around you? Although I wouldn't blame you for feeling like that after an hour in the gym pounding the treadmill. If you go to a gym you should be in and out in 40 minutes or less. I'd even argue 20 minutes. Seriously, that's all you need. My own fat burning workout lasted just eight minutes yesterday. EIGHT MINUTES.
If you could spend twenty minutes in the gym, and work your a** off for ten of those minutes, don't you think that would be better than an hour of spinning your wheels, barely working your body at all? Seriously, all you're really doing is draining your battery of willpower. I'll have a killer fat burning workout for you in a minutes so keep reading.
#2 All You Do Is Cardio
You want to burn fat right? Is cardio wrong? No, absolutely not. Anyone that tells you otherwise is close minded. The real question is are you getting the best bang for your buck with long, boring cardio? Probably not. You see, when you combine resistance training with high intensity work your body doesn't know what hit it. You're forcing your body to react to elevating your metabolism to heights it hasn't seen in years. You've heard of EPOC, right? No, OK well, you don't need to know the long of it, but, in short EPOC is when your body continues to burn calories while you're sitting down in front of the TV doing nothing. How awesome is that? Essentially your body is repaying the oxygen loaned to it from your fat burning workout in the form of calories. Sounds good eh?
#3 You avoid the weights section
The weights section is just for men, isn't that right? No, I meant the weights section is just for fit men, right? Look, I like walking into the weights section of a gym to walking into your girlfriends parents house for the first time. Everybody has their eyes on you, and you're sweaty and nervous. Oh, but it worked out fine in the end didn't it? I mean, her family thought you were OK. Well, as OK as you can be with your quiet, submissive personality on that first day. The only difference at the gym is this; NOBODY cares about you. We're all there to do our own thing. We're all interested in one thing and that's ourselves. I'll bet nobody bats an eyelid tomorrow when you take that bold step into the 'man's section'.
Here's why you need to get down there though; weight training is going to help you add more muscle to your body. But you're trying to lose weight, not gain it you're thinking. That's true. Adding muscle is awesome though. For every extra pound of muscle you add to your frame your body will burn approximately 50 calories while sitting down, at rest. doing nothing. Zilch. Nada. Of course that figure will vary greatly from person to person but the point still stands; let's say I clicked my figures and gave you 10 pounds of muscle, here's what will happen;
10 pounds x 50 calories = 500 calories per day
500 x 7 = 3500 calories per week.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, 3500 calories amounts to about a pound of fat. How would you like to burn fat without having to do any work? Sounds like you're on to a winner champ.
Your Fat Burning Workout
Burn Fat In Under 12 Minutes (from home)
1) Push Up - 45 seconds
2) Jumping Jacks - 45 seconds
3) Mountain Climber - 45 seconds (alternating sides)
4) Burpee - 45 seconds
5) Plank - 45 seconds
6) Burpee OR Total Body Extension - 45 seconds
- Go through the circuit one to two times with no rest between exercises.
- Rest 30 seconds at the end of the circuit.
Closing Thoughts
Stop wasting your time. Stick to your goals they're so achievable. You just need to know how. Remember, your reserve of will power isn't as high as you might think. It's like a battery, it runs out. The fastest way to make it run out is by spending too much time at the gym and NOT seeing the fat loss results you deserve.
Remember, it doesn't have to be difficult to REALLY Burn Fat.