We all know the infamous “belly pooch” – that little bit of fat around the lower abs and obliques just will not go away. If you’re like me, you’ve tried everything and anything including crash diets, intense workout plans, and supplements. Fortunately for you, all of that can end here and now. There are three essential steps to burning fat, while maintaining and gaining muscle:
1. Fasted Training
The idea of “fasted training” may give the impression that you should starve yourself, but that isn’t the case at all. However, it has been proven that working out on an empty stomach (not eating at least six hours beforehand) gives the body a boost and helps you burn fat faster. Many people are obsessed with the idea of losing weight, but the focus needs to be placed on decreasing body fat percentage (BFP). Ultimately, when you want to get in shape what really matters isn’t how much you weigh when you step on a scale, it’s whether or not you like what you see when you take a look in the mirror. More often than not, that has to do with your BFP. Get up, take some supplements if you’re feeling it, hit the gym, and you can destroy some breakfast after.
2. High-Intensity Interval Cardio (HIIT)
Traditionally, people have preached that low-intensity cardio, such as a long jog, is the most effective strategy for losing weight. They aren’t wrong, but that doesn’t align with the goals of pulverizing our belly pooches. Most people do lose weight quickly when they do low-intensity cardio exercises, but they aren’t losing fat as fast as those who are doing HIIT. Research shows that doing just four to six thirty-second sprints burns more fat over time than sixty minutes of incline treadmill walking (one of the staples of “bodybuilding cardio”). Hop on that treadmill and get sprinting, because those twenty minutes of interval training will go a long way.
3. Heavy Weightlifting
A lot of people are skeptical about getting into the weight room, especially women. Women often worry that by lifting they will get big or bulky and end up looking like a female bodybuilder. That isn’t true at all unless the bodybuilder look is in fact your goal. Weightlifting is actually a bad way to lose weight, but it is fantastic when you’re trying to burn fat and maintain muscle. If you don’t lift while training to burn fat, you’ll end up burning little to none. Then, you’ll be skinny fat. No one wants to be skinny fat.
Training regimen and diet planning varies from person to person, but if you follow these three cardinal rules listed above, you will achieve results.
