Fat Melting Intervals

In one of my recent posts I mentioned that if you are short of time and can only do three, half hour, sessions per week that one of these sessions should be an interval sprint session.

Now running doesn’t agree with a lot of people (neither do I for that matter!!) so the sprint session doesn’t just have to be running. What we want to do is get the heart rate and intensity elevated quite high and then have a rest. So you can do this on the track, in the pool, on a bike or if you’re mad : burpees! It doesn’t really matter what the input is as long as the output is high.

These sprint/interval type sessions have been shown in a lot of research that it can be up to NINE TIMES more effective for fat loss over steady state or endurance training.

Put in the extra effort and you will have your body’s metabolism revved up for 24-36 hours after you have left the gym.

Just a quick word of caution though. Don’t go overboard with this type of training. Too much of a good thing can easily make it bad (think red wine). If you overdo these intervals (more than say three times per week) then you run the risk of injury and burning out. Incorporate it with the rest of your training and you’ll be fine.

Here are a few quick samples of how to set up your session. Remember that you need to do a proper warm up prior to going crazy at it.

Session One

2 minute warm up (specific to your task after your general warm up)

30 seconds hard (8-9/10 Perceived Rate of Excursion)  : 90 seconds easy (3-4/10) x 8

3 minute cool down

Session Two

2 minute warm up (specific to your task after your general warm up)

120 seconds hard (7/10)  : 120 seconds easy (4-5/10) x 4

3 minute cool down

Session Three (specific to your task after your general warm up)

2 minute warm up

60 seconds hard (8/10)  : 120 seconds easy (5/10) x 6

3 minute cool down

Try to increase your intensity with each session either by increasing the level or the speed on the hard section of the interval. You will be rewarded with a new level of fitness and a leaner, toned body.

Do you have a favourite sprint or interval session that you do? Let us know about it in the comment section below.

10 Food Rules for Fat Loss

1. Eat breakfast everyday no matter what. If you don’t have time in the morning, make something the night before.

2. Aim to get zero calories from liquids. This means you will be drinking water and green tea most of the time. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different teas, both hot and cold, to find one you like. Avoid any pre-made teas that have added sugar, ideally you will brew your own but if not go for an unsweetened variety.

3. Get some quality protein with every meal. Protein can come from a variety of sources as discussed here, so you might just need to try something different.

4. Eat at least one non starchy vegetable (ideally two or more) with each meal. If you find this too much try to substitute some berries instead. Failing this grab a piece of fruit.

5. Don’t eliminate fats altogether, instead make sure you get a serve or two of good fats with each meal. These will add flavor but in moderation will make your fat loss easier.

6. Take your fish oil. If you aren’t allergic to fish oil then you have no excuse for not taking it. Bang for buck, cost versus effectiveness, there is nothing better for your overall health (and fat loss) than 3-5 grams of fish oil per day.

7. Get a food diary, and write in it!! It blows me away the number of people that have a food diary with nothing in it. Makes no sense at all. So just start writing everything down and then make the improvements from there.

8. Eat something at least every 3 hours. Ideally this would be something that has all of the above covered (vegetables, good protein, good fat) but something will be better than nothing in terms of keeping your metabolism kicking over and reducing the risk of overeating later in the day.

9. Aim for 80% or better compliance with your eating. This means of the 6 or so meals you are eating every day (every 3 hours remember) 4.8, lets call it 5, want to be ticking all the boxes. Thats per day, per week it 34/42. So don’t be getting down on yourself if you miss a meal, or don’t get a meal 100% right, just move on and try to improve next time.

10. Last but definitely not least, only eat food that tastes great. There are so many great tasting foods and recipes that are actually good for you that there is little reason to be eating ‘health’ food that doesn’t taste any good. As an added bonus you are way more likely to actually eat these foods if you like them. Not rocket science exactly but often overlooked.

Don’t forget to read my ‘Eating Made Simple‘ series which goes into a bit more detail about points 3, 4 and 5.

My guaranteed formula to get fat.

Enough with the boring ‘I want to lose fat, get in shape, look good, feel good and be healthy’ rubbish. That’s not for everyone. Maybe you want to be overweight, unhealthy and lethargic. Never fear, I have the solution. Read on to say goodbye to your slim waistline forever!

Skip Breakfast

Not only will this help slow down your metabolism, but studies have shown that people who skip breakfast will overcompensate with calories later in the day. By skipping ‘the most important meal of the day’ you are also more likely to eat foods which have a higher sugar and fat content (read junk food). Skipping breakfast and overeating rubbish for the rest of the day is a surefire way to pack on the pounds.

Eat a large, high carb meal late in the day

What’s better than loading up the body with a heap of heavy, dense carbs before you go to bed? Sure, I hear you, but you’re not that active in bed! By giving your body a swag load of these carbs (think pasta, rice, potato, biscuits, cake) and then hitting the hay, you body will have no excuse but to store the extra energy right on your belly.

Drink alcohol regularly

Looking to hide that six pack under a layer of belly fat? No AF days here. Get on the grog, and there’s no need to be picky either. Beer is great, so are those sugary alco pops. And just think of all the antioxidants you will be getting from downing a bottle or two of red wine! Of course there are the extra calories that are going to add layers to your waistline, but this magic bullet will also decrease muscle building hormones. Less muscle means more fat. Let’s toast to that.

Eat infrequently

You can pick up any glossy celeb mag these days touting the success of ‘X’ celebrity that has made radical changes to their body. 9/10 times the author will cite eating ’smaller, more frequent meals.’ Trust me on this, if you want to get fat, you need to smash massive amounts of calories (ideally from high fat, high carb foods and plenty of liquor) on one or two meals. If you do this your body will slow itself down and hold onto all the energy you give it. Perfect formula for getting your waist measurement up.

Now let’s be honest. You don’t want to be fat, I don’t want to be fat, and I don’t want you to be fat. But if one of your goals is to lose fat you are only going to be successful if your actions match this goal. If you are doing any one of the four habits mentioned above you are sabotaging your efforts in getting leaner. If you are doing two or more, then its time to have a good hard look at what you are trying to achieve. Keep it simple. Eat breakfast (everyday), limit heavy carbs, pass on the alcoholic drinks and eat every 2-3 hours.

Take action today.

James