5 Ways to Burn More Body Fat

Question: I would prefer to avoid all conventional cardio training if possible. What lifting exercises can I do that more or less mimic cardio?

As long as you're not training for an endurance sport, it's more than feasible to replace traditional cardio with lifting. However, the exercises you choose, while important, are not the main factor in determining the cardiovascular training effect; the key is how you perform them. Follow these guidelines to turn your lifting program into a fat-burning frenzy.

Use Basic, Multijoint Exercises

Use squats, deadlifts, bench presses and bent-over rows to involve as much muscle mass as possible. Some non-traditional exercises used by strongman competitors, like the tire flip and farmers walk, are other great options.

Train Circuit Style

Alternate upper and lower body exercises to spread the fatigue to your entire body. Minimize rest between sets to keep your heart rate up and to force your body to switch from using the anaerobic energy system, which normally supplies energy for lifting, to the aerobic system.

Circuits Need to Last 2-5 Minutes

It takes two minutes for the aerobic system to kick in, so sets need to last at least that long. Use 6-8 exercises for 10 reps each with a controlled, even tempo. Each set should last about 45 seconds. At the end of the circuit, take a 2-3 minute rest; this will make the workout similar to interval training on the treadmill or bike. You will need 20-30 minutes of work time to see cardiovascular benefits, which translates into 6-10 circuits, three times per week

Reduce Weight 

Use lighter weight than you normally would when lifting for strength or mass in traditional fashion. And don't go to failure on each set, as this causes too much fatigue and likely won't allow you to complete the circuit. Choose a weight that will leave you 2-3 reps short of failure. You'll be able to gain strength and size with this rep range once your endurance and cardiovascular fitness improve.

Get Your Priorities Straight

If developing strength and size are your chief objectives (as opposed to burning fat), this style of training is probably not the best option for you. Straight sets are far more effective for those goals.

Cardio By Design

Style                 Full-body circuit
Circuits         6-10
Exercises per circuit 6-8
Reps per set         10
Frequency         3 times per week
Exercises         Multijoint exercises

 

Cut Fat Fast With Tabata Intervals

Japanese professor Izumi Tabata has become a household name in the world of fitness and high-performance training, thanks to his clinically tested, four-minute interval training system.

M&F: How effective is tabata at burning fat vs. higher-volume programs?
Professor Tabata: We haven’t done specific experiments on burning body fat. However, our research has looked at calorie burning. So we know that Tabata not only burns the same calories in four minutes as an hour of steady-state exercise (biking or jogging), but there’s also a significant “after burn” effect, where an additional 150 calories are being burned up to 12 hours after you leave the gym.

How is it possible to get in better aerobic shape with such short bouts of training? 
This is because the Tabata system stresses both the aerobic and the anaerobic systems maximally. Tabata training—if done correctly—is very demanding during that four minutes, and the body responds to this stress by rapidly increasing its capacity to increase oxygen uptake, which is the best measurement we have of fitness.

A standard Tabata circuit is four minutes long (broken up into intervals of 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest). How many Tabata circuits do you typically recommend someone do in a single workout to ensure that enough work is being done while also avoiding overtraining?
If you are doing Tabata correctly (and many people do not) you would only be able to ever do one round of it—and indeed you’d be unlikely to even finish that before complete exhaustion set in! So if you want to find out how to do it correctly, you will have to join us at tabataofficial.com.

M&F Modified Tabata

Tabata intervals are typically recommended for body-weight exercises and cardio activities like rowing and pedaling on a stationary bike. Many lifting exercises simply aren’t feasible with the Tabata method; the 10-second rest periods don’t always allow for enough recovery. That said, if you pick the right type of exercise and keep the weight light, you can effectively target a particular muscle group in Tabata fashion. We recommend machine-based exercises like Hammer Strength rows for back, machine overhead presses for shoulders, and machine curls for biceps. You might also try an isolation move for a larger muscle group—for example, machine flyes for chest or leg extensions for quads.

What if there was a health food that cleansed your blood, detoxified your liver, made your body more alkaline, built up your red blood cell count, contained 17 amino acids and 80 different enzymes, contained all known minerals, oxygenated your body systems, and provided a good boost of energy? Wouldn’t you want an ounce or two?

Wheatgrass juice, also called “liquid sunshine” is a superfood made up of 70% chlorophyll. It is about as close as you can come to hemoglobin, the compound in your blood that carries oxygen. It’s easy to digest (taking less than 5 minutes), and it can provide a boost of energy much more healthful than downing a can of Red Bull or any other energy drink.

Wheatgrass is unique. It builds and destroys simultaneously. It builds up your immunity and your red blood cell count, while it destroys (or neutralizes) toxins. It purifies and cleanses while strengthening and providing super-charged nutrition.

If you’re ready and raring to go on a wheatgrass juice kick, have at it, but know that you should start slowly. Wheatgrass juice can have an effect on some people almost immediately, so it is recommended that you ease into your new habit of healthy wheatgrass shots. A single ounce is plenty to get you started. Any more than that can cause you to become nauseated or give you a case of the trots (diarrhea). For the stout of heart, you can take two ounces, but work up to over a period of a couple of weeks, at least. Because of the many enzymes it contains, wheatgrass juice goes to work almost immediately, and if your system is the least bit toxic, it may do too good a job in eliminating those toxins.

One of the more noted pioneers of the use of wheatgrass juice was Anne Wigmore. Over a period of about three decades, Ann helped people recover from all types of chronic illnesses, including cancer by concentrating on regimens of raw foods and wheatgrass juice. She founded a health resort in the United States in the year 1968 called the Ann Wigmore Foundation, which was renamed the Hippocrates Health Institute after her death. While living, Ann was given the title of “the mother of living foods.”

One of the popular contemporary theories of disease is based on inflammation. Wheatgrass juice contains P4D1, a “gluco-protein” that acts like an antioxidant, reducing inflammation. There are a myriad of maladies that wheatgrass has been used to treat. Among those diseases and conditions that people have treated with wheatgrass juice are skin disorders, digestive disorders, arthritis, asthma, insomnia, kidney stones, ulcerative colitis, cancer, fatigue, allergies, diabetes, urinary tract infections, and many others.

If you’re ready for some wheatgrass, “the ultimate blood purifier,” you have the option of sprouting some of your own homegrown specimens or buying a swill of it every day at your local health food store. Wheatgrass is one of the more popular seeds for sprouting, and it is quite simple to grow on your own at home.

7 Ways to Torch Your Tri's

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Triceps account for roughly two-thirds of your upper arm mass. So why in the name of Arnold do you spend so much more time blasting your biceps? If your true aim is to start using more tape measure around your arms, then you’re going to need to attack your tri’s with greater intensity. And once you’ve made that commitment, it’s time to refine your strategy.

Our expert panel offers its collective wisdom on coaxing the most growth out of this muscle group. But you can forget about hearing another cozy prescription for a few extra sets of pressdowns – these guys are going to help you push your triceps to their breaking point so you can get the bulbous, sickly-striated finish that you’ve always wanted.

Click here to join Stephen

Body Shredding Burpees

When an exercise becomes a CrossFit staple, it means two things: 1) The move is an effective test of both strength and conditioning, and 2) enough crossfitters struggle with it that it’s sure to increase the intensity of just about any workout.

Burpees are one of the most notorious CrossFit staples because they fit this bill: Even dyed-in-the- wool CrossFitters are wary when they see them in a workout. This dynamic movement tests your strength, muscular endurance, and coordination, and taxes your chest, tris, quads, core, and hip flexors. 

There are a few different approaches to burpees, but the CF standard form is: 1) Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart. 2) Drop into a squat, driving your hips back and down while reaching for the ground in front of you with your arms. 3) Transfer your weight to your hands, kick your feet back, and land in the top of a pushup position. 4) Immediately bring your feet back under you— ideally you can shoot your feet up in between your hands, with your legs almost extended. Jump vertically to finish the movement, then immediately begin the next rep.

Do a few at a moderate pace to get comfortable. Then step on the gas.

The more burpees you can do in a shorter period of time, the higher you’ll jack up your heart rate, and the more fat you’ll burn.

Workout Tips: 

>>You’ll often see burpees programmed in WODs with a ton of reps in a row. I like to use them in a couplet; for example, a seven- minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of 5 power cleans at 135, plus 10 burpees.

>>You can also directly combine burpees with other movements— for example, burpee box jumps or burpee pull-ups.

>>Try throwing burpees into your normal routine. For example, put a set of burpees in between regular lifts, to build muscle endurance.

>>If you’re traveling and don’t have access to a gym, you can always hit 100 burpees for time in your hotel room for a quick workout that provides results.

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How to Deal With Sternum Pain

WHAT YOU DID: While performing dips, you felt a sharp pain in your breastbone, which runs down the center of your chest, between your pecs.

WHAT YOU FEEL: There’s tenderness and discomfort where your ribs attach to your sternum. It may begin as a dull pain but can turn sharp with movement. It may hurt when breathing or coughing.

THE DIAGNOSIS

Costochondritis—inflammation of the cartilage that attaches a rib to the breastbone. It can be caused by heavy lifting, strenuous exercise, upper respiratory infection, or sustaining a sharp blow to the chest.

THE TREATMENT

*See your doctor first to rule out any possible cardiac issues. When the pain begins to subside, perform the program below in the following sequence.

1. Doorway Pec Stretch

Stand in a doorway with one arm raised to your side at shoulder height. Bend your el- bow and place your palm on the frame. Gently lean forward until you begin to feel a stretch. Hold 10 seconds, then switch arms. Perform three sets.

2. Swiss Ball Isometric Squeeze

Hold a ball with your arms fully outstretched. Now gently hug it into your body with your arms, making sure you feel a contraction in your chest. Perform three sets of 5- to 10-second holds.

3. Swiss Ball Walkout

Lie with the ball under your chest. Slowly walk your hands forward on the floor until the ball is at your hips. Pick your hands up—do not drag them—then walk your hands back. Perform 10 reps.

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Best Muscle-Building Supplements for Beginners

Confused about what muscle-building supplements you should start with? M&F ranks the best choices for beginners.

Young bodybuilders know they need to start someplace when it comes to supplementation, but it’s often hard to figure out where—and how much to spend. The first two rules to help you get the most from your supplements are to make sure your training and nutrition are on target:

1) You should weight train no more than four times a week for no longer than 75 minutes a session as a beginner. More than this and you’re overtraining, tearing your body down more (and faster) than it can recover between workouts.

2) For nutrition, you should consume several meals a day—up to six or seven, getting in plenty of protein (at least 20 grams) per meal, striving to eat a total of at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day—even on rest days.

Once you’re following these basic rules, you’re ready to make the most of beginning supplementation. Here’s what we recommend, ranked in order:

1) Use a whey protein supplement before and after workouts.

Whey protein is one of the fastest-digesting protein sources. This means it’s readily absorbed by your body so that it can get to work promoting recovery and muscle-building from your training and providing amino acids during workouts to support training and physiological processes that support muscle-building (such as delivering oxygen and nutrients to hard training muscles). The good news is that whey protein products can be found in different price ranges, and you can use them as your budget allows to supplement your whole-food protein intake.

What you should take: A whey protein shake before and after workouts. You can take in up to about ¼ gram of protein per pound of bodyweight at each meal. This means a 200-pounder can take in 50 grams of whey protein before and 50 grams after weight-training sessions. A 160-pounder should target up to 40 grams before and after workouts.

2) Consume fast-digesting carbs before and after workouts.

One mistake many beginners make is to overemphasize protein at the expense of carbs—either dietary or supplemental. But carbs are essential to fueling muscle growth because they help promote recovery, driving nutrients to your muscles. Fast-digesting carbs such as sugar should be consumed before and after workouts. You can also take supplemental forms of carbs such as Vitargo, or a hardgainer shake that has carbs in it. As far as the type of sugar you should consume: dextrose is the best option (it’s a specific type of glucose), or sucrose, otherwise known as table sugar. Fructose, especially high-fructose corn syrup, is less desirable than other forms of sugar or carbs that are typically found in carb-based supplements.

What you should take: A good rule of thumb for beginners is to match the amount of protein and carbs you consume before and after workouts. That means getting in about 100 grams of carbs for a 200-pounder, split evenly before and after workouts. And don’t shy away from whole-food carbs such as starches (whole-grain breads and pasta), and slow-digesting carbs (oatmeal, yams and brown rice) at other times of day. The only exception is to cut back on carbs before bedtime as they’re more readily stored as body fat at this time of day.