Are you one of the millions of people trying to lose weight? If you are looking for a quick fix, this is definitely not the right place. Before I go into the details, it is important to note that to sustainably lose and keep weight off, you should make fitness a lifestyle. So if you are looking for a starvation or waist trainer solution, I will not be the right person to help.
That said, how can you make fitness a lifestyle but make your workouts as effective as possible? Here are a few tips to help:
- You need both strength training and cardio. Many women seem to be scared to lift weights and many men seem to only want to lift weights. Guess what? Cardio (e.g. running, swimming, cycling, etc.) is effective to burn excess energy, but strength training (e.g. lifting, crunches, etc.) allows the body to continue to burn that energy while in a state of rest. Also, strength training gives you the definition that you don't get from doing just cardio.
- High intensity interval training (HIIT) is more effective to lose weight than moderate intensity. First off, what is HIIT? HIIT is a form of exercise where you continuously spike up your heart rate by going very intense for a few seconds and then bringing your heart rate down. This back and forth actually gets you to burn more than when you don't go very hard. So if you are looking to lose weight, I recommend incorporating about 2 HIIT days into your routine each week.
- Get some rest. It may sound counter-intuitive, but you do not burn fat effectively by going super duper hard every single day. You have to mix your workout intensity, and you have to sleep. The muscle fibers you tear during your workouts are actually built up during your rest time.
Now that you have these tips, what are you going to do differently?