Apr 10
3
10 Minute Fat Burning Workout
Who Likes The Appearance Of Excess Body Fat?
I’m guessing that you workout or do some sort of exercise. I’ll go one step further and say that you workout to look good. Yes, there are all the other benefits to exercise but the main motivation for the majority of people is to have a more attractive body. This is the reason you see so many people with toned and chiseled bodies walking around, right? Oh wait a minute. When was the last time you saw someone in the gym or running through a park with a great body? It’s pretty rare. If you go to the gym on a regular basis you may have noticed people spending a lot of time on the cardio machines. In fact you might see the same few people pounding away on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes, then hopping on the elliptical machine for another 20 minutes, this goes on week after week, month after month. Yet they still look the same.
So, Why Do So Few Active People Have Toned, Sculpted Bodies
Well we know that exercise burns calories, so the logic is do more exercise, burn more calories. Unfortunately it’s not quite that simple. In my experience it comes down to a number of factors. Mainly diet and the type of exercise you do, in this case the type of cardio you do. People think it’s the amount of time you put in doing cardio. The time is important, but not in the way you think.
The Key To Losing Body Fat Is Intensity
Intensity is the key difference in seeing change. If you were to jog on a treadmill at a moderate pace with little or no change in tempo, you would be doing what is known as “steady state” cardio. Steady state cardio has it’s place when used correctly, which I will cover in a future post, but it’s not the most effective for burning excess fat. This type of cardio may help you get results, but you will usually be left with soft muscle rather than firm sculpted looking muscles.
Think of a marathon runner. They can run for hours, but their bodies are very skinny and not particularly firm. Now picture a sprinter. They have sculpted bodies with excellent muscle tone. Given the choice I think most people would find a sprinter’s body more attractive. So what is the difference? A sprinter runs for a very short time, but runs at full intensity for that time. This trains the body to build strong muscle for explosive strength for short intervals of intensity.
Which do you think looks more appealing?
How Does This Effect Fat Burning Potential
The more lean muscle you have the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Your RMR is the amount of calories burned when at rest, or not being active. Simple put, muscle burns fat. Sprinters have more lean muscle than marathon runners so they will burn more fat. I’m going to get a bit technical here real quick. Short intense burst of exercise followed by a period of rest will stimulate type 2 strength muscle fibers. Whereas long periods of activity at a steady pace targets type 1 endurance fibers. This is the difference between sprinters and marathon runners.
You Can Use This Approach To Burn Fat
As we can see short bursts of intensity followed by rest will stimulate strength muscle fibers which will cause an increase in lean muscle, and muscle burns fat. To use this knowledge to your advantage you need to do short bursts of intensive exercise followed by a short rest period, followed by another intense burst and repeat this for a set time. This type of exercise is known as high intensity interval training (HIIT). When done correctly you should be able to burn off body fat and stimulate muscle activity.
10 Minute Routine To Burn Body Fat
This is the routine I use and have had great success with. The great thing about this routine is that you can do it anywhere. The gym, at home, a park, on holidays, etc. And it’s very time efficient, just 10 minutes.
- You will need a visible clock or stop watch to time the intervals correctly.
- A space that allows you extend the full length of your body.
- A bottle of water.
- And a towel.
You are going to be pushing yourself hard for 60 seconds then rest 30 seconds. Alternating between high and low intensity for 10 minutes. The exercises can be done in any order. Just make sure you are doing 60 seconds of high intensity followed by 30 seconds of rest.
*High Knees – 30 seconds
*Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds
Rest – 30 seconds
*Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds
*Burpees – 30 seconds
Rest – 30 seconds
Repeat the above routine for 10 minutes.
*High Knees – Basically running in place while raising your knees high as if you where sprinting.
*Mountain Climbers – Place your hands flat on the ground with arms straight. Extend your legs behind you, resting in your toes. Draw your right knee toward your chest, then extend to start position as you draw your left knee toward your chest. Alternate at a fast pace.
*Jumping Jacks – No explanation needed.
*Burpees – Standing tall, bend knees and place hands flat on the ground. Supporting your weight on your arms, extend your legs straight out behind you, pause briefly then rapidly draw your knees back in to your chest and jump up tall raising your arms to the ceiling. (See the image at the top of this post).
If you find it easier you could just do one of the above exercises, (lets say burpees), for 60 seconds, rest 30 seconds, burpees 60 seconds, etc.
How Often And When You Should Use This Routine
You can do this 2-3 days per week. Ideally at the end of your workout. This type of workout is intense and you really have to work hard for the 60 second burst. This is the only way you will see results. I would use HIIT for a number of weeks, then take a break from it for a few weeks to avoid over training.
If you are new to exercise or getting back into training you may need to start off with a less intense introduction to interval training. Check out my High Intensity Interval Training Routine For Beginners post.
