Fat Loss Tips from "Philly Mania"

Every year, I attend "Philadelphia Mania," a fitness convention sponsored by SCW, the organization in which I am certified through for Private Training.

    It's two days of a variety of lunges, planks, and push-ups, and squats from every possible angle. I keep up with current trends in the industry, keep my certification current, and get some great workouts, on top of it!

    This year's keynote speaker was Len Kravitz, Ph. D (the Canadian college professor, not the singer!). I also attended one of his workshops, entitled "The 12 Truths of Fat Loss."

    As this is a relevant topic with most people, I will share some salient points from the presentation.

  Truth #1: The warm-up makes a difference in Calorie Burning, A warm-up increases blood flow to the muscles, which increases muscle contraction, leads to earlier sweating, and regulates the body's temperature. A warm-up can be easy cardio or a variety of arm swings, twists, and kicks. Just get the juices flowing!

   Truth #2: Moving More During the Day is a Must! Adults and children spend 70% of their day in sedentary activities. Simply sit less, and move more!

    Truth # 3: Early morning exercisers should eat a Light Breakfast. A relevant study showed that those who eat a  light breakfast consisting of approximately 55% carbs, 20% protein, and 25% fat burned more total and fat calories in a 36-minute run than those who did it on an empty stomach. Find out foods work for you, to avoid stomach distress.

    Truth # 4: Eat low glycemic food, pre- and post-workout: High glycemic carbohydrates (examples: bagels, crackers, or raisins) raise blood glucose and insulin, which inhibits fat burning. Alternative low gylcemic foods include apples and apple products, cherries, dates, figs, and skim milk. Medium glycemic? bananas, rice, corn, and pasta. Check nutritional journals for a more complete list, and keep that fat-burning engine going!

   Truth # 5: Do More fast continuous exercise: Biking, elliptical, treadmill, rowing, whatever you prefer! Work at a maximal steady state pace, which means you can say "hello," "how are you," and "can't wait until I'm done with this machine!" Any more conversation that that, and you are "sub-max!'

    Truth # 6: Try Split Training: This is 2-4 sessions of intense exercise (15-20 minutes each), separated by 5 minutes of very easy movement. This all can be done on one machine, of course, but for variety, and to emphasize different muscle groups, try mixing up cardio machines when doing this workout! Whatever is your priority, keep that as the last one, to pump it out as hard as you can!

    Truth #7: Strength training does burn fat!: Great news for those who love the weights. Do multi-joint exercises using the major muscle groups. Do three sets of ten of six varied exercises, to work as many muscle groups as possible. Keep the workload where numbers eight-ten are a struggle to achieve, and rest 90 seconds between sets (about the time it takes to move from machine to machine in a gym).

    Truth #8: High-Intensity Circuits Work!: There are many different recipes for this, but simply: Combine short bursts on a cardio machine (up to three minutes, at the most) with three sets of a strength exercise, then jump back on the cardio for another short, intense burst. Repeat three or four times, and only rest 30 seconds after each set on the strength training.   

    Truth #9: High Volume Interval Training (for serious exercisers only!): Popularized by Pavoo Nurmi, a Finnish Gold Medal Olympic runners, nearly 100 years ago. He did six, 400-meter runs, at at nearly all-out speed. What did he follow that with? A "recovery run," of 6-12 miles. How does the average exerciser modify this? Try six one-minute all-out bursts on the bike, with a minute recovery. Then do 45-60 minutes on the bike, at about 60% of your hear rate max. 

    Truth #10: Intervals, at varying intensity (VIIT) are also great: This is an other inspired by an Olympic gold-medal runner. Base these on your all-out mile time. Do sets of 200-meter runs (half a lap) at 98-115% of your mile time. I'm probably around a six-minute mile at this point of my life, so my intervals would be anywhere from 44 to 51 seconds, and I would recover for about a minute. Try for 12 total, with a slow quarter-mile walk after the first six. This is another one for experienced runners only!

    Truth # 11: Exercise is the best prevention for weight regain: A direct quote from the American College of Sports Medicine (2009): "Consistent physical activity is the BEST predictor of sustained weight management after weight loss."

     Truth #12: For optimal fat loss, combine Interval Training with Steady State: I would add that this is best for cardiovascular performance in general. Intervals and steady runs have different, positive effects on the body's chemistry. Doing all intervals can cause too much stress on the joints and lead to injuries. Slow, steady runs obviously build up your endurance, but don't increase your speed or explosive power. Also, never get your brain used to just one type of training. Variety is best for adherence, fat loss, and performance!