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Truth is, you don't need to
work out obsessively to get a slender, slim body. Would you believe that
you can turn almost any activity into a serious fat-melting session!
Today we'll show you 19 fat
busters that will help you knock off more calories during your workouts and
make every extracurricular minute count toward melting those love handles.
Incorporate it into your
everyday life and...
"Burn Fat To Get In The Best Shape Ever! (tm)"
1. Run errands.
Literally. Walking briskly while lugging dry cleaning burns about 120 - 180
calories in 30 minutes, twice as many as driving does.
2. Blast your
biggest muscles. The more muscle
you have, the more calories you'll burn--even just sitting around. A study
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women who pumped
iron upped their burn-off by 300 calories a day. If fat burning is your
goal, focus on building the muscles that consume the most calories, like
your butt, thighs, and chest -- don't bother with smaller muscles, like
triceps or calves, that have less impact.
3. Fidget
frequently. Research has shown that
"spontaneous physical activity" like tapping toes and fussing with hands
blasts off up to 800 extra calories per day. Wow!
4. Power up.
To kill off more calories each aerobic workout, increase the speed or
intensity. For example, if you run on a treadmill, up the speed or raise
the incline. The calorie difference: Running 30 minutes at 5.2 mph burns
266 calories; 6.7 mph bums 325. Adding hills ups the count another 50
calories.
5. Rock out.
Music is a great motivator. Studies show that exercisers who tune in to
music work out 25 percent longer.
6. Trek to the
toilet. Instead of going to the
closest bathroom at work, take the stairs to another floor. Every minute
you climb kills seven calories. This may be a challenge at times, but you
reap the benefits.
7. Warm up, cool
down. Even the most dedicated
exercisers skip the warm-up and cool-down (it's too "boring," they say).
Even though you're moving slowly, you're still burning calories: A swimmer,
for instance, can wipe out an extra 90 calories - the equivalent of a
couple of Oreos -- if she does a 10-minute warm-up and cool down.
8. Munch more
often. You need calories to burn
calories. When you go hours without food, your body goes on starvation
alert and slows its metabolism to conserve energy so you use fewer
calories. Feel free to eat between meals. Remember, BALANCE. Plain low-fat
or nonfat yogurt, nutrition bar or protein shake.
9. Do it
CORRECTLY. Using poor technique
on a cardio machine reduces the number of calories burned. The most common
blunder: stair-stepper sloppiness. When you lean on the handrails, your
legs don't have to carry as much weight, so you don't expend as much effort
as you should. For maximum flab-busting, stay upright and only use the
handrails for balance.
10. Squat before
you shower. How about a little
creativity? Stand in front of the toilet, rest one foot on the lid, and
grab a towel rack or sink for balance. Squat 15 times, switch legs, and
repeat. One-legged squats can be more effective than two-legged squats,
because you're making ONE leg do all the work.
11. Pace yourself.
No, don't become a nervous wreck. Always on the move, pacers continually
tap their fat reserves. If you're not a natural pacer, schedule a
five-minute walk break every hour. You could burn about 100 extra calories
if you work a full eight-hour day.
12. Two-step it.
Obviously, forgoing elevators in favor of stairs bumps up your calorie
expenditure, but did you know that taking the stairs two at a time burns 55
percent more calories than single stepping?
13. Use interval
sprints. Adding short turbo bursts
of speed to a cardio workout will net you a bigger calorie payoff. Throw in
10 sprints during a cycling session and you'll bum an extra 120 calories.
To do: Go at your usual moderate pace for two minutes, then speed up
for one minute. Slow back down to your regular pace for two minutes, and
then speed up again for a minute. Keep repeating. Great for when you're
pressed for time but want to get the most from a cut-short workout.
14. MAKE your meals
yourself. Commit to kitchen time.
Give up your blender and pick up a whisk. Instead of an electric can
opener, use the manual kind. Just spending an hour cooking burns about 150
calories.
15. Pump and Jump.
Mixing strength training with cardiovascular exercise (called circuit
training) can more than double your workout's calorie-burning payoff. Start
with five minutes on a cardiovascular machine, move on to a strength
exercise, then return to cardio for a couple of minutes. Continue
alternating cardio and strength exercises, finishing up with five minutes
of cardio.
16. Clean your
home. Vacuuming, mopping, dusting,
sweeping, scrubbing floors, making beds -- they don't just eliminate dirt,
they k.o. calories. In fact,housework melts away 200 calories an hour.
(This may be a tough one for you men, but I found out over the last couple
of weeks... you're definitely workin'!)
17. Split 'em.
Instead of doing a longer, 40-60 minute aerobic workout (when many of you
complain you "don't have time"), split them into two mini aerobic workouts
-- 20-30 minutes in the A.M. and 20-30 minutes in the P.M. Exercise boosts
your metabolism for a few hours afterward, so you stand to burn MORE
calories by splitting your workout up.
18. Del aqua
(that's Italian). Staying hydrated helps you work out longer, thus burn
more calories. Even a 1% drop in bodyweight through weight loss is enough
to fatigue your body AND your mind, which means you're more likely to quit
before your workout is complete.
19. Perfect
posture. Never lie your down when
you can sit, sit when you can stand, or slouch when you can stand up
straight with your abdomen pulled in. You're making yourself work to
maintain proper posture, so that extra effort is burning some more
calories.
(By Garrett J.
Braunreiter, CSCS, The Energy Coach)
This article was provided by
http://WeightLossGold.com. Visit their site for proven tips on burning
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