Your answer is with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). The HIIT principle is the best way to burn fat without doing long “steady-state” cardio. HIIT is a very effective training technique used to decrease body fat, increase speed, increase VO2 Max, and do all this in less than 35 minutes. The days of doing “steady-state” cardio to get more fit, burn fat and lose weight, are over. Adding in just 20-30 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training allows your body to stay out of the “steady-state” allowing you to burn more total calories in less time. This high intensity training raises your heart rate faster and raises your metabolism longer after your workout is done, then any “steady-state” cardio you are doing now.

Try this treadmill routine and I will guarantee you will start seeing improvements in your fitness and be more fit this month then last:

1. 3 minute warm up walking at 3.3 mph
2. :30 of work followed by :30 of rest set the treadmill to a fast pace for yourself, somewhere between 6.5 mph and 11.5 mph and kill it for 20-25 intervals that is 25 minutes total
3. 2-5 minute cool down walk at 3.5 and keep decreasing the speed

And there you have it Cross Training San Marco Treadmill Interval Blast get on it.

The High Intensity Interval Training does not have to always include a treadmill or bike, try a bodyweight cardio blast. These intervals need to include: a pushing movement (pushup, handstand pushup, etc.), a pulling movement (Pullup, Chinup, Body Row w/ Rings, etc.), a lower body exercise (Squat, Lunges, Hip Thrust, etc.), a core exercise (Plank, crunch), and a cardiovascular full body movement (Sprinting in place, Split Jumps, Jumping Jacks, Shadow Boxing, Mountain Climbers, Burpees, etc.) These routines can be even more beneficial because not only will you be hitting some serious cardio intervals but at the same time you will be building lean muscle through bodyweight strength training. When setting up your next HIIT program be sure to use multi-joint exercises also known as compound movements because they are proven time-efficient muscle builders that deliver more results than single joint exercises. Exercises like squats, pushups, pullups, burpees, and planks are using multiple joints and will guarantee you better results faster.

Try this full body HIIT workout:

Perform 6 Pushups, 4 Pullups (or Body Rows), 6 Squats, 4 Burpees, 6 Crunches every minute for 20 minutes. The first minute you go through the 5 exercises with correct form should take you under a minute, in which your remainder of time is rest, as soon as the clock hits the minute again you are back at it.

Try it and I’m sure you will be feeling it all over for the next few days. That is ok though, your body is now converting your body into a fat burning machine and building muscle!

Last word from your trainer, remember its all about intensity, keep the proper form, perform each exercise and workout to your full capacity this is the only way you are going to see great results. Get out of your comfort zone and Get On It!

This phenomenon is played out daily on America’s highways and byways when drivers think about everything except driving. Reason being that the body pretty much has memorized the commuting route and the driver finds him/herself arriving at their destination without remembering the trip. Cross Training helps you stick to a workout schedule because it’s the equivalent of taking a slightly different commuting route daily but arriving at the same location. Your body can never anticipate what’s coming next which forces the mind and body to stay fully engaged resulting in optimal fitness.

Adherence to a varied new workout schedule improves dramatically with assistance and guidance. Fitness professionals will hold you accountable to preset goals. And with the task/burden of thinking about what to do next removed, you’ll only have to focus on doing what’s next. The increased quantity of focused energy leads to higher quality results.

Results are the last, but definitely not the least factor in determining if a schedule is maintained. And isn’t that the number one reason why you workout? RESULTS! They’re the bottom line in the fitness equation and sure to be the most motivating factor for both the client and instructor to continue progress. Keeping things fun, exciting, and fresh with someone objectively assisting will ensure the desired outcomes regardless of individual goals, body types or personality.

Regardless of their individual styles and methods, personal trainers offer an effective coaching/buddy system because of the mandatory accountability required to obtain optimal fitness goals. For those with a fear of commitment, a trainer literally nips that issue in the bud. Once the commitment issue is resolved, be prepared for the floodgates of progress to open up…progressively. Oh yeah, personal trainers help keep clients grounded in realistic, healthy, and gradual goals. That may be a hard pill to swallow (pun intended) because we have fax machines, emails, microwaves, instant celebrity TV shows, and anything 3G, or rather, 5G fast.

Accountability is almost synonymous with Personal Trainer because he/she starts a domino effect with each client’s lifestyle choices. After the dreaded recovery, said client will do all the right things going forward so as to never revisit that place/space in time of “those first workouts.” Personal trainers subscribe to the buddy system made popular by the military forces. Buddies are supposed to cover and watch their buddy’s back. Personal Trainers take that system a step further by not only watching your back, but also your front,lower and upper body.

The next factor in achieving your goals with a trainer is the financial commitment given in advance. This small, but very powerful, formality gives every client the extra hard-earned incentive to not let their money go to waste by not fully utilizing services rendered. Now there might be a couple of days where the client may want to walk away from their trainer and never return no matter the amount unused. That’s been known to be a common sentiments expressed to trainers but we all know that Personal Trainers would never want to shortchange clients out of services rendered and clients work too hard to obtain legal tender.

We’ve used words like Accountability and Commitment. We’ve talked about the give and take aspect of working with a trainer, and we’ve talked about how money is an integral component. it is clear that Personal Trainer/Client union is a bona fide certified “Relationship.” As long as you (the client) have this knowledge before visiting the fitness facility and selecting a trainer, chances are the relationship will yield all the desired fruits the client is looking for.

Lifting weights is a great method of cross-training. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, strength training should be a natural part of any fitness program, coupled with cardiovascular exercise, as it improves overall muscle health to support an individual’s workouts. Runners can choose free weights or they can strength train with their own body weight, through exercises like push-ups and crunches.

Multiple studies show that cross training can improve running economy, that is, how efficiently the body uses oxygen, by as much as eight percent, translating into greater speed and more muscle endurance. Cross training gives your body a rest from the daily pounding of running while at the same time allowing a runner to strengthen muscles which assist with running. Strong legs require a solid foundation found in your core muscles. When you run, your abdominal and back muscles fire to stabilize your spine, and if your core is weak, your legs suffer. A strong upper body helps you process oxygen more efficiently, which allows you to run faster with less effort. Adding upper-body work to your routine will also help you maintain your form in the late stages of a race when your form deteriorates.

Runners who are new to strength training tend to get injured either by lifting too much or lifting with incorrect posture, therefore you should warm up with a few lightweight reps, and then see what your max is for one rep. Train at 50 to 75 percent of that. If you lose proper form, lower your weight or reduce the number of repetitions in each set.

Keys to Cross-Training for Runners

1. Choose workouts that are aerobically taxing and 20-25 minutes of non-stop movement. Vary the routine each time to ensure your muscles never see the same routine, helping to keep them fresh and “untrained” as to what will come next.
2. When cross-training, keep your heart rate at or above 70 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) most of the time. You should be working hard and sweating a lot.
3. Combine cross-training with running to maximize running fitness with lower actual mileage. You can substitute 25 to 30 percent of your weekly “mileage” with cross-training. Two to three days a week, depending on energy level, will ensure faster, more enjoyable runs.

They may think I’m trying to be funny, but it’s the truth. People say they want to lose weight, but what they really mean is they want to lose fat.

Weight loss does not equal fat loss. Weight loss has to do with the quantity of food you eat and how much exercise you do. Fat loss relates to the quality of food and the type of exercise you. Let me explain…

Weight loss is basically a mathematical equation. Your body burns X amount of calories at rest each day, which is your BMR or basal metabolic rate (also known as resting metabolic rate). To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories and burn more calories. In other words, more exercise you do, the more calories you burn; the less food you eat, the less calories taken in, which in turn will ultimately make you lose weight.

Fat loss is different. To lose fat, you need to eat more food like lean meats, fruits, veggies and nuts (and drink lots of water) and do exercises that will keep burning fat even after your workout is over and, at the same time, raise your BMR.

At Cross Training San Marco, we can help you lose fat. Our personal trainers will advise you on the types of food you should be eating to help burn fat and create a personalized training program specifically for you. Our intense—but highly effective—workouts combine strength and resistance training with cardiovascular and core training and are guaranteed to raise your metabolism for 24-48 hours after your workout.

If you ask me, working out with personal trainers at Cross Training San Marco is a no-brainer. You’ll get rid of fat, lost weight, gain strength and boost your BMR. And it’s a lot less painful than cutting off a limb.