Hey, we all want to shed some pounds and get back to the body that we had when we were younger and didn’t appreciate it but it takes discipline, planning, and dedication to make that happen. All too often people shed 10 or 15 pounds and then seem to stop losing weight. There is definitely a reason this happens and it should not be seen as a failure or an excuse to give up on your weight loss goals. Here are 7 absolutely killer ways to maximize your fat-burning routine and help ensure success with your weight loss goals.
1) Anaerobic Exercise
If you think you can just run laps or pedal that fat away, think
again. Muscle tissue is what burns the most calories in our bodies and you need
to life weights in order to create bigger muscles that will burn more calories.
Now although aerobic exercises such as cycling or swimming are also necessary,
the fact remains that building bigger muscles is the best way to lose weight
and keep it off. This is because you are creating a more efficient calorie-burning machine by lifting weights which will ensure your success with your
weight loss goals.
2) Warm-up and Cool Down
Warming up before exercising and taking the time to cool down
afterward with some light exercises are not generally seen as essential to a
fat-burning program. However, the reason why a lot of people tend to give up on
their weight loss goals is that they failed to see the progress they hoped
for when they began. An injury, even one that only lasts for a few days, can
set your weight loss goals back by weeks and lead to a loss of stimulation. You
need to plan an extra twenty minutes into your weight lifting routine for these
two essential activities or you risk injury and derail your weight loss
plan.
3) Diet, Diet, Diet
This should not be a killer way to maximize your weight loss goals
but it is. The reason for this is because people tend to think of losing weight
in two ways: diet, or exercise. Hey, these two go hand in hand and you are
never going to maximize your fat-burning routine in the gym unless you take
care of your body outside of the gym. Stop thinking of meals in terms of three:
instead, think of 5 meals with smaller portions. The FDA recently developed a new
food pyramid with this very idea in mind and you should check it out before
starting your fat-burning program because it can save you a lot of time and
energy if you get the diet part figured out before even stepping into the gym.
4) Plan Workouts
The body is the most complex machine on the planet and you can’t
just hope to step into a gym and jump on a machine or some weights and think
that you are going to see the results you want without knowing how they affect
your body. The ideal exercise routine is done only 3 or 4 times per week and
only for 30-45 minutes at a time. You cannot work your body more than this
because it will actually cause your muscles to break down which means you will
be burning fewer calories, and therefore, not maximizing your fat burning
routine in the gym. If you have any doubts about what kind of routine is ideal
for your goals, don’t be afraid to consult a physical trainer to help you set
up a program that is best suited for you.
5) Nutritional Supplements
If you really want to maximize your fat-burning routine in the gym,
then you need to consider using nutritional supplements. Now I am not talking
about those crazy supplements that promise to burn fat for you while you sit
and watch tv! I am talking about essential fatty acids, amino acids, whey
protein….things that will truly maximize your workouts that you can’t always
expect to get in the foods you eat every day. Again, consult a physical trainer
if you want to know which supplements are best for your weight loss goals.
6) Set Weekly Goals
I know that this just seems terribly obvious but the truth is that
most people are not thrilled with the idea of working out so it is easy for
them to skip a session or indulge in some pizza and think that they will make
up for it next time. Listen, next time never comes and when you stop seeing the
scales go down, the motivation just seems to stop. By setting weekly goals, you
can track your progress and make it that much more likely that you will adhere
to the goals when you see things are not going as expected.
7) No More Late Night Snacks
This one may not seem to make sense, but I assure you that it will
help maximize your fat-burning exercises. The reason is your metabolism. When
you eat right before you go to bed, it throws your body off and you probably
notice that you awaken and don’t feel hungry. Then, you skip breakfast entirely
or only snack on a bagel or something on your way into work.
The result: the body goes into conservation mode. This means that
it slows down your metabolism and that means you are burning fewer calories
throughout the day. Plus, it increases the likelihood of snacking and basically
just sets the scene for a bad cycle. Eating five smaller portioned meals per
day also has to do with your metabolism as it has been found that metabolism
remains highest when there is a consistent supply of food in the body. You
might not believe that late-night snacking affects the way your body burns fat
when working out, but it does.
Now some of the things listed above are obvious while some just
seem silly. And yet, taken together and consistently adhered to, these 7 little
ideas will maximize your fat-burning in the gym and get you to that body you
can see in your mind but not the mirror far quicker than if you just go about
things in a disorganized and inconsistent manner. PDF