Going on your regular run or to Zumba class but just not losing weight? Julia Buckley has the answer. Welcome to the fat burn revolution!
1. You’ve had all the pain but no gain
Done all the gruelling hard work with no sign of results? You’re not alone. It’s heartbreaking when you hit the gym week-in, week-out, month after month, sweating through long exercise sessions and eating a good diet, but not being able to shift unwanted fat.
Chances are your body has adapted to your workout, and is no longer ‘shocked’ into change, which is why fitties in the know switch up their routines every few weeks, or intersperse high intensity interval training into their normal routine to rudely jolt the body from its comfy plateau (see point 7). And don’t forget to keep an eye on your food intake. It’s easier than you think to out-eat any amount of exercise – step away from that post-gym latte and muffin!
2. Muscle makes you a fat-burning machine
On the Fat Burn Revolution programme, people gain muscle, become leaner and fitter, and their bodies look hotter as a result. This is because adding muscle to the body increases the metabolic rate, which is a measurement of the amount of fuel your body uses. Basically more muscle means a better metabolism, which we all know is a good thing.
3. Chances are you’re losing more muscle than fat
If you restrict calories and either don’t exercise or choose traditional forms of cardiovascular ‘weight-loss’ exercise (like aerobics, running or cycling), while you may lose weight in the short term, you will also lose muscle (see above and point 5). So once you go back to your normal eating patterns, it’s difficult to maintain your results and even more difficult to lose weight in the future. Yep, it’s a bummer!
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4. Other plans slow metabolic rate
Sounds crazy, but most weight-loss plans actually reduce metabolic rate. Fat on your body puts extra demand on your energy requirements just by being there, as it needs to be maintained. So, when you shed flab, the amount of fuel you burn each day will fall. If you eat the same diet you did before without increasing your activity levels, even if that diet used to be just right, you’ll now be putting more fuel into your body than it needs – cue excess stored as fat.
5. Muscle tissue looks better
Muscle requires more energy to maintain on the body than fat, but it’s smaller and smoother (weight for weight), so a cut in this tissue type can be bad for your body shape. So, on the outside as well as the inside, you want to aim for fit not thin – which makes you more likely to be both.
6. No more plateau
If you’ve been exercising for a while, chances are you’ve experienced a plateau. This frustrating phenomenon has caused many an abandoned fitness goal. It is also the reason why going to the same exercise class or following the same routine for months does not tend to get people the body they want. Consistency is great, but never changing the way you train is not.
7. You’ll constantly be switching up your routine
Say goodbye to boredom. This workout schedule changes every four weeks, so your body will be constantly challenged. Make exercise a part of most of your days, as daily exercise will keep your body burning lots of fat all the time, rather than just a few days per week. Use weights to sculpt your whole body and a stability ball to strengthen and firm your core. Fast-paced activities will charge your metabolism and accelerate your fitness. Ideally, you’ll also do 15–30 minutes of low-intensity exercise each day – this can be anything like walking, gardening, or dancing.
Build up your core strength by mixing up your exercise routine
8. You’ll burn fat even when not exercising
When training using high-intensity cardio, plyometrics and resistance sessions (as in the programme), the body stores fuel as glycogen in the muscles. This can then be released quickly to enable the fast-paced power-driven activities it’s used for when performing. The result? Serious fat-burning due to the ‘afterburn’ effect. You’ll train so hard, your metabolic rate will go through the roof and will stay high even after you stop training, causing you to burn more fat for 24-48 hours after exercising. Result.
9. Failure is good
Remember, it’s better to do eight reps and reach failure than bang out 10 with a weight that doesn’t present a challenge. Keep surprising your body and you’ll reap some serious fat-burning rewards.
10. Hello, happy heart
Of course, you also get the health and fitness improvements that come as a result of working your heart, lungs and muscles harder. If switching to this type of training now sounds like a no-brainer, that’s because it is.