Eliminating Body Fat

A recent study (August 2007) informs us with some great news when it comes to eliminating body fat.

The people who swear that incessant aerobic exercises is the answer to burning off body fat are going to find this report quite eye-opening, for the conclusion is that resistance exercise is far superior for eliminating body  fat and promoting metabolic rate post-exercise than any other type of exercise.

This is great news if you want to begin a resistance training regime using weights,or if you’ve been exercising with endless cardio and getting
no results.

A new body mass study carried out by The Human Performance Laboratory at The University of Wisconsin established that weight training of a specific variety and rep scheme elevated metabolic rates (measured though VO2 max) for thirty-nine hours.

This implies that you will  burn off much more body fat even while you are fast asleep…..

How cool is that?

The usual thirty or forty-minute cardio session raises the metabolism for only a few hours post-exercise, but using the information supplied in this report it would seem that we can elevate our metabolism for over a day and a half.

This gives us approximately thirty-nine hours of being able to eat more food without acquiring body fat.

No other form of physical exercise comes close to doing that in such a short time as targeted weight and/or resistance training. This level of post-exercise calorie burn is approximate to the levels seen in marathon runners.

This will come as no surprise to weight-trainers, but it may be news to many others. This report is particularly reassuring to those among us that are worried about becoming muscle-bound if we were to embark on a resistance exercise regime.

The study focuses mainly on repetitions and exercises, quoting that certain protocols gives the most outstanding results when it came to post-exercise calorie burn.

Metabolic rate elevation didn’t occur if weights were too heavy, or if less than six repetitions were completed.

Even more enlightening is the fact that metabolic elevation was insignificant if the weights were too light. This comprised any exercise that took over twelve repetitions to complete.

The thirty-nine hour raising in metabolic rate was induced from a workout which stimulated the bigger muscles. This demanded compound weight-training movements such as squats, dead lifts, rows, bench presses, and curls.

The perfect method to do this isn’t with machines, Pilates, or very light dumbbells, but with free weights. For maximum fat-burning metabolic effect exercises ought to be aimed at the eight to twelve repetition range.

Similar studies disclosed a twelve-hour increase in metabolic rate utilizing a program of around eight exercises, four sets each, using eight to twelve reps brought to momentary completion.

You could hardly call this this a marathon workout, but the benefits are enormous.

The nutrient calculation for post-workout recuperation was found to be significant, particularly in comparison with more moderate kinds of exercise.

This means more food is needed to repair the body, and the metabolism once again is elevated.

The body mass study did not cover the metabolic spike with proper post-workout nutrition. Nevertheless frequent feedings that are sufficient in protein and
moderate in carbs have clearly shown a substantial metabolic increase.

Lower repetitions with heavy weights isn’t a perfect strategy for post-exercise caloric burn. This is probably why power lifters develop strength but  insignificant definition.

To those of us who would like to use weights to sculpt our physique the “lighter weights, higher repetition” strategy, and its failure to create results, is likely more important.

Lighter weights for higher reps is not an effective protocol for fat burning.  Yet this is the strategy that many trainers use to “tone” their muscles.

This is also the preferred protocol for a lot of female weight trainees who believe that heavier weights would build up too much muscle.

The post-exercise caloric burn is what produces the goods  when it comes to fat burning.

Exercise by itself burns up only a meagre amount of calories during the session itself, but when used in conjunction with a sensible meal plan, this is a very potent fat burning tool.

Even so, accept  that even an intense workout that may burn five hundred calories or more, can be offset by a single modest-calorie meal.

The bottom line is weight training/resistance training is paramount when it comes to sculpting the body and making the greatest post-exercise dividends.

The conclusion from this report is that a concise but targeted weight training routine performed just two or three times a week produces rewards that are extremely powerful.

When combined with a sensible fat-burning nutrition programme and stress-reducing exercise (such as yoga, walking, or Pilates), the rewards are even greater in eliminating body fat.

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