After a summer drinking beer, what’s on everyone’s mind? That’s right! Fat loss!
Fat loss is a noble pursuit. However, if you’re anything like me you just hate the idea of spending hours doing cardio. Fortunately for us, there are alternatives!
In fact the following exercises have been proven time and time again to out blast “steady state cardio” in the pursuit of a better body composition, heart health, and fat loss.
In the pursuit of fat loss what we are looking to create is excessive post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). In this state, your body is creating more need for oxygen in a resting state. Imagine burning all the fat you want while sitting on the couch. You can. You do!
Without further delay, here are five surefire ways to improve your EPOC and fat loss training.
1 Incline Treadmill Power Intervals
I like this one because it has the added benefit of increasing power endurance. What that means is, if you are required to be powerful in short bursts that last a long time (IE: you play soccer or rugby)these are for you!.
Gradually increase the incline and speed on a treadmill to a working level. Hop off the treadmill and wait for your heart rate to recover to 130 or 140 bpm. Then jump back on and run for 10 seconds. hop off the treadmill, and again recover to 130 or 140 bpm. Repeat this 15 to 20 times for increased fat loss and endurance with power that last well into your game.
2- Good Old-Fashioned Strength Training
You’ve probably heard me preach about this one before.
Getting trained in, and learning how to conduct major multi joint lifts is still one of the fastest ways to fat loss. It’s been shown to be more effective than steady-state cardio.
Remember to keep the reps low, and the weight heavy (about 80% your maximal load) and lift your way to a better physique!
.3- Intervals
This is the granddaddy of excessive post exercise oxygen consumption. After a good warm-up, ramp your effort up to maximum values and hold it.
How long should you hold it? That’s the best part! It’s up to you! 10 seconds? 20 seconds? 30 seconds? A minute?? Then, when you can’t do anymore take the pressure off and recover for anywhere between two and five minutes. Repeat this 3 to 6 times and you are doing intervals. You will be burning stored fat at an increased rate for the next 36 hours.
4- Prowler
This thing in the background, is a sled. It is meant to be loaded with weight and pushed. In this case what I recommend is putting the equivalent of your body weight on the prowler and push it for 20 meters. Repeat this 20 times. Time how long it takes you to do it. Then try to beat that time next time. You’ll probably need about 10 days in between sessions to recover.
We have a great prowler and 20 m of turf to push it on at Rep1. Why don’t you come by and try it?
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5- Loaded Carries
If I had to pick one of the least used and underrated fat loss tools it would be the farmer’s walk. The farmers walk or loaded carries is as simple as it gets: pick up as much weight as you can handle and walk as far as you can. Some days I walked 20 m; some days I go lighter and walk for 90 seconds. I alternate these two days with five days rest in between each. In order to perform more than one set of these on a given day, you will have to rest for between five and 10 minutes.
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Thank you for reading this! If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them for you. Or better yet why don’t you come on in for a free assessment? We’ll figure out the best fat loss tools for you and your body as it is now. It’s what we do. We are experts in your physiology!
The trainer
