Why are more and more people having success at losing weight and keeping it off forever? The simple answer is because they have learnt the basic steps to losing weight and made them part of their daily life. So why (with all the information out there on losing weight) are 90% of dieters still failing?
The answer is actually very simple. We need to educate people correctly about their fat loss workout.
A lot of people make very basic mistakes when trying to lose weight. Read through the following and see if you are making any of them and how you can correct them to succeed with your fat loss workout.
Cardio only
For years we have had it drilled into us (and I was one of them) that the only way you will burn fat is to do cardio and lots of it. Cardio is fantastic for burning calories and that's what a fat loss workout is all about right? Yes, the aim of fat loss is to burn more calories than your body needs to maintain itself, however doing cardio alone has an adverse affect.
By solely focusing on cardio to burn fat you will start to use your muscles in a different way. Your body will start to lose its lean muscle mass which will in turn slow down your metabolism and that's the last thing you want to do. If you slow your metabolism you will make it harder to burn fat.
To optimize your ability to burn fat you will need to start lifting weights. This can be difficult for women to understand as they do not want to get bulky. The simplest way to answer that is that your muscles use more calories than fat so it makes sense to start lifting weights. Remember you are in control of how much muscle you gain.
This leads us to the next problem. Too many reps when lifting weights!
Once people realize they don't need to do six cardio sessions a week and move into the weights room, they still believe that doing more is better.
Every gym has someone like this (probably more than one), the person who will do 15-20 reps and more sets than is necessary. You can tell who they are by the fact that they never make any progress.
Because you are trying to lose weight you will be eating fewer calories for fuel, you also need to reduce the amount of exercise you do or again you will run the risk of losing muscle mass. Exercising less may go against everything you have ever been told. It took me a long time to get my head around it but if you are over doing it your body will stop burning fat and you will plateau. So when lifting weights think of it the same as we do cardio and don't overdo it. Lift with intensity in mind not volume.
Create a balance between weights and cardio and you will have far more success at losing weight. Limit your time in the gym. Give yourself no more than 40 minutes to finish your workout, if you don't finish in that time then you know you are either doing too much or you are not working with enough intensity.
One final tip when you lift weights don't reduce the weight you are lifting, just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean you lift lighter weights.
So are you making any of these mistakes? If you are remember cardio alone is not enough to help you reach your goals. Add in a bit of weight training and lift the intensity, train with a purpose and that purpose is to burn fat.
The answer is actually very simple. We need to educate people correctly about their fat loss workout.
A lot of people make very basic mistakes when trying to lose weight. Read through the following and see if you are making any of them and how you can correct them to succeed with your fat loss workout.
Cardio only
For years we have had it drilled into us (and I was one of them) that the only way you will burn fat is to do cardio and lots of it. Cardio is fantastic for burning calories and that's what a fat loss workout is all about right? Yes, the aim of fat loss is to burn more calories than your body needs to maintain itself, however doing cardio alone has an adverse affect.
By solely focusing on cardio to burn fat you will start to use your muscles in a different way. Your body will start to lose its lean muscle mass which will in turn slow down your metabolism and that's the last thing you want to do. If you slow your metabolism you will make it harder to burn fat.
To optimize your ability to burn fat you will need to start lifting weights. This can be difficult for women to understand as they do not want to get bulky. The simplest way to answer that is that your muscles use more calories than fat so it makes sense to start lifting weights. Remember you are in control of how much muscle you gain.
This leads us to the next problem. Too many reps when lifting weights!
Once people realize they don't need to do six cardio sessions a week and move into the weights room, they still believe that doing more is better.
Every gym has someone like this (probably more than one), the person who will do 15-20 reps and more sets than is necessary. You can tell who they are by the fact that they never make any progress.
Because you are trying to lose weight you will be eating fewer calories for fuel, you also need to reduce the amount of exercise you do or again you will run the risk of losing muscle mass. Exercising less may go against everything you have ever been told. It took me a long time to get my head around it but if you are over doing it your body will stop burning fat and you will plateau. So when lifting weights think of it the same as we do cardio and don't overdo it. Lift with intensity in mind not volume.
Create a balance between weights and cardio and you will have far more success at losing weight. Limit your time in the gym. Give yourself no more than 40 minutes to finish your workout, if you don't finish in that time then you know you are either doing too much or you are not working with enough intensity.
One final tip when you lift weights don't reduce the weight you are lifting, just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean you lift lighter weights.
So are you making any of these mistakes? If you are remember cardio alone is not enough to help you reach your goals. Add in a bit of weight training and lift the intensity, train with a purpose and that purpose is to burn fat.
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