The Best Tips for Burning Fat

Exercising Your Hormones Into Balance by Dr. Natasha Turner ND

Believe it or not, you can get results in as little as 30 minutes done 2-3 times a week. Here are the principles behind Hormone Optimization Training, designed by Dr. Turner to help you maximize the hormonal and fat-burning benefits of your workout while minimizing the time requirements:

1. Keep it short and sweet. All workouts are 30 minutes (maximum 40 minutes).
2. Give every workout your all. High intensity and maximal effort—to the point where you just can’t squeeze out one more rep—is a must for effective fat-burning and hormonal benefits. When you’re pushing yourself hard in the gym (or wherever you exercise), just remember your workout is short and it will all be over soon!
3. Complete your exercises with little rest between each circuit. Circuit training keeps your heart rate high throughout your workout. When you use this method, you basically get your cardio workout and resistance training all in one shorter session. Circuit training is also the best type of workout for improving insulin response, boosting testosterone and stimulating growth hormone. So you spend less time exercising but you reap even more benefits.
4. Work multiple muscle groups with each strength training session (but each muscle group is trained only once or twice a week). This approach is designed to increase growth hormone and stimulate more muscle groups at once. It also lets you complete more work in less time and ensures your muscles get the proper recuperation time they need between sessions.
5. Keep cardio sessions short and use intervals. Remember, intervals are a series of shorter periods of intense exercise separated by periods of brief rest or lighter activity. This method of training offers the most fat-burning potential and the greatest health benefits. It increases the intensity of your training too, which once again means greater benefits with less time spent exercising! Even cardiac patients can use interval training to improve their fitness.  
6. Use yoga for its hormone-enhancing effects. Besides challenging and stretching your muscles, yoga can lower blood cortisol levels, reduce adrenalin and stimulate brain-calming GABA.
7. Consume the right stuff before and after your workouts for hormonal effects. Always consume a blend of protein and carbohydrate about an hour before and within 45 minutes after your resistance-training sessions. Limit fat in your post-workout meal. This combination is proven to stimulate more growth hormone release and encourage muscle gains. You can do cardio on an empty stomach (though you don’t have to), but eat your snack of protein and carbs (again, no fat) within 45 minutes of finishing your session. Drink only water during your workouts, no sports drinks allowed!

Hiring a personal trainer may seem like a daunting or expensive proposition, but don’t be afraid to try it, even for just a few sessions, if you feel you need help getting started and someone to show you proper form. (Some trainers will even charge less if you do your session with a partner.) Besides, we’re talking about an investment in your long-term health and well-being. 
Original source:
http://www.clearmedicine.com/exercise-a-strength/35-exercising-your-hormones-into-balance

If You Want Great Abs.....

If you want the best looking, strongest abs, train your whole body instead of performing lots of abdominal work. One traditional “ab” exercise, such as twisting crunches, leg lowering, or low cable supine pull -ins can be included in your program, but research shows that abdominal training doesn’t offer much pay off.

A new study from Southern Illinois University found that performing a six week abdominal program in which participants performed seven ab exercises (2 sets, 10 reps) five days a week resulted in no reduction of body weight, body fat, abdominal fat, or waist circumference. Participants did improve abdominal endurance after training, performing 14 more curl-ups during the one-minute curl-up test (participants did an average of 33 curl-ups before training and 47 after the six week training period). The exercises used were Bent-Knee Sit-Up, Lateral Trunk Flexion, Leg Lifts, Oblique Crunch, Stability Ball Crunch, Stability Ball Twist, and Abdominal Crunch.

For the amount of time and effort invested in abdominal training, participants didn’t get much benefit. A better strategy for training abs for strength, endurance, and aesthetics is to do lots of squats, deadlifts, chin ups, and other multi-joint exercises, with one ab exercise a day. With such a program, you’ll get leaner, decrease your waist circumference, and have stronger abs and a more structurally balanced body.

Another option is to do high-intensity sprints to burn excess fat around the middle. Trade in your 15-minute ab routine for 10 minutes of all sprints for a leaner body composition. From: "Train your whole body for the best abs:forget the "ab" exercises" by Charles Poliquin

 Reference:  Vispute, S., Smith, J., LeChiminant, J., Hurley, K. The Effect of  Abdominal Exercise on Abdominal Fat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 28 July 2011. Published Ahead of Print. 

For the original link for this article:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/575/Tip-146-Train-Your-Whole-Body-for-the-Best-Abs-Forget-the-Abs-Exercises.aspx