How To Get Fitter, Faster

No Pain No Gain

This is a tough one, you need to experience some sort of muscle soreness to see results, but you don’t want to go overboard and cause an injury. Delays onset muscle soreness occurs when nerve endings get inflamed after you slightly tear your muscle tissues when exercising. As your muscles repair themselves, they get stronger and bigger, so you can work them all over again. So yes, you do need some muscle soreness to see results, but not acute pain -and rest and recovery are important.

I Go To The Gym So I Can Eat What I Like, Right??

Wrong…..80% of your results come from nutrition. If you are in the gym for an hour a day, you still have plenty of time to eat badly and your workout is not going to make up the difference. Exercising does help- but it is not going to cancel out poor eating habits.

The More Exercise I Do The Better

If you think making the gym your second home is a great way to get results, think again. Too much training not only result in over-use injuries but also stimulates the stress hormone cortisol, which has been shown to increase fat around the stomach. Ideally, you need one to two days to complete rest a week and to keep your workouts to no more than 60 minutes.

If I Do Hundreds Of Crunches I Will Lose My Muffin Top

There is no such thing as spot reducing fat. You can do as many crunches as you like, but if you have a layer of fat over the muscles, they won’t show. You need to lose weight by eating well (lots of vegetables and good, lean protein, cut out sugar and white flour), and bear in mind the first place you gain fat is the last place you will lose it. Cardiovascular exercise will also help.

Exercising Long And Slow Burns More Fat

It is true your body uses more fat for energy while exercising at a lower intensity, but a more intense workout will get your heart rate up higher, which burns more calories during and after your workout.

Studies have shown interval training can increase your fitness by up to twice as much as traditional, long, slow distance work and is far more efficient for fat loss.

I Should Always Do Cardio First

No, you should do it last. If you do cardio first, your body sees it as warm up and you will start by using glycogen stores for fuel rather than burning fat. You need that glycogen for the short, sharp effort for lifting weights. Doing your weights routine first depletes your glycogen(store energy in muscles) stores, so when you hit the treadmill your body will be in fat-burning mode straight away.