Cardio To Drop Excess Body-fat ("What the Hell is this Fat Burn Zone?")

If you have ever worked with a personal trainer or jumped on a treadmill yourself, I am sure you have seen or heard about the “fat burn zone.” In layman’s terms, this means that at this particular pace, your body is using dietary fat and stored bodyfat as its primary fuel source. Going above this pace will results in the addition of other sources of energy, which will reduce the burning of fat. The problem with the fat burn zone, is that it’s unique for everyone and sometimes hard to determine.

The best solution to this problem is to ignore the fat burn zone completely. That’s right, I said forget about it! Fat is a slow burning energy source, and who wants to wait for that?! Any certified dietician or knowledgeable athlete will tell you that by expelling more calories than what is taking in during the day, will result in weight lose. Your diet composition will determine what you lose (water, muscle or fat). A safe number would be a negative balance of –500 calories. For example, you would be taking in 2000 calories per day and burning off 2500 calories. Base your eating on how physically active you are. If you’re a soccer player who practices 5 days a week and burns on average 4500 cals per day, take in 4000 cals. Typically, this will allow you to lose 1-2 lbs per week for a physically active person. A non-active person who takes up more physical activity will lose weight at a more rapid pace. Losing more than 2lbs per week is dangerous to an active individual. In fact, if an athlete is losing more than 2lbs per week, the weight loss is water or muscle and not fat. Fat cannot be lost at such a rate.

For physically active individuals, the ideal eating plan would be a 50/30/20 spread. 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. You can determine this by carrying a notebook with you for two days and writing down what you eat. Find the totals you are consuming and adjust it accordingly. Most likely you are over-eating protein and under-eating carbohydrates and fat. Remedy this by reducing the portions of your meat and adding additional carbohydrates during the day. To add fat, add more vegetable oil to your diet. Personally, I take two tablespoons of olive oil on a daily basis.

Before you jump up on the treadmill, stair-climber, etc., think about why you are there. You are there to burn excess calories. You can do this by working at a moderate pace at an extended period of time, or kick yourself up to the next level for much less time and leave the gym early. Regardless, both levels accomplish the same goal.

Proper Technique- The Art of Building Quality Muscle

Proper technique is almost as important as eating when it comes to packing on muscle. You see it all the time, the dude, in the gym screaming at the top of his lungs, back arched and compensating with his whole body, just to look like he is lifting more weight. Common offenders flock to the bench press and bicep curls to look good in the gym. I don’t know about you, but I would rather look good on the beach and I don’t much care for how I look in the gym. I am the guy you see without the matching shorts and T-Shirt combo. No “UnderArmor” or fancy sweat suit. I am the dude in some plain shorts, a ripped up T-Shirt and some ratty old tennis shoes. I am there to train, not to look good or make an impression. I don’t tend to go to the “hook up” gyms though, so I guess if you wish to pick up chicks, you might want to look the part. While I am on a rant, what is with all of the fat and out of shape personal trainers. I am telling you, there are a ton of them. If I am going to be a personal trainer, I am surely going to look the part. I mean come on, that is your job. I figure as a supplement company owner, it is my job to at least look big. I don’t have great genetics for being lean, but I can at least train hard and get big for my customers. A piece of advise, you don’t need a personal trainer if you start training right and eating healthy. Today’s machines are designed to give you a near perfect workout, all that is missing is the drive and proper form.

Anyway, that isn’t the point of this article… Proper training is key to solid growth. Your habits in the gym can be the difference between a rock solid, defined physique and lots of time in the gym with no results. It took me a lot of years to realize this, but now that I know the secret, I have never looked more muscular. I recently read an article with Tony Freeman where he was expounding on the value of proper form. I agree 100%! It isn’t about the sheer amount of weight I can lift, it is about my form. That is what builds muscle and gives near perfect definition. I am telling you to drop down the weight and do a proper set. I like the lower weight and 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up with a one second squeeze at the top. This won’t look so impressive, but it will sure build a defined dense muscle. Make sure you do a full range of motion or a near full range (I like to not bottom out, leaving tension on the muscle during the whole set) for best results and do a full one second squeeze at full contraction. This simple technique will add immediate gains to that old workout routine and give you the absolute best chance of building the size and definition you desire. Doing the absolute maximum you can put on a machine with poor form is useless and counter productive. Use weight you can manage with out cheating. This simple technique of proper form followed with full squeezing at contraction will give you the best chance to build the form you want.