Burn More Fat Faster in Two Weeks
Burn More Fat Faster in Two Weeks
Oct 1st, 2009 | By Coach Nancy | Category: Exercise Tips
For decades we have been told that if you wished to lose fat must you perform cardio or aerobics. This counsel was the top direction in the ’80s and ’90s and even at the beginning of this decade. However in current years, several research studies suggest that weight lifting may offer some of the same cardio vasular improvements as aerobic exercise. In addition, it’s been postulated that increasing muscle can truly augment your metabolism’s burn rate and the effect is that you find yourself burning more calories every hour of every day. Others say that while you may increase your body’s burn rate with more muscle mass, for most of us, it won’t be significant.
But what is accurate? We possibly will never have a final answer but what does seem to have considerable merit is that when exercise is done with high intensity and with intervals, your base metabolism (calorie burning ability) may multiply. Perhaps the most attractive part of this is that the metabolic changes can happen in a matter of weeks.
A research study that was printed in the Journal of Applied Physiology (JAP) showed that after a short two weeks of interval training, three-fourths of a group of university athletes increased their endurance by 200%. This was calculated as how long they could ride a bike at a moderate rate before they had to give up. A control group reflected no progress.
And you can score one for fat burning when you consider this, an additional study in the JAP had eight women aged between 20 and 30 finished seven intense interval pedaling training sessions over a 14 day period. At the end of that phase, they performed sixty minutes of moderate cycling and it turned out that their rate of fat burning had increased by a surprising 36%. Furthermore, their cardio vascular fitness had improved by 13%.
Perhaps the most surprising about this research is that it made no difference what form the women were in before they initiated the training. All demonstrated considerable increase in fat burning. That’s excellent news to those of us who are not professional athletes.
But to cycle back to the question we started this article with, what does the research data tell us in the weight lifting versus cardio discussion? Incorporating in a little interval training despite which version of exercise we choose is probable to help us lose an increased amount of fat over time. And it won’t take long to see huge results.
That’s why I’m really excited about Shaun T’s Insanity workout program. It’s very high intensity interval training which is designed to strip the fat off of us and get us in the best shape of our lives. Check it out today.
Hi Nancy,
I’m so undecided on what to buy and start with!!! P90X or Insanity?? I’m 5’10 and weigh 225lbs 24 years old. I think to myself if maybe I should lose weight first with Insanity and then do P90X or start with P90X and then Insanity. I think that I would enjoy P90X more do to the fact that I was active at the gym and liked to tone and did see result, but then I wonder if I will lose weight quicker with Insanity. As you can see I am very much undecided and hope that maybe you can gear me towards the right direction. Thank you for your response and time you put into helping others.
Gratefully,
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
I’m going to tell you straight, Insanity would be a BIG mistake to start with. Insanity works only when you are in pretty good shape and want to develop better stamina and speed. Alone (by that I mean without P90X or some other resistance workout) it doesn’t burn that much fat. And it’s really hard on your joints. You weigh too much to start with Insanity. I see people all the time in the Insanity forums at Beachbody who get injured because they were too out of shape and too heavy.
I also see a lot of people complaining that they are not losing weight. The problem is that Insanity is is so high intensity that doing it 6 days a week ends up putting your body in a state of high stress. When your body is in high stress, it produces a lot of the stress hormone cortisol and that will keep your body from losing weight. P90X has both strength training and cardio. The strength training builds muscle which is the real key to weight loss because muscle burns calories 24 hours a day. And in addition to that the process your body has to go through to repair your muscles after weight training increases your metaoblism for over 24 hours. The metabolism increase from cardio only lasts a few hours.
I didn’t start Insanity until the tail end of my first 90 days of P90X. I have never done Insanity 6 days a week, all I do is use it for more variety in cardio choices beyond what P90X offers. Hands down if I had only 1 program I could use, it would be P90X. Buy P90X from me here at PressPlayFitness.com (click here to buy P90X) and I’ll personally coach you through the exercise and diet.
Good luck!
Nancy
Do you recommend wearing the new shape up sketchers shoes as crosstrainers for Insanity?
Hi Melody,
Thanks for stopping by. I actually don’t have the Sketchers shoes but I do have a pair of the Reebok Easytone. It the two shoes are anything alike, then I would NOT recommend wearing Sketchers. Here’s why. My Reeboks do not have a flat sole. There are two slightly rounded areas one by the ball of the foot and one by the heel. These are designed to force you to work a little harder to keep balanced and propel forward causing a bit more interaction with your glut muscles (butt) than you’d get with normal sneakers.
Insanity has a lot of side to side movement and jumping. The fast movements and jumping with the Sketchers (again if they don’t have a flat sole) could greatly increase your odds of twisting your ankle and causing a nasty sprain. Keep the Sketchers for walking and wear a pair of shoes with plenty of support for Insanity.
Nancy
Omg!!b thank u so much for answering the question of which program would be better to lose
Weight. I was deciding between p90x n insanity and u answered my question
With a lot of sense! The only thing why I was looking into insanity is because of
No equipment. I am 5’11 and weigh 245 or more not sure lol and wanting to do
Do insanity but haven’t been active in any sports since high school and that’s like three yrs ago!
So thank u soo much p90x it is
Hi Nancy, you are truly inspiring! I started p90x, but with full time work and part time school, im struggling with time management and exhaustion. I am 28, about 5’4″ and with diet and i went from 158 to 123 over the course of a year and half and maintained for a year. Unfortutnately, in the past six months I have gained ten lbs and the extra weight feels very uncomfortable. I know diet is my main problem, but I enjoy working out. I was wondering if you recommend something less time consuming?
You are very welcome Luis! Now just ‘bring it’.
Hi, Nancy
I started my first round of P90X on 12/6/10, so right now I am in my recovery week three days. I was wondering, I have had a hysterecomy 17 years ago and ever since then my lower stomach has been a trouble zone for me. I don’t ever feel like I can get the abs I desire. Do you have any advice for me that can get me to were I would like my stomach to be. I am very excited about Phase 2 of P90X. I have been working out for over a year and a half. Started out power walking and jogging some. Then I started a Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones and decided to start the P90X after a month and a half of it, kind of a building up to it, and I am glad I did because I wasn’t as sore as some complained about. I love P90X, and as you know some videos more than others, haha, but am growing to the ones I didn’t like so much in the beginning more and more. I do have Insanity and am going to do it next after I have became a graduate of P90X, then hopefully do the hybrid of P90X/Insanity. I can’t afford the shakeology it is too expensive for me at this moment but I hear so many good things about it, any other supplements that I could take that would be less expensive? I have lost around 5lbs, but I don’t need to lose much weight, I just want to build muscles and firm things up as much as possible. I have probably lost a little in my waist, thighs, and butt. But it isn’t a durastic change but it is an improvement especially in my biceps. But I know that the biggest part of the change comes in the last 30 days and I am ready for that, then onto 60 days of the other. Well if you have any advice please feel free. And if you are on the website let me know your user name and maybe I can be your buddy so if I have anymore female questions I can ask you if you don’t care. I have a coach and he is good, but didn’t know how to ask that question since hysterecomy isn’t something they would go threw. Thanks for listening!
Hi Tina,
Thank you for your kind words! Do the Resistance training workouts of P90X. That’s 3 workouts per week of just under an hour. Then 2x per week do Ab Ripper. Where you have time for walks or a run, do that for 20 mins after ARX.
As for diet, drop as many products as possible that have processed grains and/or sugar and/or added fat. Eat more naturally with fruit such as berries, cherries, apples, pears, peaches and grapefruit. Eat organic salads with lean meats and if you have issues with hunger, add steamed veggies.
Be sure to get enough protein. Buy a quality protein powder. I get mine from Bodybuilding.com and have a list of proteins I like at http://www.pressplayfitness.com/members/forum/#topic/Protein-Powders.htm.
Nancy
Hi Jamie,
If you do P90X, AND eat a correct diet, then the fat will come off your abs, even your lower abs although that will take the longest. I had a big problem with that from a c-section and it’s gone. Don’t follow the P90X diet, it’s too many calories. Instead check out my diet at http://www.pressplayfitness.com/06/my-p90x-diet/. You need lots of lean protein and you need to cut out processed grain products full of sugar and fat.
Nancy
Oh and while I like and recommend Shakeology for its health benefits, it’s not necessary to use it to get a great transformation.
Well I haven’t been following their diet plan too confusing. Well that is good to know about the belly fat. I am not heavy I weigh 143 now dropped five pounds and I am 5’7″. And my metabolism is slower since the hysterecomy so I have to fight all the time to not gain weight. As long as I work out it doesn’t seem to be to much of a problem if I watch what I eat. Right now I try and eat small meals about 5 times a day. Like today I had a protein bar this morning, with 8 oz glass of 1% milk, and a low cal chicken noodle soup a couple hours later, then some green olives for a snack couple hours later, then had grilled chicken, raw broccoli and green peppers a few sunflower seeds with probably not a teaspoon of french dressing couple hours later, then a golden apple for a snack a couple hours later, and a few nuts later on. I don’t drink pop haven’t had one in months and months. I drink water, and at least one or twice a day maybe a crystal light drink. Sometimes I have turkey on that low calorie thin wheat bun with mustard, and sometimes I fix a stir fry with broccoli, onions, red bell peppers, and carrots, with shrimp or chicken breast only with nonstick spray, and a little au jus, and cavenders seasoning. So does this sound ok or am I getting enough calories. I try to get protein in as much as I can. I just want to get the best results as I can. And I would love to do the Shakeology but can’t do it right now. Thanks for your information I appreciate it and I am glad to know that I can acheive the abs, if you could do it, it inspires me to work hard to get it! And I eat peanut butter also, I know it probably isn’t as good. I am just starving all the time now, and they said this would happen. I just don’t know if it is just me thinking I am or if I really need it, I haven’t figured out that part yet.
I’m only 13, would it be a good thing to p90x or insanity? I’m a speed skater so I need to be in shape. I’m overweight so should I do p90x or insanity or not at all?
Hi Brittany,
I apologize for the delay in responding. I had been out of town and your comment got buried.
At 13, if you are overweight you need to focus first on your diet and get that cleaned up. Stop eating junk/processed foods and start eating fresh fruit and veggies. Eat a salad every day. Stop drinking soda pop and fruit juices. Include sources of lean protein.
As you clean your diet, weight will effortlessly fall off but if you take a brisk walk each day, you’ll lose weight faster. And then add in a few push ups one day, some crunches the next, some squats the next (no weights) and then just start the cycle over. For each focus area do 3 sets of 20 reps for each. You’ll shape up quickly.
Insanity is a program best for people who are already fairly fit. Once you follow my recommendations, you’ll be in good shape for Insanity.
Nancy
Hi Nance…You look awesome! I am on day 5 of my P90xbeach body so go me..anyway, I am not a diet person, i have a hard time sticking to it and I am just wondering how you ate. Did you follow the plan and use the supplements? I am on weight watchers so Im not sure how that will work with the program. I cannot use supplements due to medication I take for breast cancer…I am a survivor and I am ready to get this body in top top shape. Any suggestions you can offer will be most appreciated. I am not really trying to lose weight, just want to tighten and tone up.
Thanks
Hi Sandi,
You GO girl! I’m sure you are proud to be a cancer survivor and now to do P90X is awesome.
Here are my thoughts. I’m not a fan of Weight Watchers because of their focus on calories as the means to weight control without looking much at macro nutrient composition. Even if they did, we’d end up parting ways because they’d never recommend enough protein. You need protein for muscle repair. You could definitely use a high quality whey protein for immune system support. Aim for .75grams of protein per pound of body weight. I encourage you to avoid processed foods and focus on healthy raw greens and some fruit. Veggies can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Eat only 1 serving of a whole, high fiber grain per day.
For protein supplementation my current top 2 recommendations are One World Raw Whey (click here to learn more)which is expensive but the only whey protein I’ve found processed without heat so as to preserve the lactalbumins, lactoglobulins, lactoferrins, glycomacropeptides, amino peptides, etc… which would be extremely helpful given your compromised health. Also this protein is really tasty and has no additives other than some natural flavoring and stevia.
Some people just don’t want a whey product and for them I recommend RAW protein from Garden of Life. Not as expensive as the One World Whey (but not cheap either), it is plant based made from several sources of sprouted grains to provide healthful enzymes and is one of the few plant based proteins that has all 8 essential amino acids. Taste is a bit ‘earthy’ so it’s an acquired taste but it’s good for you.
Nancy