Less than this and you’ll never burn fat

If you are serious about burning fat – it’s time to commit to a minimum workout of at least 30 minutes per session.  Here’s why…

Once you have maintained your target heart rate for thirty minutes, your body will start using stored fat for energy and you will “burn” that fat. In the first twenty to thirty minutes, your body uses up the most easily accessible energy sources.

However, if you are able to maintain that heart rate for longer, you will be able to burn fat and see the changes you are looking for from you workouts.

The science behind the 30 minute workout

One common misconception that leads to confusion about weight loss is how carbohydrates and sugars relate to fat and fat burning. When you consume carbohydrates, they are broken down into sugars called glucose and glycogen. Glucose is used by the brain and heart for energy as well as maintaining your body’s blood sugar levels. Glycogen is stored in the muscles and liver as a source of energy. When your body has more glycogen than needed in the muscles and liver, the glycogen is transformed into fat.

Glucose and glycogen can both be broken down by your body for energy without the use of oxygen. They are the energy source for exercises like sprinting, jumping, and squat thrusts, which are quicker activities. In order to use the fat that your body has stored for energy, it is necessary to work out for longer periods of time while consistently maintaining your target heart rate for burning fat.

Just like crime, laziness doesn’t pay

When the weather gets cooler, it seems like the temptation to take a day off from your workout routine increases. The days are shorter and staying in the comfort of your own home can sound very appealing. But it is important to stick to your personal training regimen even when it is very tempting to take just one day off.

Reason #1 – Let’s start with the math

To understand why it is so important to avoid skipping workouts, take a look at the raw numbers.
• There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat, which means that to lose a single pound of fat from working out, you need to do 3,500 calories worth of exercise.
• The average 150 pound female who works out with CFC burns about 576 calories during our one hour class or 432 calories during a weight training session with a trainer.
• That means it takes 6 classes to lose one pound, or nine sessions of weight lifting.

If you skip even one workout, losing weight will take that much longer for you to accomplish.

Reason #2 – Habits are easier to form when they are routine

This may seem a little depressing at first, but remember that your diet also helps with weight loss. If you have cut your daily caloric intake, you will lose weight more quickly. However, when you skip workouts, eat an extra serving at dinner, or help yourself to calorie-filled alcoholic beverages; reaching long-term weight loss and fitness goals will be much more difficult.

It isn’t easy to stick to your nutrition plan and fitness routine, but if you make these habits part of your lifestyle, you will feel better and be healthier. Reach out to your family and friends for support, and remember that you have a great resource in the trainers at CFC!

Three Sets Explained

There are many questions that you probably ask yourself about working out:
• Why is this so challenging?
• Do everyone’s muscles burn this much?
• When will this get easier?
• Am I the only one struggling to stay with this?

But one that we hear often at CFC is, why do we do three sets?

It isn’t just another way to torture our clients! Whether it’s regular personal training or a fitness bootcamp, we do three sets of almost every exercise because it ensures that we are effective in reaching all muscle fibers and getting a truly effective workout.

The mystery explained

Your muscles are comprised of several sets of muscle fibers. When you do the first set, you are using the most superficial level of muscle fibers, the ones that you use almost every day in the course of your daily activities. If you stopped here, you would feel little soreness and build no new muscle.

During the second set, you are still using those superficial fibers, but you also begin to reach the deeper levels of fibers that get used less frequently.

If the first set of fibers is the ones you use lifting your spoon to your mouth or picking up a glass, then this second set of fibers would be the ones you use to carry heavy groceries into the house.

When you finish you third set, you are using the deepest levels of fibers, the ones that would allow you to move heavy furniture. Not only are you utilizing muscles that would otherwise go unused, but you are also building those muscles so that you will be stronger overall.

This is why you do three sets when you work out with CFC – to maximize the results you see from each exercise.