To Burn Fat Fast You Must Be Inefficient

To Burn Fat Fast Inefficiency Is A Must!

Inefficiency? Really? Don’t you mean Efficiency?

Nope.. I mean Inefficiency!

Here’s the deal:

When you think of an efficient car, what comes to mind? A small car that can go a long way on a small amount of gas. Now what about inefficient car? What comes to mind? How about a Hummer? Or one of those Cadillac Escalades right? Both are gas guzzlers!

Essentially, the smaller more efficient engine requires less energy to do the same amount of work than the bigger, more gas-hungry engine of the Hummer and Cadillac.

In the human body, our “engine” when it comes to burning energy is our muscles. The principles that work in the car are the same as those that work in our bodies. If your goal is to burn as much fat as possible in the shortest amount of time, do you think it is better to be more or less efficient?

Less Efficient!

Because a less efficient machine “wastes” much of the energy that it is given. Most cars have an efficiency of about 18-20%. Which means they only get 18-20% of the energy in the gas to be converted into actual mechanical force that propels the car. Can you guess where the rest of it goes?

HEAT!

That’s right, practically 80% of the energy in the gas is turned into heat. At least you know now why the hood of the car gets so hot after a long drive!

The human body works in exactly the same way. The more inefficient we are, the more heat we produce.

Now, in a car, if you had to be as inefficient as possible, how would you do that? You would accelerate as hard as you can right? Exactly! Everyone knows that frequently stepping hard on the gas is the quickest way to empty your gas tank. Strangely, few people structure their fat-loss training this way.

In every poll ever taken in North America, the number one reason people say they can’t lose their body fat is that they don’t have time to exercise. If you ask me, I’d say the number one reason can be seen from just watching people stuff their grocery carts or their faces at restaurants and cafeterias. I would say the number two reason is lack of time.

However, if I concede that it is lack of time, why is it that for every person I see at a gym who is actually using high intensity interval training methods for fat loss, I see ten people reading the paper on their stationary bikes and elliptical machines?

A couple reasons come to mind. The fact is, pushing yourself hard enough to really do HIIT style workouts is a little scary for some. You do have to leave your comfort zone, and when there’s a nice “fat-burning” zone that’s easy and doesn’t hurt, most people will stay there. But this is also why MOST people do not reach their fat loss goals.

Remember Jared from the Subway commercials? He lost 300 lbs just walking an hour a day and eating a 6” subs. This was great “fat-loss zone” marketing, and it definitely contributed to helping to keep people from reaching their potential.

One of the real problems with training in the fat-loss zone is that you burn so few calories for the time required. In an hour you might shed 300-600 calories depending on your bodyweight and fitness level – but that’s it. There’s no significant elevation of your metabolism afterwards. Considering how easy it is to put those calories back on, it just seems like such a waste.

If you ditch the “fat-loss” zone in favour of high-intensity interval training workouts, you’ll only need about 20 minutes, and you’ll burn upwards of 200-500 calories during your workout, but you’ll continue to burn excess calories for up to 24 hours afterwards. The results can be quite significant. We typically see people losing between 1-3 lbs of body fat a week, with only three 20 minute workouts per week.

This type of training will leave you gasping for air, and this brings us back to the fat burning zone for a moment, I know you’ve also heard that if you can’t carry on a conversation then you aren’t burning any fat. This is true, but unimportant. If you were limited to only burning fat during the time you were exercising it would take you upwards of ten days to burn a single pound of body fat with an hour of slow, boring cardio a day.

What’s more important is the total number of calories burned not just during the exercise, but during the period of elevated metabolism that can last as much as 24 hours after exercise. Scientists call this period of elevated metabolism “EPOC” or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.

Essentially, because burning sugar for energy does not require oxygen, the reactions can speed along at incredible rates, liberating great quantities of energy very rapidly. However, it also creates a huge oxygen debt, which is repaid for hours after the exercise is stopped. By becoming inefficient, you’ll literally be burning more calories 24 hours a day.

So folks, stop the long, slow, boring cardio, and get inefficient and blast away your unwanted body fat!

Until next time,

:)

Shane Miller, CPT, CSN

Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach

www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com

www.your-strength-and-fat-loss-coach.com