Getting the most out of your workout is working out smart, not hard. Sound familiar? Most people go into the gym and kill themselves for hours with weight lifting and cardio. The truth is, you only need about sixty to ninety minutes- MAX! That is, if you’re working SMART, not HARD.

The difference between the two is that SMART workouts are focused, intense and only last about twenty to thirty minutes. Whereas, HARD is going full force with no anticipated goal and/or over working muscle groups. Not only does this hurt the muscles but it doesn’t give them efficient time to grow and heal. This is defeating the purpose of weight lifting.

For maximum fat burn during a weight training workout, the focus should be on heavy weight and low reps; this is true for females as well. Don’t be afraid to start heavy. Strength comes from heavy lifting and low reps and I promise you won’t get bulky! However, don’t start too heavy. You want to use a weight that will allow you to complete 10-12 full reps, with the 10th being more challenging. When performing strength training, you should focus on dividing the muscle groups up and allow “rest” days into your program. Your rest days are meant for muscle recovery and cardiovascular exercise.

When doing cardiovascular training, it’s important to focus on H.I.C.T (High Intensity Cardio Training), which is interval training with spurts of speed and/or high inclines. This helps promote fat burn as well and should only last about 30 minutes. This is what should be performed on your “rest” days. For this exercise, I will use the treadmill as an example. Begin with a very slow walk (anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5) for about 1 minute. Increase the speed to as fast as you can for 30-45 seconds. The slow walk is your recovery. Repeat this for about 25 minutes, leaving the last 5 minutes to cool down.

Here is an example workout plan:

Monday- Back & Biceps/ Cardio
Tuesday- Core & Legs
Wednesday- Rest Day- Cardio Only
Thursday- Chest, Triceps & Shoulders
Friday- Back& Biceps/ Cardio
Saturday- Rest Day- Cardio Only
Sunday- Core & Legs

Notice that the example above shows two days of weight training with one day of rest. This gives your muscles time to heal, repair and grow. Over-stimulating the muscles will cause them to shut down, so be sure to give your body its rest.

Proper rest is essential for anyone looking for maximum fat burn. This includes sleep. Your body needs sleep and rest to function in regular day to day activities. If you are exercising, it’s even more important. Adequate sleep will energize your body and help it get through the extra pressure and stimulation of weight training.

Hitting the gym is only about 20% of a fat burn regimen. The other 80% is your diet. In order to compliment your workouts, you have to eat a clean, high protein, low fat diet. Clean refers to natural foods that the body can process easily and effectively. Some examples of these types of foods are: chicken, turkey, fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and complex carbs such as: sweet potatoes, brown rice and whole grains.

In order to see and feel maximum results for your fat burn program, it’s crucial that you understand and implement both fitness and nutrition. Together, they will build a stronger, leaner and healthier body. For information on this or any other topic, please contact me at: Christina@charlottepersonaltrainers.net.