I can’t help it! I get steamed every time I see a commercial, tweet, Facebook, or even hear someone talking up a “Fat Burner” product. Fat burning; besides abs training, is the most befuddling topic of all for fitness enthusiasts. From their first day in the gym; many are in search of the magic pill; spending fists full of cash for pathetic placebos that claim to burn off the fat in days, hours, even minutes! Latest news is the most popular of all these products, “Hydroxycut”; has been pulled from the shelves for causing severe liver damage! One consumer has died! Please people; get smart and use what God gave you. It’s all you’ll ever need to get the fat off and it’s FREE! There’s only one way to burn calories and that’s through oxygen exchange, otherwise known as breathing; it’s that simple! Activity folks! Due to its heavy load of life supporting duties; like cellular function, storing energy, and the breaking down of Addenosine triphosphate (ATP) during activity; your body must circulate oxygen; creating calorie expenditure! The peaks in intensity throughout your resistance training cause your heart to pump much larger volumes of blood and oxygen to the muscles than is typically needed for cardiovascular training and this requires you to breathe more intensely than you would on your treadmill or bike thus; more calories are burned. Ok; now here’s the “Secret Weapon” for beating down the scale. Because muscle burns calories 3-4 times more effectively than fat and you’re building muscle every workout…you’re burning fat 24 hours a day! That’s right, even while you sleep! Muscle burns those fat calories while you’re sleeping just like your heavy breathing does during your daily workout. In fact; while you sleep your body does the major portion of its calorie processing. So the harder you work to build that muscle during the day; the harder it will work for you over night! Ever wonder why you weigh less in the morning? You’re essentially empty when you wake up because your muscles along with all your other bodily functions have metabolized the previous day’s calories. Now this all makes perfect sense and works exceptionally well as long as protein is present in your diet. Proteins are the building blocks for muscle and without proper levels; the body will simply steal from itself (cannibalize) for replenishment. Result; no results! Yeah, and that’s pretty discouraging when your working out 3-5 days per week expecting to see something great happen. Protein’s essential for success and it’s sometimes impossible to find on the run. That’s why protein supplements are an invaluable resource! Protein is the only supplement that I recommend to every client. Here’s the protein story in short; most of us can process about 16- 25 grams per meal. Women need a little less (16-18g) and men need a bit more (18-25g). Bottom line; you’re not getting the results that you deserve if your not supplementing your cardiovascular workouts with weight training 2-3 times per week and fortifying your diet with protein. You’re robbing yourself of the most valuable calorie burning agent in your body; muscle! A smart effective fitness program always contains both strength and cardiovascular training to achieve maximum results. What is it that you really want to burn; fat or cash? Breathe it in folks…it’s free!
