You may have noticed some pieces of cardio equipment at the gym display a "fat burning zone" on their dashboard. Demystifying this misleading zone is the first step toward getting a good workout in at the gym. The fat burning zone simply means that you're working out at a light enough pace that your body has leftover oxygen available to convert fat to energy. The truth is the harder you work the more calories you'll burn which means more fat burned ultimately. So hit the gym with one of these workouts to burn the most fat in the least time.
Treadmill Intervals
A study published in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" found that women who engaged in high-intensity aerobic intervals increased their capacity for burning fat during their workout within two weeks of exercising every other day. Although participants in this study used cycling, you can use any piece of cardio equipment at your gym. This plan is for the treadmill. After a thorough warm up and stretch, begin with an intense burst of running for one minute. Follow this with two minutes of jogging. Repeat this cycle raising the incline of the treadmill one level with each high-intensity interval until you reach a level five, then lower one level as before. Follow your workout with a short cool down and stretch. This intense, fat-burning workout lasts approximately 45 minutes including warm up and cool down.
Circuit Training
The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends circuit training as a method for losing weight because it not only increases muscle size--which burns fat even while you sleep--but also because it burns as many calories as a traditional cardiovascular workout. The most important aspect of any circuit training workout is to hit the gym with a plan to minimize rest times for greater calorie burn. To target all of your major muscle groups, perform the following circuit three sets of 12 repetitions each: dumbbell front squat, barbell calf raises, lat pulldown, barbell dead lift, standing dumbbell shrug, dumbbell bench press, standing dumbbell overhead extension, barbell biceps curl, Russian twist, crunches. For exercise descriptions, visit the online Fitness Library of the American Council on Exercise.
Mock Triathlon
You don't need to hit the open road or river to get the body of a triathlete. Stage your own triathlon in the gym for a fat-burning workout worthy of first place. If your gym doesn't have a pool, perform the swimming section of your workout on a rowing machine. USA Triathlon lists the Sprint distance as a 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bicycle ride and a five kilometer run. This is a bit long for a daily workout, so consider cutting the distances in half for a 375 meter swim--15 laps in a standard 25-meter pool--followed by a 10K cycle--about 6.2 miles--and a 2.5K run--about 1.5 miles. To make the transition from the swim a little easier, bring a towel, clothes and shoes to the pool deck. This workout will take approximately one hour depending on your fitness level.
References
- "Journal of Applied Physiology:" Two Weeks of High-Intensity Aerobic Interval Training Increases the Capacity for Fat Oxidation
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; M. Clark, S. Lucett, R. Corn, 2008
- ACE: Fitness Library
- USA Triathlon
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