Losing body fat is a major goal for people who start an exercise program. When combined with a low-fat diet, a well-designed aerobic and strength-training program can put you on the fast track to fat loss. In 2007, the American College of Sports Medicine revised its exercise guidelines. While 30 minutes of aerobic activity performed three times weekly is acceptable, daily exercise will promote faster fat loss. However, to avoid overuse injuries, it's best to vary your workouts. In other words, if you run outdoors one day, do a different type of aerobic workout the next day.
Cold Weather Workouts
Babies have a type of fat that helps protect them when they are cold. It's called brown fat, and it is responsible for generating heat in infants, who cannot shiver to warm their bodies. According to three studies published in the April, 2009, New England Journal of Medicine, when activated by cold temperatures, brown fat in adult subjects burns calories faster than regular fat. One of the studies was led by Dr. Aaron Cypress of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. He found that 50 g of activated brown fat can create a 20 percent increase in resting metabolism. As such, come winter, participation in activities such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are effective for fast fat loss.
Interval Training
While maintaining high-intensity exercise may be challenging, adding high-intensity intervals to an endurance workout can increase caloric expenditure, and thus lead to greater fat loss. Within a one-hour workout, you can incorporate four, four-minute high intensity segments. Examples include increasing speed or adding hills in a running session, taking your hips off of the bike seat in an indoor cycling session or raising the the incline on an elliptical machine.
Weight Training
Weight training can create an 8 to 15 percent increase in metabolic weight. Add three, weekly weight training sessions to your workout program. Choose eight to 10 exercises, and perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
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