Does your weight loss plan look like this?

A study by the North American Association for the study of Obesity looked at cardio exercise and weight loss with a group of untrained individuals. Their workout plans consisted of 60 minutes of aerobic exercise for 6 days a week. They followed this group for 12 months and reported on their weight loss. With this program they were working out for roughly 360 minutes per week for an entire year (if they completed every workout).

The researchers found that the women in the group lost a total of 3lbs on averages while the men lost about 4lbs for the year. This compared to a control group who did not exercise and gain an average of 1.5lbs. Diets were not restricted in these programs.

It is obviously better to be 3-4lbs less than 2lbs heavier by the end of the year, but look at the work this group had to put in. Working out 6 days per week for 60 minutes is not easy to do. And with such a small weight loss result, it just doesn't seem worth it.

So how can this be if they worked out so much and didn't lose much weight? The two main reasons are the diet wasn't modified and they did not focus on strength training. When will everyone learn that the best way to lose weight is to focus on strength training.

If you want to lose 3 times as much as the subjects in this study in just 6 weeks you can check out my Accelerated Fat Loss Program. This is a 6 week challenge that will be starting this January. You can sign up for more information here.

Mike Deibler M.S., C.S.C.S.
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com

How Often Should You Workout?

We are always trying to find the secret ingredient to losing weight. Unfortunately there is no one thing that you can do. Instead we need a combination of a healthy diet plan and an exercise routine.

A new fat loss study however is showing one thing that has proven to work very well. The number of days you exercise per week has a huge impact with weight loss. This study took individuals and broke them up into groups. One group did no exercise, one group exercised 2 times/week, one group exercised 3-4 times/week, and one group did 4 or more time/week for 8 weeks. Each person had to do 30 minutes of exercise per workout session.

The study found that the group that exercised 4 or more times per week saw the only significant weight change over 8 weeks. In fact they lost on average 13.3lbs. The other two exercise groups lost an average of 4lbs while the control group who did not exercise gained an average of 1.2lbs.

What we can take from this study is that the number of days that exercise is performed will have an astounding effect on overall fat loss. When you start an exercise program you need to make sure you are performing a routine for at least 4 days per week. This can be a combination of strength training and cardio training. There is no excuse not to be able to fit 4 days of 30 minutes of exercise into your schedule. Remember though, just adding an exercise program will not guarantee weight loss. You must also implement a healthy eating plan.

Mike
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com

Holiday Hangover Workout

Well it is the time of the year where I feel like every weekend is some kind of holiday party so I am surrounded by food and drinks. It is times like this that I am thankful that I take care of myself the earlier part of the year and can splurge alittle now. Even when I do splurge though I usually feel pretty bad the next day and want to make up for it with a good workout. Being in San Diego we are lucky since we can workout outside pretty much all year round. I did this workout at a park near my house, but you can modify it for an indoor gym workout too.

Warm Up:
1/2 mile run to the park followed by a dynamic warm up:
20 Yd Skips w/ arm swings
20 Yd "A" Skips
20 Yd "B" Skips
20 Yd Side Shuffles
20 Yd Lunge with reach
20 Yd Bear Crawls

Workout:
(I made each station at different parts of the park so I had to run about 50 yds to each)

10 Pull Ups (used a swing set)
10 Box Jumps (used a table)
25 Push Ups
10 1 Legged Squats (on a bench)
20 Sit Ups
20 Yd Sprint back to the beginning

I went through this circuit 3 times taking breaks when I needed them. I didn't time it but it probably took about 30 minutes to get through. It was a great cure for the holiday party hangover.

Mike
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com