Cardio Training

If you're frustrated with having "no progress" lately with your fat loss and weight loss, then you're not alone. Many times, its easier to burn fat and lose weight at the beginning of your exercise program.


This is especially true if you are, let's say, 100 pounds overweight. At this point, your metabolism is "running high" because of the excess weight. And, if you have not been active, your body will respond quickly to any new exercise activity.

As time moves on you have to make frequent changes to your exercise routine or your body will adapt. That's when your progress begins to stall. There are many things you can do to change up your routine such as choosing different exercises, speeding up exercises, reducing rest periods, doing more or fewer sets and increasing weight lifted. You can change up exercises every workout if you want (but not necessary).

Here are 5 Tips to Break Your Fat Loss Plateau:

1. One of the best ways to break through your weight loss/fat loss plateau is to "ramp up" the intensity of your workouts. My observations of people working out is that many just simply don't "go hard enough" during their workouts! Changing your body composition (more muscle, less fat) takes hard, smart work.

What to do? Here is one pointer:

Get off the cardio machines. They do too much of the work for you. When you have a choice, do your cardio "on land"---either outside or on the floor. My number one preference for cardio is sprint intervals on grass or uphill.

There are many other choices for doing cardio "on land" such as bodyweight cardio (examples: mountain climbers, burpees, leg circuits, etc.), jump rope, butt kickers (running in place). The key here is to speed up and shorten your cardio work to about 20 minutes. Research and my experience has proven that this type of cardio work is one of the best ways to tone up your body.

Note: Do this type of cardio no more than 3 days a week to prevent breakdown and injury.

2. Do cardio blasts between weight lifting sets. Here's how it works: between each weight training exercise set, do 30-45 seconds of an exercise like jump rope, mountain climbers, burpees or squat jumps full speed.

Try to do the whole 30 minute workout with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 3 minutes after completing the full body strength circuit and repeat the circuit 1 or 2 more times. This is an advanced workout technique and is proven to give you maximum fat burn and heart health.

Note: Do this type of strength/cardio workout no more than 2 days a week to prevent breakdown and injury.

3. Do something really different this week for exercise....break "out of the box" and go for it....here's what I mean:

Do a jumping workout with exercises like jump rope, squat jumps, pike jumps, tuck jumps, side-to-side hops, front-to-back hops and jumping jacks. And, you guessed right---you only need 20 minutes of this intense workout!

If nothing else, it might get rid of the boredom that can come with doing the same exercise routine. Here are some other pointers:

--Play rec league ball 1-2 times a week. Futbol (soccer) is one of the best exercises out there because you sprint and jog the whole time (if you play it right). Basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, tennis and racquetball are other great activities. Just some ideas to get you thinking.

--Jump rope for 20 minutes. Jump rope is a very underrated exercise....it burns calories like crazy, tones your body and is great for coordination and balance.

--Biking and running on trails are huge here. A good change up for gym dwellers.

--For those daring ones---skateboarding, ice skating/roller skating or rip boarding!

Get "out of the box" and try something different to break out of your fat loss slump!

4. What's been on your "training table" lately or what have you been eating lately? You know it always comes back to what you eat and how much!

Use food to fuel your healthy lifestyle and reach your fat loss and weight loss goals. Here are a few tips:

--Eat breakfast. A good, healthy breakfast gets your metabolism kicked off for the day. Also, eat small meals every 3-4 hours to keep up your energy and to keep your metabolism humming along.

--Plan and pack your meals for the day. This way, you are more likely to stay with your nutrition plan.

--Carbs are not your enemy. They are your body's preferred source of energy during a tough workout. Just eat the right kind---like fruits, veggies and whole grains.

--Eat protein with every meal. Protein helps you feel fuller for a longer period of time and repairs your muscles after a tough workout.

--Journal what you eat until you know how, what and when to eat.

--Drink water and unsweetened drinks (like tea) most of the time.

--Eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. So, a baked potato is more healthy than french fries. And, we could add foods like whole grains, nuts, brown rice, fish, lean meats, etc.

--Try not to eat foods stored in a box or bag. These foods are usually loaded with trans fats and saturated fats.

--Stick to your meal plan at least 90% of the time and you should be just fine (provided you are sticking to your exercise plan).

5. Maximize your time during your workout and it will break your fat loss/weight loss plateau. How do you do this?

--Do as many compound strength exercises (with weights or bodyweight) standing up as possible. These types of exercises work major muscle groups and many times are full-body strength exercises. Squats, deadlift, lunges, standing bentover rows, squat-to curl-to press and bench press are great examples. Full-body core exercises like planks and medicine ball chops work well also. Spend less time posing on "mirror exercises" like bicep curls, calf raises and tricep extensions.

--You have to work with enough weight to overload your muscles and build muscle. In other words, working out with 5 pound dumbbells won't get the job done (unless you are a beginner). You don't have to "max out" during your workouts but you need to challenge your body.

--Don't forget about other full-body medicine ball exercises like diagonal chops and throws.

--Train your muscles in all 3 planes of motion. Your body is 3-D so you need to train it that way. This will challenge your body and burn more fat. It will also help your dynamic balance to train in all 3 planes.

Use these 5 tips and start making progress with your fat loss and weight loss again.

Be sure and download your Free 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and start burning fat faster!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!