In my last post I introduced the concept of EPOC and today I will tell you how to use it to get results

This is the key part that most people don’t know or understand and therefore do not utilise. The power that interval and resistance training can give you.

Imagine burning calories not only when you’re working out but for 24 hours after you stop. That is what happens in the body when you lift weights and do interval training.

So how does this differ from normal fat loss training. In most cases people (and some trainers) think that the best way to loose weight is to run, cross train, cycle etc. They get on the bit of cardio and workout all at the same speed for an hour.

Well in that hour the calorie consumption may have been 800 calories as opposed to only say 400 calories from doing intervals or lifting weights.

However it is the effect with in the body that is more important. The weights or interval training will set of a reaction of hormonal and physiological responses that will continue to burn fat hours after finishing the exercise where the steady pace running would only burn calories for another couple of hours.

Tomorrow I’ll describe more in depth about what each of the factors, Alwyn talks about, are.

If you want to take a closer look at ‘Afterburn’ then check it out at www.CoachCosgrove.com – he also has some great products for fitness professionals.

Until next time,
Train hard, train smart, make every rep count.

Alex

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Alwyn Cosgrove is one of the worlds leading fat loss coaches. His thing is fat loss training and the best ways to get long term results fast.

He is a master of finding the research on fat burning and exercise and then disseminating it for the general public in a way that not only makes sense but is easy to understand…..have you ever tried to read a research paper?

One of the key concepts is called EPOC.

EPOC, or ‘Afterbrun’ as Alwyn refers to it, stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. In other words the amount of calories you burn after exercise.

We’ll go over the concept and actualities of EPOC tomorrow, for now click on the video below and see Alwyn present a hierarchical list of fat loss modalities.

If you want more information on Alwyn Fat Loss Program then visit his site Coach Cosgrove.

Until next time,
Train hard, train smart, make every rep count.

Alex

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Well 2008 is nearly at a close, and it is that time of year where many people start to think about their health and well being. Most people start writing (or mentally writing) there resolutions for 2009 about now.

Well I have found in the past that there is really 2 main elements that make up the ability to make changes in the body – Consistency & Accountability, I’ll talk more of these later.

Since I developed the idea of these 2 elements being important, more and more ‘keys’ start to become apparent for greater and greater success.

[Read more →]

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I was talking to a client the other day about there training and the need to increase the amount of work they are doing if they are going to continue to get the results they were looking for at the start.

Now there is a lot of really good things this person should be doing to there nutrition and eating plan in order to stimulate the body to burn fat all day but he likes his alcohol.

Now I’ve given him a ‘talking to’ about his drinking and hopefully some of it will have stuck. I only had to mention the ex client of mine who unfortunately died a couple of months ago due to kidney and liver failure – he really did ‘work hard, play hard’ – and unfortunately left a wife and two young children behind.

So to increase this clients metabolism so that he burns through fat for longer periods of time I have introduced some new, extra, training sessions that only last around 20 minutes.

I know a lot of you will be aghast, sat at your PCs and wondering whether or not I’ve just made a typo, but I assure you that in 20 mins you can do a lot to increase your fat loss potential.

Yes you don’t start burning fat for 15-25 mins after starting exercise, but the important distinction here is that you don’t ’start’ burning fat until you have moved it from the fat sites into the blood and too the muscles. However, you do continue burning fat after you finish the exercise and it is not the amount of fat you burn during the exercise that’s important but the amount you continue to burn afterwards.

This is the beauty of using short intense cardio interval sessions for fat loss.

You burn more in the 24 hours after than you would if you’d done slow cardio for an hour.

This well known, but misunderstood, phenomenon is called EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) and what it means is that if you cause a metabolic disturbance in your muscles (as you do during interval training) you will continue to burn up fat for at least the next 24 hours sometimes longer.

Lot’s of smart trainers use these tactic when writing and designing workout programs that get people results. Alwyn Cosgrove of www.coachcosgrove.com calls if ‘Afterburn Training’ and Craig Ballantyne refers to it as Turbulence Training . These are both great examples of how to use EPOC to benefit you the most.

I am currently using these exact techniques and tactics to try and shift some excess body fat I have accumulated recently. I am also using my new ‘Fat Burn In 30′ system because I am struggling with time and really want to get the best all day fat burn that I can.

Stay tuned for more of my ‘Fat Burn In 30′ workouts.

Remember, train hard, train smart, make every rep count.

Alex

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