When it comes to losing weight, the majority of people believe that the best way is to combine a healthy diet with lots and lots of cardio exercise. Eating healthy is certainly vital for weight loss, but the problem often lies in the type of exercise done. All too often I have spoken to people who believe lots of low intensity cardio (such as jogging) to be the only way, but that simply isn't true.
Those of us that are aware of the after burn effect know that high intensity interval training is the key to quicker weight loss. We also know that this training method takes up far less time than regular exercise does, and also gives faster results. For those that don't know about the after burn effect, it is essentially a state of increased metabolism (calorie burning) from performing high intensity exercise. It is possible for this increase in metabolism to last up to a day or two if done correctly.
Benefiting From an 'Oxygen Debt'
An after burn can occur from most physical exertion, whether this be from light jogging or all-out sprinting. However, lower intensity exercise will only create an after burn for a few seconds/minutes. Therefore the most effective way of getting a long-lasting after burn is to do high intensity training (HIIT).
HIIT is a type of workout that consists of rapid intervals of high intensity exercise and brief rest periods. One quick example of a HIIT could be:
- 20 seconds of burpees
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeated for desired amount of reps
Burpees are just one example of a high intensity exercise, but you can choose any you like. The general rule though is that the exercise must be very intense and be anaerobic. You will know if the exercise is truly anaerobic if you struggle to speak in full sentences whilst performing the exercise.
The reason why performing anaerobic exercise is a must is due to the effect it creates. An anaerobic workout will dramatically reduce the amount of oxygen you take in during the workouts, and therefore causes your body to make up for that deficit afterwards by taking in excess amounts of air. This effect is called an oxygen debt.
The purpose of the oxygen debt is to normalize hormone levels, regain lost energy, and to oxidize lactic acid which is created in your blood. Basically your oxygen intake and need is substantially increased. It is during this period where the after burn effect takes place, which means the rate at which you burn off fat is increased. (Remember this can last up to 48 hours).
There are two popular ways of creating this effect. Both ways require you to follow specific rules in order to create an effective after burn.
The most common method is to perform very intense cardio exercise in intervals. This type of workout is great because it doesn't have to last hours like traditional cardio does. One example of this is a tabata workout, which consists of 8 sets of 20 second long cardio, separated by 10 second rest intervals, and only takes 4 minutes!
Another great way to build up an after burn is to do weight lifting, particularly compound lifts. A compound lift is any weighted/resistance exercise that works more than one muscle group. For this method to work effectively, the weights should be heavy enough so that you hit muscle failure at somewhere between 6 - 12 reps. You can increase the effective further by performing supersets, which involves doing different lifts in a row without rest. (For example, 10 bench presses followed by 10 tricep extensions).
A Word of Warning!
All of the workout methods suggested above are intentionally and incredibly intense, so you should take great care not to overdo it, especially if you are a beginner. If you are new to these methods, work yourself slowly up to them until you are comfortable doing them without injuring yourself. Only you know what your body can handle, so take care!
If you would like to discover more about the after burn effect, please check out Afterburn Effect Training at http://afterburneffecttraining.com
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