Thursday, July 26, 2007

A Week of Weight Loss

Are you interested in losing a few pounds quickly? By making a few simple diet and exercise changes, you can boost your metabolism quickly and burn off some fat... in just 1 week! Try the 7-day "Week of Weight Loss" below to learn how to lose some flab and tone up your body quickly...

Monday

Do a short morning workout involving 20 minutes of bodyweight strength exercises (such as pushups, pullups, squats, crunches, etc.) followed by 10 minutes of interval cardio training. This will really help to jump start your metabolism and have you burning fat and calories for hours after the workout is completed.

Also, eat a very clean diet based on lean proteins, fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains and healthy fats. Avoid all refined sugars and flour... as well as anything made with potatoes or white rice. Also avoid all fried foods. Stick with this diet throughout the week for best results.


Tuesday

Drink a couple of cups of green tea to boost your metabolism and burn extra fat. Then go do at least 30 minutes of "fun" cardio exercise. Make sure it's something you really enjoy. Play a "high intensity" sport such as basketball, soccer, or tennis. Go for a bike ride outdoors. Go swimming. Do 10 minutes on 3 different exercise machines. Just make sure you keep your heart rate up and stick to the "conversation" rule: if you can comfortably have a conversation with someone next to you, you're not exercising hard enough!


Wednesday

Do a "circuit training" style workout where you choose 5 or 6 different exercises, do a set of 10-12 reps for each exercise with no rest between sets, then rest for no more than 3 minutes before starting a new circuit. Do 2-4 circuits depending on your fitness level. The best exercises for circuit training workouts are either bodyweight exercises or weight lifting done with relatively light weights. Weight machines can also be used if you have access to a gym. This type of workout will really blast your fat stores while helping to tone up your muscles at the same time.


Thursday

Go for a brisk walk, bike ride, or swim -- 30 minutes maximum. This is a day for "active recovery" so you want to take it relatively easy intensity-wise while also helping your muscle tissue recover from the workouts of the previous 3 days. Make sure to eat super "clean" today since you'll burn fewer calories. Consider taking extra vitamin C as well as an omega-3 fatty acid supplement. You might want to consider going "low carb" today where you eat nothing but protein, good fats, and fresh or lightly cooked vegetables.


Friday

Do a strength training workout that involves doing just one "work" set for each of 3-4 different exercises. This basically involves warming up well by doing some light cardio and then doing a few very light "warm up" sets of each exercise followed by one "heavy" set. Again, bodyweight exercises work very well for this. A sample workout might look like this:

* 10 minutes of light jogging

* 2 light warm up sets each of pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats (Note: A "light" warm up set for a difficult exercise like the pullup might involve doing only 2 or 3 reps, or 10 reps of assisted pullups.)

* 1 heavy set each of pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats (Basically do as many reps as you can, or until you reach "muscle failure.")

* 5 minutes of "cool down" exercise such as walking or light jogging


Saturday

Do 30 minutes of your favorite higher-intensity cardio exercise... or a type of cardio/aerobic exercise you've never tried before. Just make sure it's something fun and try to stay out of the gym if possible.


Sunday

Depending on how you feel, either rest or do 10-20 minutes of light exercise. If any muscles are sore, don't do any form of strength or resistance training. Rest and recovery is important for both muscle-building and fat loss. Try to eat a large serving of omega-3 fats for better recovery and faster fat loss. Fish is obviously one of the best options here. Also take some extra vitamin C.


Well that it's! By now you should have lost a few pounds and you should be feeling pretty good about your effort. Now just make regular exercise and healthy eating a habit and you'll have a fit, lean, and sexy body in no time!






Saturday, July 21, 2007

5 Proven Metabolism Boosters for Faster Fat Loss

One of the secrets of faster, healthier weight loss is a "revved up" metabolism. Try these 5 proven metabolism boosters for faster fat loss and a better-looking body in less time...

1. Morning Workouts

Get in the habit of "waking up" your metabolism with a brisk workout first thing in the morning. Morning workouts are a great way to energize yourself, both mentally and metabolically. Also, people who exercise in the morning tend to stick with their fitness programs longer than people who workout later in the day. Finally, if you workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach your body will be forced to burn more fat for energy!

2. Interval Training

High-intensity interval training is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism and burn fat. It's much more effective than "long, slow, and boring" cardio exercise. Studies have shown that interval training workouts lead to faster weight loss than more typical aerobic workouts... good new for anyone trying to reduce body fat fast! One reason interval workouts are so effective is because they cause powerful metabolic changes in the body that last for hours and continue to boost the metabolism for hours after a workout is completed.

3. Strength/Resistance Training

Lifting weights and doing other forms of strength (or "resistance") training is a fantastic way to speed up the metabolism, lose weight faster, and get great-looking, toned muscles. Many studies have shown that strength training is effective for losing weight. One reason for this is because working against resistance (provided by some form of weight and gravity) increases the production of powerful hormones in the body... including testosterone and human growth hormone. Both of these substances lead to a boosted metabolism and increased fat loss. Strength training also increases muscle mass, which in turns increases your resting metabolism... so you burn more fat even when you're sleeping!

4. Eating Breakfast

When you don't eat for several hours in a row -- such as at night when you're sleeping -- your metabolism slows down significantly. Eating a healthy breakfast is a "must" for fast weight loss because it helps to jump-start your metabolism and get it back in gear. Eating breakfast also helps to control your appetite so you don't end up getting hungry and overeating later in the day. Most weight loss experts agree that eating a healthy, balanced breakfast that includes some protein, carbohydrates -- and even a small amount of fat -- is extremely important for weight loss as well as long-term weight maintenance.

5. Eating 5-7 Small Meals/Snacks Per Day

Your metabolism has to speed up to digest the food you eat. So you can help to keep it "boosted" all day long by eating a small meal or snack every few hours, about 5-7 times in total. Eating like this also keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels stable while controlling appetite and food cravings... all very good things when you're trying to lose fat fast! Just be sure to always include some form of protein in each meal and snack as this is the "hottest burning", most metabolism-boosting type of food... plus it helps to control blood sugar levels.

The Bottom Line

You can significantly boost your metabolism and burn fat faster by working out in the morning, doing interval and strength training, eating breakfast, and eating a small, protein-rich meal every few hours throughout the day. Give these proven tips a shot and you'll get leaner faster!





Friday, July 13, 2007

Welcome to the Faster Fitness Blog!

Hi. Thanks for visiting! This is a blog totally dedicated to information about getting fit and losing weight as fast as possible... and in a safe, healthy manner. Even though I know it's not a good idea to try and lose weight too quickly, I also know for a fact that it's possible to completely "transform" your body within just a few months of following a focused fitness regimen.

In this blog I'll try to cover everything related to fast weight loss and fitness -- both the "good" and the "bad." I'll post useful information related to exercise, diet, supplements, fitness equipment, "infomercial" products, etc. If it's related to losing fat fast and/or building muscle, increasing strength, etc. in a rapid manner I'll post about it.

Again, thanks for visiting... and please be sure to leave your questions and comments in the "Comments" area at the bottom of every page. Thanks!