Health and Fitness

For those of you that started out with the best intentions of losing weight quickly, there's a good chance you've jumped on an elliptical machine more than once or twice. You probably thought rapid fat loss was simply a matter of putting in the time on a consistent basis. And while that's certainly a worthy goal, and in fact 95% of the issue for most, there are a number of things that can be done to radically improve the rate of fat loss using ellipticals.

Resist the Temptation to Simply Put in More Time

This is what the vast majority of even those who workout consistently do. However, it's proven that shorter, more intense cardiovascular exercise is more beneficial on many levels, and burns fat much quicker. To lose burn fat as quickly as possible, your body needs to be "shocked" a bit. This could mean shorter and more intense, or intervals, alternating between normal pace and short bursts of high intensity movement.

Shorter Workout with Higher Intensity

As stated in the previous article, shorter workouts with higher intensity are much more effective at burning fat than long, methodical workouts. Instead of sitting there for 40 minutes at the same slow pace, try 20 minutes of 70% - 80% of your maximum heart rate. This increases the fat loss for a full 1 hour AFTER the workout is over. Try not to eat during this time so the body uses fat stores instead of food to fuel itself. You can also further accelerate fat loss by working out before breakfast, first thing in the morning.

Use Intervals

The second option is to do intervals for the same amount of time, 20 minutes or so. But instead of a constant higher intensity, alternate between low intensity and high intensity every minute or two. Two mins low and two mins high intensity is one option, or you could start out for one minute low, and gradually increase intensity every minute until you are at very high intensity for 30 seconds or so. Then repeat the cycle several times until you've reached the 20 minute mark.

Example:

Minute 1 - low intensity (50% effort)
Minute 2 - higher intensity (60% effort)
Minute 3 - higher intensity (70% effort)
Minute 4 - higher intensity (80% effort)
Minute 5 - higher intensity (90% effort)

And then repeat this 5 minute cycle 5 times for a total of 20 minutes. You should have a total of at least 4 sprints at 90% intensity.

Of course, none of this even matters if you can't keep your diet clean for a period of at least a couple months simultaneously. I find too many people who make an earnest attempt to lose weight have a hard time cleaning up the diet WHILE working out consistently. Many can do one or the other, but few can combine the two. Don't fall into this trap.

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If you're in the market for a cardiovascular workout machine for a home gym, you can't go wrong purchasing an elliptical machine. Check out our complete guide to elliptical machines at EllipticalSource.com!