MAXIMUM FAT-BURNING CARDIO

While weight training is the best way to sharpen your body composition and shape over the long haul, cardiovascular activity done properly burns fat stores and is essential for that ultra-lean look.  Here are some of the best tips for maximizing your fat burning potential with every aerobic workout:

Confuse Your Body.  Every body responds differently to training. Whether you're lifting or doing cardio, the trick is to keep your body from adapting to what you're doing. Regularly diversifying your cardio mode is the best way to keep your body responding to your efforts. 

Divide and Conquer.  Divide your cardio session between several machines each workout.  For example, start with the stair-stepper for 15 minutes, then switch to the treadmill for 15 minutes, and finish with the elliptical machine for 15 minutes.  This is superior to hitting the treadmill for 45 minutes.  It prevents boredom and uses different muscle groups.

Increase the Difficulty.  To burn off more calories each aerobic workout, increase the speed or intensity. For example, if you run on a treadmill, up the speed or raise the incline. The calorie difference: jogging 30 minutes at 5.2 mph burns 266 calories; whereas running at 6.7 mph bums 325 calories. Adding hills ups the count another 50 calories.

Rock Out. Music is a great motivator. Studies show that exercisers who tune in to music work out 25 percent longer.

Do it CORRECTLY. Using poor technique on a cardio machine reduces the number of calories burned. The most common blunder: stair-stepper sloppiness. When you lean on the handrails, your legs don't carry as much weight, so you don't expend as much effort as you should. For maximum flab-busting, stay upright and only use the handrails for balance.

Sprint. Adding short turbo bursts of speed to a cardio workout nets a bigger calorie payoff. Throw in 10 sprints during a cycling session and you'll bum an extra 120 calories. Go at your usual moderate pace for two minutes, then speed up for one minute. Slow back down to your regular pace for two minutes, and then speed up again for a minute. Keep repeating. Great for when you're pressed for time but want to get the most from a cut-short workout.

Pump and Jump. Mixing strength training with cardiovascular exercise (called circuit training) can more than double your workout's calorie-burning payoff. Start with five minutes on a cardiovascular machine, move on to a strength exercise, then return to cardio for a couple of minutes. Continue alternating cardio and strength exercises, finishing up with five minutes of cardio.

Rise and Shine.  If you are the type of person who usually leaps out of bed and enjoys doing things at the crack of dawn then you've already got the jump on fat burning. You will burn at least 30% more fat if you do your cardio in the morning before breakfast because your body will be forced to burn body fat rather than glycogen to fuel your aerobic workout.

Bear Weight.  You burn more calories when you do activities such as walking/running, stair-climbing versus bicycling or swimming.  Why?   Because when you bike, most of your body weight is supported by the seat and frame of the bike.  Unlike when you walk or stair-climb, you are forced to carry your entire bodyweight through the exercise, consequently performing more work and burning more calories.  So choose exercises where you are lifting your feet off the machine or off the ground for greatest calorie burning.

Use Big Muscles.  You will also burn more calories during exercises where the most muscles are involved in work.  For example, you will burn more calories when your arms and legs are involved.  Elliptical machines with MOVING handrails are better than those without - unless you are consciously engaging your arms in movement when using the type with stationary hand rails. 

Kristi Larsen, has a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, and a former figure competitor.  Kristi owns ChandlerPersonalTraining.com, a private training studio and EastValleyBootCamp.com, outdoor group fitness training classes.  She can be reached at 602.692.3242.