Just the other day I met someone I hadn’t seen in a while, and they proceeded to tell me how they run 3 days a week but just ‘no fat seems to shift.’ I wouldn’t mind, but I saw the same person about 6 months previously and I told him running wasn’t the answer. And even more than that I told him exactly what the answer was! Unbelievable. So I am going to show you why running isn’t the answer to your problems.

Running (or power walking depending on your fitness level) is one of the least effective ways to bur fat. But for some reason people just don’t want to believe it.

I think it’s because of the appearance/look of the long distance runners that we see on the television. After all they are seriously skinny, so that must be the way to go, right? Wrong.

There is a massive difference between doing something IN ORDER TO LOSE WEIGHT, and staying slim because you do something.

The athletes and runners that do marathons will, with very few exceptions, have always been skinny. They have the sort of body type that is very slight, with very little muscle or fat.

So of course when they are already skinny, running will  help them stay that way, as they are not actually trying or needing to burn fat.

But if you are the sort of person that is overweight and/or is trying to burn fat, running simply is not the answer. It does not stimulate your metabolism or fat burning hormones, or take your body out of its comfort zone.

Today’s Takeaway – Running is not the answer. There are plenty of far more effectives fat burning methods for you to try right here on this site so please give them a go!

There is a school of thought that says you need to do 20/30 minutes of cardio before you start burning  fat. Is this really true or can you do it quicker?

When people talk about cardio, something like the above picture often springs to mind. Running in the rain and mud, or sweating it out on the bike/cross trainer in the gym. So if we have to go through 20/30 minutes of doing this before we even burn any fat it’s no wonder so many of us don’t exercise!

But the thing is, the above statement is a myth, a total fallacy. In fact you could hardly be further from the truth if you tried! You DO NOT have to do any amount of exercise before you start burning fat, let alone 30 minutes.

Here’s where the confusion comes in. When studies have been carried out on this, the comparison has been between people doing 5 minutes of exactly the same exercise as those that do it for 30 minutes. Well of course if you do exactly the same thing for 6 times the duration you will burn more fat!

What I am suggesting is that if you work seriously hard during your short 5 minute period, and do the right exercises in the right way, you will not only match the results of someone doing a 30 minute workout, but in fact you can better them.

This is due the metabolic effect doing the workout has on your body. So you will burn fat for 24-48 hours after the workout has finished!

Watch out for next week’s post, where I will publish a 5 minute home cardio workout for you to try!

Today’s Takeaway – Please don’t buy in to the ’30 minute cardio myth.’ You can get a great fat burning workout in no… Read more->

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on boxing, and how it is a great ‘alternative cardio’ option. I have had a lot of feedback on that article with people wanting to know more about how they should do it, and more importantly the best way to do it to burn fat. So here goes!…

I will talk about 3 basic moves. In all of them make sure you do not tuck your thumb under your fingers. And hit will the flat part of your wrist and keep it straight.

1/ Cross Punches – Stand up straight with your feet hip width apart. Raise your elbows up and alternately swing your arms reaching across to hit the pads.

2/ Uppercuts - Reach down and then scoop your arm upwards. Again with alternately arms keeping your elbows tucked in towards your ribs.

3/ Hooks – Start with your arm out sideways and slightly bent and drive it inwards towards the pads. Don’t bend your arm any more than it already is as you are doing it.

You should do each move for a minute. Work hard during the minute and rest in between each one so you ca recover enough to work really hard again in the next one.

Today’s Takeaway - Boxing will only work for you if YOU work hard at it. If you put the effort in, in terms of speed of punching and power, you will get a great fat burning workout.

To grab your copy of Rob’s Free Report ‘Cheat’s Guide to Fat Burning From Home – Simple 5 Step Plan,’ plus 2 other great free gifts, click here; ‘www.homeworkoutsuccess.co.uk/free-report.’

The vast majority of people hate doing cardio. By ‘cardio’ I mean traditional cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling, etc. What if there was an alternative cardio you could do, that would give you all the great cardiovascular benefits without the pain!

Boxing! In all my years of personal training I cannot remember someone not enjoying boxing. It gives you are the fat burning, cardiovascular benefits that running or cycling does. It is a great stress release, and when done properly highly effective and burning fat from all parts of the body.

There are 2 options if you want to do boxing from home. You either hang a punchbag up, in your garden or garage. This way you can work-out on your own without needing anyone else’s help. Or if you live with or know someone who wants to take it up with you, just buy a pair of boxing pads and take it in turns to hold them for each other.

Boxing can be as technical or simple as you like. But to get you started, simply stand front on to the pads/punchbag with your arms up at shoulder height, and alternately swing them into the pads. Make sure you keep your wrists straight and keep your thumbs out of the way. Try boxing for sets of 1 minute and resting in between.

Today’s Takeaway – Cardio does not have to be long and boring. give boxing a go!

To grab your copy of Rob’s Free Report ‘Cheat’s Guide to Fat Burning From Home – Simple 5 Step Plan,’ plus 2 other great free gifts, click here; ‘www.homeworkoutsuccess.co.uk/free-report.’