4 hour body fat loss tips

[Carrie]

I was just wondering what people thought of some of the 4 hour body fat burning tips? For example, drinking ice water immediately upon waking up, doing a set of 50 heavy kettlebell swings, 15 flying dog exercises and 20 glute activation raises right before breakfast? (I guess or working out normal right away...)?

[Tom Denham]

Such tricks are good for selling books, DVDs, classes, personal training sessions, etc. but are really just gimmicks that don't matter. Burning fat depends upon eating appropriate foods in appropriate amounts and being appropriately active. That said, I drink 2 big glasses of water when I wake up and usually down a third glass before breakfast. And kettlebell swings can be a powerful fat burning exercise. 50 before breakfast is no better than 50 after breakfast, but if you set a goal of doing 500-1000 swings per week you will almost certainly see results.

[Carrie]

Thanks Tom! So is it good practice to start the day with a good amount of water? and do you exercise right before breakfast? Would you recommend this routine?

Wake up drink water

exercise

drink more water

immediately eat breakfast

????? Do people notice that certain routines help yield better results?

[Carrie]

^{Or it doesn't really matter when you exercise as long as you exercise???}

[Renee Lee]

If you currently aren't exercising, it doesn't matter when you exercise as long as you're doing it.

Playing around with scheduling is always worthwhile, to see if something suits you better than another...if you have the flexibility. Even if I were 50% stronger at 9am than at 4pm, I would still not be able to make that work...do what you can.

[Carrie]

I currently exercise during my girls nap time. I've been doing 3 days of kettlebells and 2 days of interval runs with 2 days (most the time not together) off. So I'd workout Monday through Wednesday, take Thursday off and workout Friday and Saturday. I like the idea of getting it done in the earlier a.m. just because then it's done with less room for excuses not to do it... I will play around with it and see what works for my body and my mindset... Thanks!

[megmac]

My first thought when I read the fat burning tips was, "only if that's the way you are going to live forever". Because that's what this plan is. FOREVER. Obviously we're not going to be on a W30 every day of our lives, but the most important thing for me about this plan is thinking of it as a lifestyle change. If I start thinking "for the next 30 days..." then it becomes a diet. My biggest successes are coming from knowing that this is just how I live now. I try to pick my foods, my exercise, and my daily routine to match my lifetime goals of health and fitness. If something isn't sustainable, I don't do it. That triggers too many of my old behaviors...and those are not what got me where I wanted to be.

[Carrie]

Good point Megmac... I too have struggled with that and want to kick that to the curb. I'll be thinking through that and implementing a good sustainable plan... for a lifetime. More tips are for sure appreciated.

[MelliebuStacey]

Good diet + Quality exercise = ideal body (over time, with consistency). Anything that sounds easy, or too good to be true, probably is

[Fenderbender]

Don't forget that whatever your routine.... Your body will adapt physiologically / metabolically / neurologically.....

How many thousands of people I have seen doing the exact same thing for years and going nowhere fast, complaining that they aren't any stronger,faster,leaner, healthier......

As Tom mentioned, the routine in your OP could work as a "gimmick" because its different...... You can get results just by changing the time of day you workout or going five days on three days off..... These "gimmicks" work because they force your body out of its comfort zone in an effort to re-adapt

That said... Change is good for your body.... Force yourself out of your comfort zone and you body is forced to make changes

The most important thing is to constantly eat whole natural foods and rest/ recovery to make sure your body is healed and ready for anything you throw at it.

[Carrie]

Thanks Fenderbender! I'm on it.

[AToE]

I'm personally an advocate of adding some heavy lifting (reasonably heavy, say 8-12 reps with a weight heavy enough that you can't get to 13 reps, if you can, then add more - and don't push to "failure" often or you're risking injury when lifting "heavy") as part of ANY fitness plan IF a person A: enjoys it (AKA: will do it rather than get sick of it) B: is going to learn proper form for the exercises (to avoid injury) for two basic reasons. The first is that lifting in this range does more to tell your body to keep muscle while losing fat - exercising in higher rep ranges does this as well, but not nearly as efficiently. Lifting heavy reminds your body that it still needs the muscle, and not to metabolize it right along with the fat being burned. The second reason is overall health - lifting heavy doesn't just work on your muscles. It also strengthens tendons and ligaments (good for injury prevention) and adds bone density (helping prevent/improve osteoporosis).

Other than that bit of advice, I've always been a fan of the idea that the best routine is the one you enjoy and will stick with, that's what really matters in the end. Lifting heavy just helps keep more muscle (meaning every pound lost, if concerned with weightloss, is more fat lost than if not lifting heavy) and promotes better connective tissue and bone health. A lot of women seem afraid that it will lead to looking bulky, don't worry it won't!