Fat burning workout: to lose weight and maintain muscle for a beautiful figure

Wanting to get an ideal figure, people go on grueling diets, starve themselves, endlessly cleanse the liver and intestines, do anti-cellulite wraps and wear shapewear with a sauna effect.

Despite such a comprehensive approach, the results are, frankly speaking, disappointing. The weight comes off slowly, fat deposits remain, but the muscles become flabby and lose their tone. And all because the body, placed in strict conditions of calorie deficit, begins to replenish the missing energy by breaking down muscle fibers. Being under stress, he also makes provisions for a rainy day, fearing hunger and malnutrition. It’s good that there is a way out of this vicious circle. And its name is fat-burning training.

Benefit

There are two main functions that fat burning training performs. First, suspend the formation of reserves for a rainy day. Secondly, start the process of splitting adipocytes. If it is properly organized, it works out them perfectly and ultimately leads to the figure of your dreams - without deposits in problem areas and while maintaining sculpted muscles. How does she do this?

Calorie consumption

Losing weight without a calorie deficit is impossible. Many people make a total mistake: they go on diets and hunger strikes in the literal sense of the word. That is, they reduce portion sizes, eat low-calorie foods, but at the same time continue to lead a sedentary lifestyle: they do not get out of the car or get off the couch. Losing several kilograms occurs solely due to the removal of excess fluid from the body. And then the muscles will begin to break down. To start fat-burning processes and accelerate weight loss, you need to play sports, and with a competent combination of cardio and strength training. They allow you to significantly increase your calorie expenditure while still eating quite normally.

Production of necessary hormones

Certain hormones promote the breakdown of adipocytes. However, the amount produced by the body is not enough for fat burning. You can, of course, solve this problem by taking hormonal medications, but they have too many side effects and contraindications. There is a much simpler and safer way - to organize sports activities correctly. A high level of testosterone and somatotropin, which blocks muscle catabolism and promotes the active breakdown of adipocytes, is ensured.

Acceleration of metabolism

One of the biggest problems with losing weight through diets is slow metabolism, which prevents fat-burning processes from starting. Exercising does an excellent job of coping with this difficulty, accelerating your metabolism to the desired speed.

Shaping the figure

The consequence of almost all diets without the support of fat-burning training is a decrease in muscle tone. The skin becomes flabby and sags. The muscles quickly begin to deflate and decrease in size. After all, the body draws the missing energy from it. But problem areas remain untouched.

If fat burning workouts provide such invaluable help in losing weight and maintaining muscle mass to form a beautiful figure, why is not everyone in a hurry to use them? Firstly, they need to be organized correctly (know the combination of strength and cardio loads, follow the scheme, stick to the program, etc.). If you make a mistake at such moments, there will be no result. Secondly, they are quite exhausting. Having tried it once and twice, people simply cannot bring themselves to get up from the couch and go to the training for the fourth time.

Principles of nutrition

For women, physical fitness is much more important than for men. Girls work hard in the gym, can go on diets for months, and torture themselves in all known and unknown ways. And all this for the sake of slimness and fit.

However, if you approach the weight loss process thoughtfully, it will no longer be a pain and will not create unnecessary stress. This is especially important for girls, since most breakdowns occur precisely as a result of strict restrictions.

The key principles of nutrition for weight loss are as follows:

Reducing caloric intake. It is considered safe to reduce the amount of calories by 20% of the usual norm.
Reducing the amount of fast carbohydrates and saturated fats, increasing the amount of protein in the diet.
Replacing harmful refined products with healthy natural ones.

In general, a healthy diet does not tolerate extremes. For example, you cannot completely eliminate carbohydrates and switch to protein foods alone. Or stop eating fatty foods. Fat is also necessary for the body. Nutrition should be varied, moderate and balanced. Then the extra pounds will begin to fall off naturally.

When the fat layer begins to disappear during the process of losing weight, muscles will become visible. If they are dystrophic and flabby, the figure will not look its best. To preserve muscles, physical training in the gym and protein nutrition are important. Of course, when you lose weight, some muscle will still go away (it is impossible to force the body to burn 100% only fat). However, proper weight loss sets the goal of preserving as much as possible the muscle reserve that you have.

It is also important not to overdo it when getting rid of excess fat. After all, our internal organs are surrounded by a fat capsule, which they need for normal functioning. In addition, for girls, the presence of a certain amount of fat (about 13%) is important for the normal functioning of the reproductive system.

Thus, a simplified diet can be represented as follows: a small calorie deficit, more protein, less carbohydrates. Fats - in moderation, so that the body receives unsaturated fatty acids and substances necessary for ligaments and joints.

Now let's move on to physical activity.

What should classes be like?

Aerobic and anaerobic, interval and circuit, individual and group, home and in the gym. How to choose from all this variety what kind of fat burning workout should be?

Aerobic or anaerobic

Most people will say without hesitation that aerobic exercise is better for burning fat. Indeed, they spend calories quite actively. However, a small strength load is also necessary - to maintain beautiful muscle mass, which will not only allow you to lose weight, but also emphasize the relief of your muscles.

Therefore, experts strongly advise combining both anaerobic and cardio exercises within one session. The approximate percentage ratio for women is 20 to 80 (so as not to overpump), for men - 40 to 60.

Circular or interval

The essence of both is approximately the same. Cyclical load within one lesson. Both workouts can be fat burning.

Fat burning circular:

20 minutes warm-up, 3 laps of strength exercises, 20 minutes running;
5 cardio exercises and 5 strength exercises - repeat this circle 3-4 times.

Fat burning interval:

5 repetitions of the exercise, 30 seconds of rest, again 5 repetitions, rest interval of 1-1.5 minutes;
500 m of intense running at maximum speed, 100 m of measured walking to restore breathing, repeat.

According to experts, the most fat-burning workout is intense (at a fairly high pace) interval training, combining strength training and cardio. But how and where you study (individually or in a group, at home or in the gym) is completely unimportant.

Basic principles

Even the simplest fat-burning workout must obey certain principles, otherwise it will be of no use:

Take amino acids before and after exercise. Preferably - BCAA
The increase in load should be gradual.
Warm-up and cool-down are required.
Do complex interval training three times a week, which combines strength and cardio exercises.
On other days, you need cardio exercise: running, swimming, dancing, brisk walking, rollerblading, cycling, active team games.
At the same time, morning training allows you to burn fat by 20% more than evening training.
Duration: 30 to 60 minutes.
You cannot eat anything 1 hour before class and 1 hour after it.
The intensity is adjusted according to your heart rate.
The best type of exercise for fat loss is interval training with wave-like intensity.

If you can follow all 10 principles, you are guaranteed a super fat-burning workout. Just don’t forget about reducing your daily caloric intake.

Sample programs

Particular attention is required when planning workouts for fat burning, since the patterns, duration, and regularity of exercise are extremely important to obtain the desired result. Focus on the type of training you have chosen. If you have any doubts or do not feel any effect after a month, consult a professional trainer. Adjust the program in accordance with his recommendations. The main thing is not to give up.

Cardio

A powerful training program for burning fat, which will simultaneously improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system and pump up endurance. However, it requires the mandatory use of a heart rate monitor during classes. To control the load on the body, you need to monitor your heart rate. Its maximum permissible value can be obtained by subtracting the number of years (age) from 220. That many beats per minute is your ceiling. By calculating the required percentage of this heart ratemax, you can select the optimal heart rate zone for fat burning:

So, when doing cardio, make sure to get into the desired pulse zone, which will provide a fat-burning effect.

Power

Everyone says that strength training does not burn fat. However, it is possible to create conditions under which anaerobic exercise will contribute not to weight gain, but to weight loss. Firstly, the program must include at least 1 cardio session and 1 mixed session. Secondly, choose a high pace to maximize calorie expenditure - and the result will not be long in coming. The program below is recommended for men. After the first week you can lose up to 3 kg.

This program can be filled with different exercises. The main thing is to maintain a high pace and duration of classes.

Interval

Before interval training, fat burning, you need to warm up thoroughly. The warm-up should be joint and include a couple of exercises from the main complex. Naturally, they should be performed with light weights and at a measured pace.

Experts call intense workouts the most fat-burning. Try implementing this program at least twice a week and you will understand why they think so.

Circular

This circuit training is designed mainly for women who plan to exercise at home. It is simple, predominantly aerobic, so you definitely shouldn’t be afraid of pumping muscles.

Start with one such circle. After a week, connect the second one. Another week later - the third.

For men in the gym

It is very important for representatives of the stronger half of humanity not to lose muscle mass when losing weight and at the same time start fat-burning processes. The program below solves this problem perfectly.

This fat burning program is perfect for cutting.

For girls in the gym

The main thing for girls is not to overpump. Therefore, the fat-burning interval training program presented below allows you to burn calories intensively (lose weight) and sculpt your figure.

Any of the exercises in this program can be replaced with 15 minutes of work on the simulator.

For men at home

You can organize a fat-burning workout at home, without complex sports structures. For men, for example, dumbbells will be enough. The advantage of the program presented below is that it is as simple as possible.

The main thing is to perform the exercises at a fairly high pace.

For women at home

A set of simple exercises that any girl or woman who is unhappy with her weight can handle. This is an interval fat burning workout. You choose the number of cycles yourself, depending on your level of physical fitness.

If you want to organize a fat-burning workout, don't focus only on aerobic exercise. Yes, they are most effective for weight loss. But when properly combined with strength exercises, their effectiveness increases significantly. You will get not only weight loss, but also beautiful muscle definition