3 Tips to Burn Fat that are Heart Healthy

I’m going to share with you 3 tips to burn fat.  Now, cardio doesn’t have to be rocket science to burn off fat stores. Cardio works in combination with a clean diet. Together, they can pack a dynamite punch and burn calories, sculpting your lean and fit body.

Rather than hitting your contest prep 100% hard-core right out the gate, doing an hour of aerobics every day, start off on the lower end and build it gradually. By progressing your intensity slowly every week or two, you can prevent plateaus and avoid burning out early in your prep.

An ideal starting point for cardio is to begin with roughly 20 minutes 3 times a week for 1-2 weeks. Slowly build on this by either adding an extra day every week or two or by increasing the time of the sessions.  By progressively building your intensity over the course of weeks you can keep your body off guard.

Regardless of how much you progress your cardio, there will come a time when it hits the wall. Yes, that dreaded plateau. This is when you continually do aerobics and don’t see any more fat loss.  Here we go, as promised; the 3 tips to burn fat.

Cardio Tip #1 – HIIT It! (This Concept Still Works…)

HIIT is High-Intensity Interval Training. High-Intensity Interval Training was popularized by Bill Phillips, the author of Body for Life. It’s an enhanced fat-melting strategy of alternating short and very intense cardio formats with light intensity recovery periods. HIIT workouts improve your overall conditioning as well as calorie and fat burning to help sculpt your physique.  These workouts allow you to do more work in less time.

Basic HIIT 2:1 ratio cardio workout:

2 minutes – warm-up
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – high-intensity
1 minute – moderate intensity
2 minutes – cool down

HIIT can be performed running outside, on the treadmill, on the elliptical, on a bike or stationary bike, on the stepper or treadmill. You really aren’t limited as to what you can apply this technique to.

While HIIT is very effective and I do highly recommend it, it is best to not use it for every session. While it is designed to rotate and keep your body off guard, your body can certainly adapt to what it receives every session.  That’s not all.  I have more tips to burn body fat.

Cardio Tip #2 – Steady State Cardio Has It’s Place

Steady state cardio is looked upon as ineffective. However, what’s ineffective is doing nothing at all. Steady state cardio sessions can last 45-60 minutes. NEVER should they run over an hour!

Steady state cardio is best utilized on inclines, such as hiking uphill or walking at a high, yet comfortable pace on a treadmill set on max incline. With the treadmill set on the highest incline you will be using your leg muscles to power the walk which will burn body fat and a lot of calories. The higher the incline, the more calories you will burn.

To increase the intensity of your high incline treadmill workout, be sure to squeeze your glutes with every step. This cardio format is great for burning off body fat and keeping your muscle mass.

I highly recommend using or getting a treadmill with the highest incline you can find. Cheap treadmills at your local discount store may go up to a 10% incline. That’s fair, but not really what you need. Sporting good stores and department stores have better quality treadmills which can incline up to 12-15%. This would be a much better range.

But, if you want an incline that goes up to 40%… You really should check out the Incline Trainer online promoted by Jillian Michaels. You can burn a freakin’ INSANE amount of calories and fat on the Incline Trainer.

Hint: You can get the Incline Trainer cheapest online. Department stores have a ridiculous mark-up.  Want more tips to burn body fat?  Keep reading…

Cardio Tip #3 – Fasted Cardio

Again, this concept was popularized by Bill Phillips. It is a great concept and works well, but you have to know how to apply it correctly in order for it to work properly.

Fasted cardio is doing cardio on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning when you get up. You don’t eat anything. You just get on the cardio equipment of choice and go at it. When you do aerobics in a fasted state your body will tap into your fat stores more readily since your sugar levels will be at their lowest.

This method should be used sparingly or when you hit a cardio plateau. When you diet for a contest your calories will be somewhat low. Stacking fasted cardio on top of low calories can burn you out fast. Also when you prep your carbs will usually be low. If your carbs are already low, your blood sugar is more than likely low. Continually doing fasted cardio with low-blood sugar can burn you out quickly.

To keep ahead of the cardio fat-loss game keep your cardio methods changed up constantly so you don’t burn out or hit a plateau.

Bonus on 3 Tips to Burn Fat

These 3 tips to burn fat work well.  Implement them with a clean diet and intense training and watch your physique transform.  Now, if you want the system that the top-placing competitors use to rip fat off and build muscle, be sure to check out my FREE Contest Prep Crash Course.