Fat Burning: Advanced Training

Each sport has it’s own performance enhancers – get informed by local professionals in your field, do you homework and – if you do decide to use supplements – start slow and try to gauge their results. What works for one person may not work for another. Also remember supplements are probably going to make a 5% difference at best, so don’t slack off on the training.

Training regimes are also much different for those who wish to reach top levels of physical fitness. Not only are the workouts much harder and over longer duration – which opens the door to a greater risk for injury – but they are much more specific and mutually exclusive. You can’t bench press 400lbs. and run marathons in under an hour, for example.

After 6 months to a year of all around physical conditioning that includes resistance training and cardiovascular workouts, you need to decide your future path to get into the big leagues. Don’t try to do it all.

Talk with the experts – coaches, trainers and practitioners of your chosen sport. If you can, get a coach or instructor to either work with you or make up your training program.

Most advanced programs include steady increases in both workout intensity and duration leading up to a specific date: race day or a maximum lift, for example. After that, a period of rest and recovery followed by building towards the next peak. It’s not always pushing for more every day – this can only lead to injury.

Maximum results come from a program of 3 basic things: exercise, rest and proper diet. The more advanced you get, the more important the details of this program will be. Professional body builders, for example, have complex diets, rest and training regimes. They use specific supplements for different parts of their programs that lead to contest day. Moreover, they are extremely strict about fulfilling their goals – something a normal person does not need to worry about so much. They don’t have the luxury of missing workouts or eating at Burger King once a week.

Don’t kid yourself about the time, dedication and discipline – especially with your diet – that’s necessary to get into top form. One of the reasons most of us don’t have the perfect body is our unwillingness to make those sacrifices. Or we try for awhile, don’t see the results, and quit. A long term, never-give-up strategy is definitely necessary.

It’s also helpful to realize your limitations. Some people - like Lance Armstrong for example, who can carry more oxygen in his blood than a normal person - are genetically well endowed to rise to the very top of their profession. If you are one of those lucky individuals, you’re probably not reading this. Don’t kill yourself if you can’t win every race or can’t seem to get rid of those extra couple ounces of fat. Even if you’re not number one, you can be in excellent shape and look good.

Don’t think for a minute that you can somehow take a pill, powder or drink some miracle tea to get serious results. If it was that easy, everyone would already have the perfect body. Advanced fat burning is hard work – if you really want it, you can do it - but be ready to take the time, adhere to a strict diet, listen to others and work hard.

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