Training Recommendations For A Lean Summer Body – Part 2!, By: Hugo Rivera

The Two Ideal Times For Aerobics

Another important point is that in order for aerobic exercise to be an optimally effective fat burner it needs to be performed at the appropriate times. There are two ideal times that aerobic exercise is most effective for burning fat.

The ideal time is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach after drinking 16 to 24 ounces of water in order to prevent dehydration.

When performed at this time Swedish studies suggest that you can burn up to 300 percent more body fat than at any other time in the day because your body does not have any glycogen (stored carbohydrates) in the system to burn. Therefore, it has to go directly into the fat stores in order to get the energy necessary to complete the activity.

The other time that aerobic exercise is effective would be immediately after a weight training session as your glycogen stores have already been depleted. Because of this, once you start doing your cardio, you will start burning fat as soon as you elevate your heart rate since it is the only fuel that will be available.

When aerobic exercise is not performed first thing in the morning or right after the weight training workout it takes your body approximately 20 to 30 minutes to start burning fat because that is how long it takes the body to deplete its glycogen stores and switch to a fat burning environment.

Therefore, it is not as efficient to perform aerobic exercise alone at other times of the day because you would need to work out for 20-30 minutes just to get to the fat burning stage and then continue to work out for an additional 20 minutes to burn fat. This would mean a grand total of 50 minutes a day.

In my opinion, for most people, aerobic exercise shouldn't be performed more than 6 times a week for 40 minutes maximum each session, in order to avoid losing muscle mass. Remember that more is not always better and this is especially true when it comes to aerobic exercise.

As you will see, for this program, the most you will be doing is three sessions lasting between 20 to 40 minutes each at the most. For Weeks 1 & 2, 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, 3 times a week should be performed. For Weeks 3 & 4, perform 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, 3 times a week and for Weeks 5 & 6, perform 40 minutes.

Good forms of aerobic exercise include:

• Riding a stationary bike

• Fast walking (this can be done on a treadmill)

• Climbing on a stair stepper

• Swimming

• Using a fitness rider or rowing machine

• Using any good cardio tapes like Tae-Bo

• Or any other form of cardiovascular activity that raises your heartbeat to the fat burning zone.

If you choose fast walking as your cardiovascular activity, ensure that you move your arms in order to get an enhanced aerobic effect.

 Final Thoughts

After six weeks of following this program in conjunction with a sensible diet program (Such as the Dietary Recommendations For A Lean Summer Body!) you should be in considerably better shape. Note that the program changes every two weeks in order to prevent the body from adjusting to it providing you with the fastest results possible.

If you train at a commercial gym and have access to a more varied selection of exercises, then feel free to cycle the exercises as you wish in order for a more varied stimulus to the muscle in addition to prevent boredom.

Once you go through the full six weeks, just start over with week 1. Since you will grow stronger over these six weeks, once you start the program again, your weights should be heavier than the ones you used before when performing 12-15 reps.

If all you want is to firm up and lose fat, this routine will do the trick. Try it out and that Lean Summer Body will be yours in no time.

Take Care and Train Hard!