The Best Exercise to Burn Fat

We all know that exercise helps us loose weight, improves our health and increases our metabolism. But many people don't know that how you exercise, rather than how long you exercise, will have a big impact on how much fat you burn.

So what is the best way to burn fat? What is the right kind of exercise to do? A study at Laval University, Canada found that a group following a program of high-intensity intermittent-training lost nine times more fat than those following a normal endurance training program.

High-intensity intermittent-training also known as interval training or fartlek involves a combination of short sprints with jogging in between. The interesting thing is that during the training sessions the endurance group burned more calories than the interval training group. It would therefore seem sensible to assume that this group should have burned more fat; but over the course of the study it was actually the interval training group that burned the most fat.

The researchers discovered that interval training increases the bodies resting metabolic rate and so your body continues to burn fat after you stop exercising. This means that on an interval training program you can burn fat even whilst you are sleeping or watching television. It's like a weight loss dream come true. Well almost.

How to do Interval Training

Warm Up

Before your begin the training you need to warm your body up, and prepare it for exercise. Warming up is very important as it helps prevent injuries.

1. Start by jogging at a slow pace for 5 minutes.

2. Performs some stretches for 5 minutes, paying particular attention to your calfs, hamstrings, ancles and buttocks. But don't forget to give your upper body a stretch too.

3. Slow jog for another 5 minutes.

Interval Training

Now the high intensity exercise begins. For each of the sprints try and run at 80% of your maximum capacity. This does not need to be an exact pace, but run at sprint speed whilst also knowing that you could run a little faster if you were being chased by an angry bull. Keep your breathing at a regular pace with you are running. Many people find it helpful to breath in over two steps and breath out over the next two steps, this way you will run four paces per breath.

4. Sprint at your 80% pace for 30 breaths or 120 paces.

5. Jog at a slow to medium pace until you have recovered your breath, which should be after about 3 minutes.

6. Repeat the sprint and jog cycle three times.

Warm Down

7. Jog for a further 3 minutes.

8. Stretch your muscles again for 5-10 minutes.

This whole routine should take just over half an hour and if performed twice a week should help you to burn the fat that you want to loose. The great thing is that not only is this the best exercise to burn fat but it is also the best for getting fit quickly.

If a program like this is still too much of a struggle for you and you need extra motivation, think about downloading cardio workouts to your mp3 player from www.iTRAIN.com. Its like a personal trainer but without the expense.

Please make sure you speak to a doctor before starting this or any other strenuous physical activity. Also do not push yourself to hard, if when exercising you experience pain then consult your doctor before continuing.