Scientists have recently discovered that the hormone Irisin circulates in the body when you exercise.
It’s important because it switches on genes that convert white fat – the type that gets packed around your middle and releases dangerous inflammatory chemicals – into brown fat, which helps you burn calories.
The more you work out, the higher your levels of Irisin. Early research suggests it’s resistance training that really boosts your Irisin levels, so get lifting…
Thought doing weights was a simple as lifting and lowering with the correct form? Think again!
The speed at which you contract into a move and release out of it – the tempo – seriously affects what you get out of it, even when it comes to body weight exercises.
Slower movements with weight allow all portions of the muscle to be activated, loading the muscle with more resistance and making it stronger.
For best results, use a slow and controlled tempo for the eccentric movement – that’s the lowering of the weight – and an explosive tempo for the concentric part of the movement – the phase where you’re contracting.
It’s time to ditch the diet! Here are some super-easy tips and tricks to help you reach your ideal weight and stay there for life.
Refuelling hazard
The more you exercise, the hungrier you get and so you might eat more or believe you ‘deserve’ to eat more after a good workout. In some cases you might just want to eat more as a reward for having survived the session.
It’s important to eat according to our whole day’s activity level, not just according to how hard you’ve exercised in the gym, particularly if you have a sedentary job.
Turn on the afterburners
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is the term given to the body’s attempts to recharge and restore itself immediately after a workout, a process that results in additional calorie burn.
Research has shown that high-intensity interval training leads to greater EPOC than steady cardio workouts, so turn up the dial with alternate bouts of maximum effort and rest for serious results. Try the Tabata format – eight periods of 20 secs full-out work followed by 10 secs recovery.
Muscle up to slim down
Lifting heavier weights for fewer reps will promote muscle growth, but don’t worry, you won’t end up getting manly muscles, because women lack the necessary testosterone to get bulky.
The important thing to know, here, is that a kilogram of extra lean tissue will burn an additional 100 calories in 24 hours.
If you consider that a resistance training programme can reasonably be expected to add 3kg of muscle mass to your body, this equates to using up an extra 300 calories a day, just by doing your everyday activities. This adds up to a whopping 14kg of fat loss over a year!