Sprinting not only increases athleticism by building fast-twitch muscle fibers, it’s also highly effective for fat burning. To amp up fat loss, I do two or three sprint sessions per week. For example, I focus on sprint endurance for two of those, performing 400-meter repeats. For the other session, I’ll switch it up and focus on speed, with 10 rounds of 50-meter sprints going all out.
2) Get a compound interest
Make multi-muscle, multi-joint exercises your top priority. Compound exercises recruit the most muscle and burn more calories, which equate to greater fat loss. Squats and deadlifts are the best compound exercises, and both have endless variations. I do a wide array of each of these exercises twice a week.
3) Tackle Tabata
Tabata intervals are one of my favorite ways to increase intensity—plus they’re very versatile, and you can do them almost anywhere. Choose exercises such as pushups or mountain climbers, go all out for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat eight times. I try to do at least one Tabata workout per week. It’s a great way to combine your weight training and cardio into one workout.
4) Consider CLA
Conjugated linoleic acid is a fatty acid found in dairy and a variety of meat products. It can help fight fat, especially the type that stays around the midsection, by hindering the storage of dietary fat, so you use more of it for fuel. I take 1–3g of a CLA supplement every morning.
5) Bust stress
Stress increases cortisol levels, which may make you hold fat in your stomach and lower body. Get plenty of sleep, and take at least one full day off per week.
Per Bernal
Per Bernal / M + F Magazine
Jelena Abbou
IFBB Figure Pro
1) Super-size your weight work
Incorporate supersets into your weight training. Doing continuous work keeps your heart rate high, so you blast more calories.
2) Control your sugar
Too much glucose circulating in your body can spike your insulin response, which will increase fat stores over time. To keep my glucose levels steady, I supplement with chromium picolinate, which also plays an important role in the proper utilization of protein, fat, and carbs.
3) Power-up with protein
Make sure you eat enough protein to support your training efforts. I try to include some protein in every meal. Aim to consume 1–1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day.
4) Run hungry
Do your cardio before your first meal of the day. Your body is more likely to use fat as an energy source when glycogen stores are already depleted. I start with 30 minutes of cardio 3–4 times per week.
Per Bernal / M+F Magazine
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Ana Delia De Iturrondo
IFBB Bikini Pro
1) “HIIT” the treadmill
High-intensity interval training is one of the best ways to shed fat fast. With HIIT you alternate very intense periods of work with lower-intensity recovery sessions. I always start my workout with a five-minute warmup. Then I’ll do a two-minute run, and then sprint all out for one minute before dropping the intensity back down for two minutes. I’ll do this for up to 40 minutes per session, four or five times per week. The treadmill is great because you can play with the speed as well as the incline level to keep your workout challenging.
2) Rest less
To add more calorie-burning to your weight training, circuit train. By moving from one move to the next without taking any rest, you’ll boost your heart rate and increase your fat burn while toning muscles. You can alternate between upper- and lower-body circuits, or do a full-body workout. Try to rest only 30–40 seconds between each complete circuit.
3) Run the rack
Dropsets are a great way to increase blood flow to muscles, get the heart pumping, and promote muscle growth, which ultimately speeds your metabolism. To do dropsets, perform an exercise using a chosen weight, then drop (reduce) the weight and continue for more reps. Keep dropping the weight until you reach failure. I use this technique once or twice a week, adding it to the last set of whatever muscle group I’m emphasizing.
