Cardio
Using interval training to lose more body fat in less time
Terry Stokes
For years, marathon cardio sessions were mandatory for women who wanted to lower their body fat for competition. These sessions were long and boring… read more
The debate over the best way to do cardio during contest prep
Terry Stokes
One of the most hotly debated subjects is when to do cardio in preparation for a contest. Below are some of the more controversial techniques for performing cardio... read more
Competition Figure Training
The Most Effective Method of Cardio
It's one thing to lose weight just to look better or fit into a dress. It's a whole different ballgame when you are trying to get lean for a figure show. Your main goal is to lose body fat while holding on to as much muscle as possible.
Performing straight cardio (ex. running on a treadmill) will burn calories but it does nothing to preserve the muscle you've built. This is the reason why so many cardio-holics are thin with little muscle size. Sometimes they have higher than expected body fat because they've lost so much muscle (skinny-fat syndrome)
These cardio workouts focus on using different types of exercises together to produce a fat burning effect:
1) resistance exercises
2) plyometric exercises
3) bodyweight exercises
4) Olympic-style lifting
Research shows us that using resistance training, intervals, plyometrics etc. burns more body fat in a shorter amount of time AND helps prevent our bodies from losing muscle during the diet phase.
By placing intense and demanding loads on your muscles the brain actually thinks you need your existing muscle to survive... therefore it will cause the body to maintain existing muscle while losing fat. Without intense exercise, the body will burn BOTH muscle and fat during the diet phase.
HardBodyFigure.com
Figure Competition Coach/Personal Training
Advanced Fat Loss For Women
Buffalo N.Y.
