ROSIE - GO FOR THE SWEAT!! I recommend...

Exercise boosting & fat burning

So, that “fat burning” zone you exercise in? 60-70% of your maximum heart rate? What a load of rubbish. It’s true, you do burn more fat at that intensity… however, it takes you longer to burn calories as you’re not working as hard. Think working out harder and faster and you’re onto a winner! At a higher intensity, not only are you burning more calories hence utilising more fat in the long run, but you’re also building lean muscle tissue, which means you burn more calories for hours after you workout. Higher intensity workouts also build more lean muscle tissue so you burn more calories at rest. Bonus!

So, the key – anything that makes you puffed, breathless, hot and sweaty. Your springs don’t have to match that of an Olympic Gold Medallist. You don’t have to be at the highest level of the X-trainer. It’s about YOU and anything which makes you feel like you’re working at your maximum means you’re doing it right. Think 80-95% of your maximum heart rate and you’re doing the right thing. It’s called interval training. The intervals don’t have to be long – 30 seconds to 2 minutes maximum. If you can sustain the work for longer than 2 minutes then you’re not working out hard enough. Take 30 seconds to a minute (depending on the length of work) break in between. Intersperse these cardio bursts with some upper body resistance work and some abs to give yourself a little break. And the best bit? That hour-long cardio slog into the gym turns into a fat & calorie blasting half hour! Done & dusted!

Some ideas for interval training
Bench jumps – hands on the bench, feet on one side, jump both feet over the bench. Rpt 2 x 20
½ Burpees – hands on the ground, legs out straight, bring your feet alternately towards your chest. Rpt 2 x 20
Boxing – go go go! Great to get some frustration out. Go for 30 secs.
Skipping – how could we do it for hours when we were young? It’s knackering! 30 secs to 1 minute.
Step jumps – feet standing either side of the step, and jump up two footed. Go for 2 x 20.
Lunge jumps – go down into the lunge position, and using your arms, jump up into the air and down into the lunge position again. Go for 2 x 10.
Squat jumps. Same as step jumps but start lower in a squat. Use your power and jump up as high as you can! Go for 2 x 15.
Sprints – treadmill, down the road, on some grass, just make sure they’re as fast as you can. 5 x 30-50 secs.
Any cardio equipment – just make it hard, fast and intense. Eg. X-trainer, 10 minutes total. 1 minute as fast as you can, 30 secs easy (recovery).

Wow – there are so many more but those are just some ideas to start you off.
Enjoy!