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It may be that I am the only person in the world who gains fat by doing aerobic exercise, but I think not. The fact that you're reading this article suggests that you probably also spend too much time on aerobic exercise with too few results.
The secret, of course, is building muscle. Aerobic exercise can strip away muscle as well as fat, and muscle is what uses up your body's stores of energy.
Think of your muscle as an engine that needs fuel to run efficiently. A small motor scooter engine can run for days on a gallon of gas. A powerful V8 won't make it out the garage. In the same way, if your body has very little muscle, it won't burn off the calories you get from your food, while a competition bodybuilder can eat a meal that would feed a family of four for a week, and not pick up an ounce of fat as a result.
Now, you don't have to have huge muscles in order to burn fat efficiently. The ratio of muscle to fat in your body is far more important. You can be a slim, attractive woman on the outside, but still have a good muscular framework burning up calories while you watch television.
Your first step is to measure your body fat. You can buy home measuring kits, or you can go for an expensive body fat test. Unless you're a competition athlete, a home measuring kit is fine. This simplest kits comprise calipers and a book of instructions. You use the calipers to measure the skinfolds in one or more places on your body, then look up the results in the book of instructions.
A good body fat measurement for a women is between 21 and 28%, while a man would expect to be leaner, at between 11 and 19%. Competition athletes strive for much lower body fat percentages.
The next step is to start doing exercises that build muscle, which means working with weights. Heavy weights. If you are carrying too much fat, you are more likely to burn fat faster and get into shape sooner by working on your muscles rather than working on your fat. As your muscles grow, they will burn more fat naturally.
Don't panic at the thought of your muscles growing, especially if you are a woman. They don't grow that fast, for a start. Second, competition bodybuilders have to put in a huge amount of effort and work intensively for months in order to grow muscles that big. Third, muscle is what gives your body its attractive shape. Undeveloped muscle is what makes many thin women over forty just look scrawny. With well developed muscles, you will easily look ten to fifteen years younger than your real age.
Remember too, that muscle takes up far less space than fat, even though it weighs the same. Compare the size of a pound of steak to that of a pound of butter. Growing muscle doesn't automatically mean growing bigger: it does mean growing leaner.
If you are carrying a lot of fat, or if you are over forty, it's probably a good idea to consult your doctor before starting a serious exercise program. Working with heavy weights will put a lot of stress on your muscles - that's what helps them grow - but we don't want you stressing a failing heart muscle, for example. If you have to lose fat because it's putting too much strain on your heart, a sports doctor should be able to guide you into an effective but safe program.
Assuming that you're fit to train, start by working out your biggest muscles first. After all, they burn the most fat. The biggest muscles are those in your upper back, your chest and of course, your butt and thighs. Build muscle by working with weights that allow you to comfortably do between four and eight repetitions of the exercise before taking a rest. Once you can do eight comfortably, move to a slightly heavier weight.
Do two to three exercises per big muscle: a total of six to eight exercises in all. Start by doing each exercise once, and work up to three times. This will take you between twenty and thirty minutes to complete, which is not going to dent your schedule dramatically. It should also make it easy to fit in an exercise program three to four times a week. Try and skip a day between sessions.
Once your fat starts coming down to a level where your shape is showing through, you can start working on the smaller muscles. At this stage you'll want to change your exercise program completely, perhaps doing upper body exercises one day, and lower body exercises the next. Build up a repertoire of exercises for each body part, and try using different ones every time you train. It will not only help keep your program fresh, it will also help keep your program effective, as your muscles will be less likely to get used to particular exercises.
Any good gym will be able to advise you on which exercises train which body part, and help you put together a program. You can also buy your own weights, and train at home using a program from any one of a number of excellent books and videos.
Just remember you want to build muscle. Choose books and videos that will help you do that first. Once you're in the shape you want, you can try other programs that appeal to you more.
But quite frankly, burning fat while watching television because I work with weights three times a week is still the most attractive option for me.
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