By Shaun Hadsall
CPT and Creator of 4 Cycle Fat-Loss
If you're reading this article then you obviously have an interest in accelerating your fat loss.
After all, who doesn't want to look better, feel better, have more energy, increase their self esteem and pretty much improve every other area of their life?
I know I do.
And that's exactly what happens when you accelerate your fat loss in healthy and sustainable fashion.
Everything in life just gets a whole lot better.
It's a strange phenomenon, but when you make significant progress shrinking your waistline or you get to the point where you can actually see definition in your stomach...
All of sudden you realize that same focus has leaked into every other area of your life.
It's like hitting the bull's eye of your body and life.
But it's not easy.
It requires consistency and effort. And usually it's pretty simple to lose the first few pounds. But then it gets tricky and requires more of a strategy.
That's why I put together this guide and I'm so passionate about helping others learn the truth about real fat loss. You see - your body is smart. Super smart. And it can adapt very quickly to old school weight loss methods.
There's actually a name for it. It's called the "Adaptive Response" and it can be your greatest fat burning enemy unless you know how to overcome it.
If you've ever experienced a weight loss plateau, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.
And you've probably discovered (like I did years ago) that fat loss pills, crash diets, endless cardio and infomercial gadgets are ineffective, outdated, and pretty much a waste of time and energy.
But today I am going to introduce you to an aggressive, yet extremely efficient exercise strategy that's specifically designed to burn off stubborn fat, flatten your belly and eventually get your lower abs "popping" out.
Introducing The Ultimate Cardio Sequence...
Your Solution To Losing ALL Your Lower Abdomen Fat...
I'm sure you're no stranger to interval training. And if you've ever consistently used this type of strategy, keep reading because I solve the main problem with trendy intervals (and traditional cardio) below with Metabolic Bursting and the Ultimate Cardio Sequence (UCS).
It's by far the most efficient and effective way to force the release of fat burning hormones to help you burn off stubborn body fat and bust through a plateau.
The NEED for SPEED...
For those of you who don't know, intervals (aka metabolic bursting) are simply a very hard, short burst of exercise (sprinting, jumping, cycling, bodyweight exercises etc.) followed by an active recovery period to let the heart rate come back down before repeating another interval or burst.
This is NOT traditional interval training.
Traditional intervals typically last 1 to 2 minutes in length. Bursting intervals are shorter in duration (10 to 45 seconds max) and harder in effort.
These short, brief, high intensity exercise bursts trump old school cardio (and even traditional intervals) everyday of the week.
And if you really wanna see a dramatic change in how your body looks...it doesn't require a lot of exercise time...but it does require INTENSITY.
Trust me, you'll know when you get there...
After you're done getting a giggle...continue below.
Catastrophic HUH?
No...Catecholamines!
Catecholamines are "fight-or-flight" hormones released by the adrenal glands in response to stress like high intensity bursting.They are part of the sympathetic nervous system and they force the release of free fatty acids into the bloodstream.
Catecholamines eventually convert to dopamine, to norepinephrine, and eventually to epinephrine, which ultimately forces the release of these free fatty acids.
In other words, these catecholamines break apart stubborn body fat (more on how to more effectively "burn off" this residual fat in a second).
This is just one of the many reasons why strategic intervals and bursts are so much more effective for fat loss than traditional exercise and old-school cardio.
Additionally...
- They save time, are extremely efficient, and burn way more residual fat.
- They lower insulin, raise Growth Hormone (GH), and force the release of free fatty acids and powerful brain chemicals listed above.
- They provide the greatest "after burn". Strategic high intensity intervals or bursts have the potential to increase your metabolic rate for 38 to 48 hours after doing just one 12 to 20 minute session.
- Pretty amazing. (The scientific term for this effect is called EPOC which stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption)
- They're challenging and fun which makes the time tick by twice as fast.
- They're one of the greatest stress relievers on Earth.
- This type of exercise has also been shown to increase blood flow for faster fat loss in those hard-to-get-rid-of stubborn areas like lower abdomen fat.
As you can see, the benefits of this approach go way beyond the scope of traditional cardio exercise.
I know this might sound like it's a little more advanced, but I've dissected, researched, and applied this protocol on other people and myself for several years now so average people like you don't have to try and figure out all the scientific jargon.
First, I'm going to introduce you to a 12 minute protocol that will force the release of fat burning hormones (like catecholamines). This becomes the catalyst for free fatty acids to dump into the bloodstream at a steady rate.
Next, you'll discover my plateau busting Ultimate Cardio Sequence (UCS).
These workouts use scientifically proven strategies that will DOUBLE your results by burning off residual free fatty acids. This is also a great way to target that lower stubborn abdomen fat and bust through a plateau.
Warning: The protocols below are typically not for beginners. Make sure you've conditioned yourself previously with normal exercise on a consistent basis. Additionally, make sure you've been cleared by your doctor for higher intensity exercise.
Strategic Interval - Bursting Protocol
Intensity Level Guidelines Below
- Level 1 = Warm-Up or Slow Pace
- Level 2 = Medium
- Level 3 = Medium-High
- Level 4 = High
- Level 5 = Hard as you can go (based on your current level of personal condition)
*Intensity levels are different for every person and are based on your current condition, age, gender, or other limitations, so please gauge your intensity level based on where you're at right now personally.
Targeting Ultimate Cardio Sequence Strategy...
The warm up is important for 2 reasons...
- It lowers and stabilizes insulin. This is vital because it's nearly impossible to burn fat in the presence of insulin.
- It warms up the muscles, which will prevent injury, and creates more blood flow. Research indicates more blood flow equals more free fatty acids being released into the blood stream so they can be burned off (which equals more fat loss).
OK...Time To Get "SNEAKY" (BONUS TIP)
Immediately after you finish these high intensity bursts or even strategic body weight circuits using this protocol, free fatty acids literally pour or "dump" into the bloodstream.
This is where we can incorporate a sneaky strategy to burn them off.
If you don't, research shows these fatty acids float around and can literally move from your upper body to your lower body (or somewhere else) and just be re-stored as body fat again.
Weird and wacky, I know, but God designed the human body to be a survivor. So your body will do whatever necessary to protect itself by holding on to more fat.
This is where the strategic cool down comes in. It will help you burn off the extra Free Fatty Acids that are floating around in the bloodstream.
This is yet another metabolic "trick" to help you prevent them from re-storing. This is a process called re-esterification and if you want to avoid it, the strategic cool down is crucial.
(A big "thanks" to Lyle McDonald for all his knowledge and scientific references on designing this protocol.)
You can also replace the bursts with body weight training like burpees, thrusters (both shown below), or even stuff like jumping lunges or other bodyweight type circuits.
Burpees Shown Above
Thruster - also called Squat Press
I have to admit; at first I was very hesitant to share the strategic protocol and exercise trick below.
Why? Because most folks think more is better and they'll go overboard by attempting to do this 5 or 6 times a week. If you decide to be an over-achiever, this technique WILL backfire on you - I promise.
Remember, exercise is just the "stimuli" for the results that occur while you rest and nourish. In other words, nutrition and recovery is crucial in order for this protocol to work properly on your body.
On the other hand, if you apply this protocol two to three times a week with adequate recovery between workouts, you'll see stubborn fat disappearing very quickly.
Ok, here it is. The scientifically proven routine specifically designed to attack and burn off stubborn lower ab fat and break any plateau. Go get em'!
Ultimate Cardio Sequence - Level 1
Intensity Level Guidelines Below
- Level 1 = Warm-Up or Slow Pace
- Level 2 = Medium
- Level 3 = Medium-High
- Level 4 = High
- Level 5 = Hard as you can go (based on your current level of personal condition)
*Intensity levels are different for every person and are based on your current condition, age, gender, or other limitations, so please gauge your intensity level based on where you're at right now personally.
- The 2 minute cool down allows the heart rate to settle down after the higher intensity bursts.
- The 5 minute rest will force the Free Fatty Acids (FFA) to "dump" into the blood stream.
- The 20 to 40 minute steady state session at the end will burn off all the free fatty acids that are actively floating around inside your body.
It takes a little more time, but it's a killer strategy that will help you bust through a weight loss plateau and burn off more of the stubborn - hard to get rid of - fat.
There's also two MORE ways you can use the Metabolic Bursting Intervals to enhance your fat loss results even further.
The first one is UCS - Level II which adds a strategic protocol to UCS level 1 above to help enhance the "after burn" (aka - EPOC) to further accelerate your fat loss. The second is a specifically designed protocol that actually "targets" lower belly fat directly.
NO, it's not spot reduction (you can't spot reduce), but it's pretty dang close.
I've coined it Ab Targeted Bursting and when you apply this approach in a synergistic fashion with Ab Targeted Cardio (ATC) and when you apply this approach in a synergistic fashion with Metabolic Bursting and strategic nutrition (aka Macro-Patterning) you'll be an unstoppable fat burning machine around the clock from sun up until sun down.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can apply all of these strategies on your body so you can target lower abdomen fat and/or break any weight loss plateau, just check out this special website that Nick and I set up for you right here:
Conclusion:
So there you have it, a crash course on one of the latest cutting edge fat burning exercise techniques known to mankind.
It's really logical if you think about it.
If you act like a marathon runner, you'll end up looking like one. But, if you act more like a sprinter or a trained athlete, you'll look more like a sprinter or a trained athlete.
And just in case you haven't noticed, sprinters always have defined upper and lower abs all year round. There's no reason you can't do it too!
I didn't say it was easy... but it's a simple process to follow.
As you can see here, the choice is obvious.
High intensity is where it's at.
Now that you understand strategic bursting to overcome the hormonal and metabolic obstacles that block your fat loss, it's time to combine it with the most important aspect of targeting lower abdomen fat...Nutrition.
After all, without a properly structured nutrition strategy the UCS strategy won't do diddly squat to help you tone and define your lower abs.
Enter - Macro-Patterning
Macro-Patterning
So what the heck is Macro-Patterning, anyway? And - how can it work in synergy with with strategic metabolic bursting?
Macro-Patterning is the simple process of carefully regulating and alternating protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake to combat your body's adaptive response to your eating patterns.
This allows you to manipulate something called glycogen (just a fancy word for stored energy from carbs).
It's much easier than it actually sounds. Just think of it as carb-cycling trickery to trigger your metabolism so it will target lower stomach fat along with strategic cheat days added in.
Remember, the minute your body thinks you're on a diet, it will do anything and everything it can to hold on to as much fat as possible because it knows you're going into starvation mode.
This can happen after just a few days of dieting or going low carb.
Your brain will send the rest of your body a signal to conserve energy for the coming dry spell. That means it shuts down body temperature, reduces the absorption rate of food, and slows down your metabolism by suppressing fat burning hormones, all with the intention of storing more fat so it will have plenty of energy "just in case."
But that's where Macro-Patterning along with Strategic Cheating comes to the rescue so you can avoid the dreaded "fat spillover syndrome"...
You see, by timing your Macro-Nutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) in conjunction with Metabolic Bursting, you can manipulate and force your body to feed on more stubborn lower abdomen fat while simultaneously resetting your fat burning hormones.
Best of all, this method allows you to still enjoy all your favorite foods. You just have to understand and apply the proper strategy.
If you don't, excess carbs call literally "spillover" and be converted to body fat.
NOT GOOD.
Here's where you can learn more about how to use this rapid fat loss method...
The ULTIMATE 14 Day Rapid Fat Loss Plan
Use Metabolic Bursting and Macro-Patterning On Your Body To TARGET Your Lower Abdominal Fat
More From Fitstep.com
| How to Gain Muscle By Eating NO Protein | |
| Full-Body 15-Minute Fat Loss Circuit With ONE Dumbbell | |
| Where Do I Start With Fitness? Start Here. | |
| 16 Tips and Tricks For a Bigger, Better Squat |
Share This Page...
---
Home -> Fat Loss -> Tips and Articles -> Target Abdominal Fat
