The Mind Over Body Matter Letter

I feel like I’ve let you down a bit.

I mean, you’re here because you want some quality content.  I have to say… I am terribly sorry for the last two issues.  They weren’t exactly my “best” work.  (A product release takes a lot of time)

But… I’ve seen the error of my ways and… I promise… this will be the best MOBM letter yet!

And here’s why:

I’ve been extremely interested in this new phenomenon called “energy flux”.  In fact, I’ve dedicated a pretty good amount of “Weight Loss Black Ops” to it.  I’ve had our trainers change up the workouts considerably.

You see, I know that you don’t want to workout for 2 hours per day.  Hell, who does.  However using “energy flux” principles, you can actually work out LESS and see more results.

I told you this would be good.

I have a breakthrough announcement to make to you…

If you want to burn more fat than you currently are, stop worrying about how many calories you’ve burned per workout.
 
What?
 
That’s right, don’t worry about burning 300 calories on the stepper because it’s not really about the total calories burned exercising that triggers fat loss.

It’s the velocity of the calories you’re burning that really counts.  In layman’s terms, how quickly can you burn those 300 calories will determine your ultimate fat loss result.

And here’s the proof behind it…

In a study by M Yoshioka et al, the conclusion vehemently states:

“These results suggest that high-intensity exercise favors a lessor body fat deposition which might be related to an increase in post-exercise energy metabolism that is mediated by Beta-adrenergic stimulation”

What this says is that to increase your fat loss, you need to increase the amount of oxygen you are consuming per day (and no, that doesn’t mean hyper-ventilate)

Let me back track a little bit…

Go ahead and get the whole “fat burning zone” out of your head.  In fact, let’s talk about that for a second.

During times of lower intensity, about 75% of the energy you use comes from fat.  Now, obviously, this doesn’t mean that it’s the ONLY source of fuel.  There is still some energy that comes from glucose (carbs). 

Think about it this way… your body is ALWAYS using a combination of the two molecules for energy.  One may be dominant, but it is never exclusive.

Here is something else to think about… and this borderlines on ridiculous…

Sitting on the couch is a very low intensity exercise.  Therefore, since 75% of your calories are coming from fat…
 
All couch potatoes should be skinny!
 
But you know that isn’t the case right?

So, now we know that “fat burning” doesn’t necessarily mean “fat loss”.  You see, most of us only exercise for one hour per day maximum.  That leaves 23 more hours of virtually no activity.

Exercise, to be truthful, only really contributes to 10% of our total energy output for the day.  So, yes, long term cardio does burn a lot of calories… but it does NOTHING to your resting metabolic rate.  Therefore, long term cardio doesn’t increase the amount of energy you plow through the other 23 or so hours of the day.
  
How does the velocity of calories make a difference?
  
It all relates to Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).  In other words, how much oxygen you are burning the other 23 hours of the day.  You see, you can tell how many calories you are burning by the amount of oxygen that you are consuming.  This effect increases your metabolism.

Lower intensity exercise misses the mark when it comes to this effect.  However, both weight training and high intensity exercise hit it dead on.

When your body reaches intensities levels of approximately 85% VO2 max, the EPOC effect can last for 48-72 hours!

This means that your metabolism can be raging like a  rabid pit bull on amphetamines for 3 straight days!

Let me also let you in on this… if you are comfortable talking to someone while you are working out… you aren’t going to get this effect.

Interval training will get it for you.

Oh, and you can do less than 20 minutes of it per session to see results.  That’s right, no more boring, 45 minute cardio sessions.

I am giving you a homework assignment.

For one month, I want you to do at least 3 sessions of high intensity interval training a week.  Afterward, note your results.  You’ll be so surprised.
 
Do you want more content?
 
I sure hope so because there’s much more to come.

First, I want to tell you about the fitness forum I own.  It’s been up and running for a little over a year and started out as an experiment for a health club I was involved with.

Well, not to get into the details, lets just say that the experiment was a failure.  But, no big deal, right?  After all, this is coming from the guy that always says “failures arejust lessons to be learned”.

I am currently revamping the forum and I’m inviting you to join me in the fun.  The site is completely free and I tend to post articles daily from either myself or other super qualified people in different categories like weight loss, building, golf training, kids training, cardio training, diet, book reviews, and much, much, more.

This will give you the opportunity to not only read cutting edge articles and research, but to comment, get clarification, and discuss each of the articles provided.

Heck, you can even post your own articles or articles that you’ve found (as long as you have permission to post them).

All you need to do is register (for free) to join in.  As a member, you also get access to the arcade.  Be careful, many of the games are EXTREMELY addictive so no playing at work.

So go over to Physique 101, register, and click on the “forums” link at the top left of the navigation menu.  Find a category to check out and read away.

And ask lots of questions… remember… you aren’t the only person that wants to know!

Also, I almost forgot.  There is a place on the forum that you can post your workouts for feedback (or to just help yourself get in line).  I’ve started posting mine today so take a look.