“Adam, Why am I still Fat?”

This exact question I get asked countless times every year and many times it is from individuals who exercise regularly and believe they follow correct nutrition for weight loss. Many of the people asking me this question have hardly changed their body shape, even though they have been taking part in regular exercise, often for over 6 months! This article will concentrate on the exercise part of losing weight as often this is where people are not doing the right exercise for effective weight loss.

INTENSITY of your training is key to weight loss

The amount of new clients I get who have been doing regular exercise classes and even bootcamps but not seen results is remarkable. They often say to me “Adam I did a bootcamp for three months and saw no results as such”. Wow! to put all that effort in for three months and see only minimal changes is hard to take, especially when 3 months of personal training with me often leads to a stone and a half and even two stone of weight loss. But why are all these people not losing weight for all their efforts at exercise classes?

Well to put it bluntly, the level you are working at is not of sufficient intensity to stimulate your body to burn off your stored fat. Sure people tell me they do countless sit ups, press ups and burpees at classes like bootcamps but these body weight exercises alone simply do not raise the heart rate high enough for long enough to “shock” the body into losing weight. People might feel they are working hard at classes like bootcamps as their muscles get tired, but from a fat burning perspective this simply will not cut it. So what is the answer?

Firstly, in order to get your body burning calories for up to 24 hours after an exercise session you need to be doing Anaerobic cardiovascular intervals. “Anaerobic” means “without oxygen”. A good example of this is to do an all out sprint on a cross trainer, exercise bike or a set of intensive boxing punches on pads with a trainer (like me). By the end of your interval you need to be feeling completely out of breath, basically that feeling you can’t talk more than 2 words without taking in oxygen – now you are anaerobic and ONLY now will your body be stimulated into burning extra calories for up to 24 hours.

The problem with many exercise classes is that it only has your body weight to attempt to get your body to this state of all out fatigue. They really only have 2 options, both of which are flawed for most people, these are :-

• Burpees – Don’t get me wrong I use burpees at times in my sessions but my clients only get to do some if I am fully confident their bodies are able to attempt this ballistic exercise. I use it between exercises to add a little bit of variety, not as the main source of fat burning. Put simply they are either not suitable for many over weight people due to their excess weight putting too much stress on the joints, or for fitter people they actually get too easy to simply use on their own to send the body into a sufficent anaerobic state.
• Running Sprints – If I have a very fit client with no problems with areas such as their knees, ankles and hips, I might bring a few running intervals into their training if it is something they are prepared to try. However, their is a huge amount of baggage with running. Not only is it a bad idea to do intensive running if you have knee issues, running also requires even the most fit people to put time into stretching and sports massage to avoid injury. All of my running clients have regular sessions with an osteopath in order to help their bodies remain injury free. If you currently do running intervals at a bootcamp and suffer from pain during the exercise then it is time to re-think if this is doing you more harm than good.

I tell my clients simply this – “If your not interested in running, stay away from it, there are far more interesting exercise routines that have less baggage and are more productive to get you results. I will train you at the right intensity, on equipment that is right for your goals and body”

The bootcamp and many exercise classes are therefore limited by how they can get your heart rate up sufficiently in order for your body to release fat to be burned off. I am not sure on the exact pricing, but many bootcamps with cost you at least £5 per session, so going twice a week for a month will set you back £40. If you don’t get any results, that is a fair few quid to be chucking down the fitness drain. So what are your options? Well you have two.

1 – Invest in a cross trainer, exercise bike or punch bag. 

All fitness equipment has come down significantly in price. You can pick up a good punchbag and gloves for £40 and cross trainers can be paid for interest free from many retailers for only a few pounds a month. THE BEST NEWS is that I can show how to use your equipment and give you a program that will get you results.

So, for example, lets say you purchased a punch bag for £40 and hired me (£45 for single sessions) to show you a program on how to get the right INTENSITY level out of your training. That is a total of only £85 and with six months of bootcamp costing a few hundred pounds, buying exercise equipment and getting me to show you the best program seems the logical choice. Oh not forgetting when you buy exercise equipment you can do a session whenever you like, unlike an exercise class that are at set times & are at risk of bad weather!

2 – Invest in my personal training.

I have all the above equipment (and more) in my private studio. The great thing is that all this equipment burns the same calories as running but without the possible problems that running can bring. If you are truly fed up with being the same weight and need some help on a weekly basis then HIRE ME! People get results with my training and I am trusted to train everyone from busy corporate individuals to busy mums and even celebrities.

So there you have it, if you are fed up of not getting results from your exercise habits then please consider a change, as something is definitely wrong and you deserve more from all your efforts. Exercise classes and bootcamps may get some people results but many people struggle to stimulate the fat burning response and if your not seeing regular results the truth is it won’t get any better. Maybe the time has come for you to invest in personal training to guarantee you are training at the right level. I not only get you results but I also train you how to look after your new body for years to come.