subject: Lose Stomach Fat In Your 50s With The Right Exercise To Lose Weight [print this page] If you want to lose stomach fat you have to exercise vigorously enough to burn fat. As you get older it can be hard to sustain vigorous exercise for long. In addition to that, many people complain they do not have the time to exercise, particularly when they are told thay have to set aside an hour at a time. Because of this, some people give up on exercise or end up doing longer more moderate types of exercise. The trouble is, even though there are many health benefits in regular, moderate exercise, it does not burn much fat.
If you compare the weight loss of people who do moderate exercise to those who do vigorous exercise over shorter periods of time, you find the difference is dramatic. A study published in Applied Physiology in 2007 found women doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) burned 36 percent more fat. They exercised on a stationary bike for an hour every second day over a 14-day period, but they varied their speed. They sprinted for 4 minutes and rested for 2 minutes. However, an hour every second day is still quite a chunk of time out of most peoples' weeks.
What about 20 minutes or so, three times a week? That is something we should all be able to handle. In an Australian study, the weight loss of a group of women who walked for an hour a day was compared with that of 45 women who did HIIT. The women who did the short, vigorous exercise three times a week for the 15 weeks lost three times more weight than the walkers. In fact, the women who walked only lost an average of 1.15 kilograms (2.53 pounds). No doubt they were a lot healthier and felt very positive, but they were not much lighter.
The researchers found the best fat loss results came from sprinting for 8 seconds and resting for 12. It is important to build up to it when you first start, particularly if you have any injuries or health issues. An alternative is to adopt that pattern but do not work completely at you maximum for those 8 seconds until you get a little fitter. You can vary the sprint and rest periods to suit yourself. For example, some trainers suggest a ratio of 1:3 when you first start. That is, 1 sprint period for 3 rest periods. This means if you sprint for 10 seconds you would rest for 30 seconds or if for 15 seconds then rest for 45 seconds.
That's where HIIT comes into its own. It not only saves time, so that even the busiest should be able to fit it into their day, but it helps you lose more weight faster than longer more moderate exercise. A couple of tips: it is important to warm up and cool down and it is important not to overdo it. Warm up and cool down by spending 3 to 5 minutes doing moderate activity at the beginning and the end. If you have health issues, lead up to the sprints gradually or, if you are really concerned, check with your doctor.
If you want to lose your stomach fat faster and save time, this is the ideal exercise. It will also give your heart, lungs and muscles a great workout and increase your strength and stamina. Now there are no more excuses - you really do have the time to exercise and get rid of that stomach fat.
