The 20-Minute Aerobics Solution
The other pillar of the Body-for-LIFE program is the 20-Minute Aerobics Solution. We call it a "solution" because it solves the problem of long, boring cardio workouts. We call it "aerobics" because aerobics means "with oxygen" and refers to the use of oxygen in a muscle's energy-generating process. Aerobic exercise conditions the most important muscle in your body your heart. It helps keep your blood pipes open and boosts the ability of your lungs to capture oxygen.
Both the weight training and aerobic components of the Body-for-LIFE program promote the health of that indispensable pump.
Here's an obvious but often overlooked fact: Your heart never takes a break. On average, it beats 70 times a minute, 400 times an hour, 100,000 times a day, 37 million times a year. Every day it pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of veins and arteries. Over a lifetime, if you live to be 80, your heart will contract three billion times and pump more than 58 million gallons of blood enough to cover a football field to a depth of two feet. We urge you to keep this in mind: To become a Champion truly takes heart.
But low-intensity, long-duration aerobic exercise is not the best method for ridding your body of fat. Studies show that high-intensity exercise burns fat more effectively by up to 50 percent, depending on the intensity level and duration of the exercise. It also speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved after you work out the so-called caloric "afterburn." "High-intensity cardio speeds up my metabolism for hours," says Champion Scott LaPierre.
"People spend hours training their abs each week on machines and exercises. Cardio provides the means to remove fat from your body and make your abs visible." To burn more stored body fat, consider performing your aerobic workout before breakfast. You can burn more stored body fat doing 20 minutes of aerobics before your wakeup bowl of oatmeal than you will doing an hour of aerobics later in the day. The reason? With no readily available energy from recently ingested food, your body can turn to its fat repositories, hungrily cannibalizing the lard stored in your love handles or saddlebag thighs.
Here's how the 20-Minute Aerobics Solution can fit into Body-for-LIFE. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, you'll lift weights. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, you'll perform only 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. Again, it's not about quantity but quality. To make every minute count, you'll perform the exercise with intensity. Whatever your preference walking, jogging, riding a stationary bike, using a treadmill begin with a two-minute warm-up at about a Level 5 on the Intensity Index. After two minutes, take it up a notch to Level 6 and keep it there for a minute. Then push to Level 7 for a minute. Then Level 8 for a minute.
Then Level 9. After a minute of near-maximum exertion, drop to Level 6 again, a moderate effort. Repeat this pattern three times. On the last cycle, (between the 18th and 19th minutes of your 20-minute workout), don't stop at Level 9. Instead, take it to Level 10. Go for a High Point. (Remember, we defined a High Point in the previous article.) Then bring it down to Level 5 for a cool-down minute. We know that you won't reach Level 10 or attain a new High Point every workout. But it's something you should always aim for.
Otherwise, you'll get stuck in the comfort zone, and your body won't be forced to adapt. Even though you may be exercising regularly, you won't get results. At first you may feel ready to pass out just by running around the block, but week by week, you will surpass your preconceived Level 10 and set the bar higher and this is essential if you want to continue to make changes. "I vividly remember getting on the treadmill for the first time. I started out at a crawl and huffed and puffed as the minute hand on a nearby wall clock crawled along with me," recalls Michelle Lee. "I made a promise to myself that the high-intensity cardio was either going to kill me or make me stronger."
Rest = Growth
This program is designed to provide ample rest. Your weight-training sessions alternate between upper-body and lower-body muscles for a reason: to give the targeted muscle groups plenty of time to heal and recover. Hard-core exercise addicts sometimes regard rest as a four-letter word. Then they wonder why they feel tired and weak, why they're prone to injury, why they're not making progress.
We know that rest is essential. Exercise stimulates muscle growth; rest allows it. It's between workouts that your body rebuilds itself. In addition to letting your muscles rest by working muscle groups every other day and scheduling your cardio in between, the amount of time you spend with your head on your pillow is key to muscle growth and fat loss.
Studies show that if you don't get enough sleep (six to eight hours a night), your levels of cortisol rise and cortisol is a nasty stress hormone that encourages fat gain and muscle loss. Bottom line get enough sleep and take the recommended rest in between workouts. Don't fool yourself into thinking an additional cardio session or a longer weight-training session will increase your chances for success. As countless Champions and Challengers will tell you, follow Body-for-LIFE "BTB" that stands for "by the book." No more, no less.
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