A Few Things You Should Try

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

I’m going to share a few things with you that you should try. Some will help you speed up your rate of fat loss, some are just worth trying, and others are just straight up good. ; )

Running Sprints/Hill Sprints

Here lately I have been running sprints again. I used to do this a couple of years ago, and wish I had never stopped.

If you haven’t run in a while either, I highly suggest you start out will hill sprints – they are safer to perform and put your body in a more natural position.

Honestly – there are few things more effective than sprints for burning off body fat and improving your conditioning levels. Plus, they are incredibly easy to do. Just find a track (or go to a soccer field like I do), or find a hill, and go for it.

If you’re primary goal is burning fat, then try starting out with this: sprint for 15 seconds, rest 60 seconds and repeat 10 times. Fast, effective, and tough!

Burpees and Their Variations

I love burpees. My favorite variation is a burpee with a push-up and then you jump up and perform a pull-up. Check out this video:

You can also just do a burpee, where you omit the push-up and pull-up. Or, if you want an amazing fat burning and conditioning workout but you don’t have a pull-up bar, try doing burpees with a push-up.

Yesterday I wanted to sprint, but it’s been storming and raining the past few days. Instead I did 100 advanced burpees (the one demonstrated in the video) in about 22 minutes.

The best thing about that workout: I got more accomplished in that 22 minutes than most gym-goes do in three workouts a week. Think about it: most people do some curls, then maybe some crunches, followed by kick-backs, and maybe they top it off with a few minutes of cardio on the elliptical machine.

You don’t have to do a lot of exercises or workout for extended periods of time to get great results. When in doubt: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Almond Butter

If you love peanut butter as much as I do, then you’ll probably like almond butter as well. Just make sure you buy the kind where the only ingredient is “almonds” or “dry roasted almonds”.

If you want to keep the cost down, just buy a one pound bag of almonds, roast them, and then mix it in a food processor until it reaches the desired consistency.

Intermittent Fasting

Yes, yes . . . I know this seems crazy, but I have yet to discover anything that compares to it. Here lately I have been all about making things as easy and simple as possible – from working out to nutrition.

Put simply: it doesn’t get any easier than this. If you think intermittent fasting is a crazy idea, or you’ve never heard about it, then check out this interview I did with Brad Pilon. It’s definitely worth your time because he reveals some amazing information: click this link => Fasting for Weight Loss.

Jumping Rope

Once again, this is an incredibly easy way to improve your conditioning and to burn off fat. The only thing you need is a jump rope and your body weight.

You can either perform intervals: jump rope for 30 seconds, and rest 60 seconds – repeat for about 10 rounds.

Or you can combine jump rope intervals with body weight exercises.

-Jump rope for 1 minute

-20 body weight squats

-15 push-ups

Complete a total of three to 10 sets.

Homemade Muesli

I just tried this last week, and it was dang good.

I don’t measure stuff, so I just put in whatever quantity of each item that I wanted:

-rolled oats

-chopped dates (sugar free)

-chopped prunes

-raisins

-unsweetened coconut

-mixed nuts: raw almonds, pecans, and walnuts

-a generous sprinkling of cinnamon

You can either top it off with milk, almond milk, or soy milk. It’s best if you let the milk soak into the oats for a few minutes before you eat.

Decreasing Your Rest Periods

Most people rest way too long when they workout. Heck, I have seen guys take 5 minute breaks between curls. Seriously . . . I don’t even rest that long between sets of squats and deadlifts.

Start cutting down your rest periods, and you’ll get some good results. Plus, you’ll get in and out of the gym in less time.

A New Hobby

I hate the fact that the fitness world makes “exercising” sound like another dreaded chore everyone is expected to do.

You don’t always have to spend time in a gym to improve your body composition or health. There are dozens of other activities you can participate in that will do the same thing.

Go hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, bouldering (what I’m doing in the picture at the top of this post), play a pick-up game of football or basketball, or anything else you can think of doing.

You don’t have to be in a gym – get creative and try something that excites you and keeps you motivated.

How about you? What are some things we should try? Food, workouts . . . anything! Tell me below in the comments section.