If you haven’t listened to the amazing 18 minute interview that I did with Tom covering the topic of overcoming limiting beliefs, I recommend that you drop everything and pop it into your mp3 player now. You can download it by visiting Fat Loss Belief System with Tom Venuto and look for the audio player at the bottom of the page.

That is seriously one of the most powerful interviews that I’ve ever conducted, especially considering that it was only 18 minutes long. It’s all content with action steps that you can easily implement.

The thing that I love most about Tom is that he challenges you to grow as a person. Every post or email that I receive from him gets the wheels spinning in my head. His perspectives are always fresh and incredibly thought provoking.

If you want a taste of his style and are eager to put your thinking cap on, I encourage you to visit Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Blog. It is without a doubt one of the greatest resources out there to help you become the best that you can be.

Here’s some thought provoking posts for you to check out…

Does Cold Weather Make You Store Body Fat?

A New Challenge For 2010: Goal Setting For A Decade

The Truth About Comfort Zones and “No Pain, No Gain”

“Steady State Cardio 5 X More Effective Than HIIT????”

Like I said, I think everyone can learn something valuable from the above posts and if you explore Tom’s Burn The Fat Blog even deeper you will find some very invaluable tips that have the potential to significantly impact your fat loss success.

Like me, Tom keeps it real. There’s no hidden agenda. He’s one of the good guys who is on your side. Rather than simply take a stance on a certain topic such as HIIT vs long duration cardio, or high carb vs low carb he will show you both sides of the debate and provide you with the right kind of information to help you form your own opinion. I told you that his blog posts and emails are thought provoking right???

I’ve personally been a subscriber of Tom’s newsletter for well over six years… maybe even seven. It was actually the first newsletter that I had ever subscribed to and his book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle was the first ebook that I ever purchased. I often sit back and think of how grateful I am for whatever forces pulled me to Tom’s site that day.

BFFM is not a diet book for everyone. If you do not enjoy paying attention to the details or counting calories you will have a difficult time sticking with the program.

But here’s the kicker… I’d still recommend that you read Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle even if you aren’t going to count calories or stick to the program. Why? Because I want you to use it as an educational tool.

BFFM does a phenomenal job of educating you on the science of nutrition and even the science of diet. Even if you don’t plan on following BFFM you will get a lot out of the mindset component of the book as well as have a deeper insight into nutrition.

Investing in Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle for educational purposes rather than “Hoping that this is going to be the diet that finally helps you lose your stubborn belly fat” is a mindset shift in itself.

If you ever purchase another diet book again, I highly recommend that you take the approach of education instead of wishful thinking.

I’m keeping it real here folks! It’s really difficult for me to make this sound un-hyped because I’m one of Tom’s biggest fans and will be for life. He’s taught me more than I could have ever hoped for. Not just in terms of fat loss… but in life.

If you prefer hard cover books and you are looking for some great advice on how to stick to a diet or workout program, I highly recommend that you grab yourself a copy of Tom’s book The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscles, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight

You will not find any hype or gimmicks in this book. The Body Fat Solution has got to be one of the most refreshing approaches to fat loss out there.

And it’s pretty darn cool to see that Tom uses Angie and I as an example of the power of spousal support on page 207 of The Body Fat Solution.

Here’s a video review that I did for The Body Fat Solution last year when I received an autographed advance copy from Tom.

Last, but certainly not least… if you have been looking for an incredible support community full of amazing and caring people to cheer you on, as well as in depth articles and interviews on the most important topics in the area of fat loss, I recommend Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle.

I’ve been busy listening to several of the interviews where Tom shares some rare gems that I haven’t heard many people discus before. I love his no B.S. approach and his total honesty and passion for helping others. I’ve got my mp3 player loaded up and looking forward to listening to more of Tom’s audios while I go out walking this week.

If you are already a follower and fan of Tom Venuto I would love to hear from you. Take a moment to share your thoughts and let us know the one thing that he has taught you that has made a positive impact on your fat loss and your life.

Have yourself an awesome day!

Keeping It Real,

Scott Tousignant

Tom Venuto’s Fat Burning Kitchen

A Quick Tour of the Burn The Fat Kitchen from Tom Venuto on Vimeo

The Strategies That I Will Implement In My Fat Burning Kitchen

So what are you going to implement from what you’ve observed in the tour of Tom Venuto’s kitchen? Do you do anything different in your kitchen that helps you make smart and healthy food choices? I’d love to hear from you so please share your comments and suggestions below.

Take advantage of the generous offer that Tom has extended to YOU my valued reader. Experience one full month of the magnificent Burn The Fat Inner Circle for just $1.

During your test drive you can read the articles, ask your questions, listen to the audios, watch the videos, and skyrocket your motivation with the support community forums, all of which will help you in your journey to fat loss success.

Take advantage of this generous offer by visiting www.Burn-The-Fat-InnerCircle.com

Empower Your Mind… And Your Body Will Follow!

Scott Tousignant

2 Cardio Mistakes You’re Probably STILL Making

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnOffTheFat.com
www.Burn-The-Fat-InnerCircle.com

As I thought about reviewing the newest scientific study from Australia this week, or explaining the post workout “afterburn effect” (EPOC) that comes from intense forms of cardio, it dawned on me to backtrack, and ask…

“WHY are people still confused about fat burning cardio in the first place when the solution is drop dead simple, common sense and right in front of our noses?”

I thought to myself,

“if I could help remove the SOURCE of the confusion, then regardless of which cardio program you choose, every decision and action that emerges from your new understanding would be more productive right?”

RIGHT!

As best as I can figure, there are two major reasons why people are still mucking up their cardio programs for fat loss.

REASON #1 NOT ENOUGH FOCUS ON TOTAL CALORIES BURNED

Most people aren’t burning enough darn calories. Why? well, I guess they are too busy worrying about the “proper” type of exericse (which machine or activity), the “optimal” mode (steady state or intervals), the “perfect” ratio of intervals, or the “best” duration. Some people coast along on the treadmill at 2.3 miles per hour or some similar super-slow pace and they think that just by hitting a TIME goal, such as 45 or 60 minutes, that with “X” duration completed, they are assured to get the results they want. On the other extreme, we have folks who have found or created some mega-intense, super-duper short training protocol like the “4-minute wonder workout from Japan.” Just because the workout is high in intensity and it is performed in intervals, they too think they are assured to get the results they want. What’s missing in both cases is the realization that total fat loss is a function of total calories burned (assuming you don’t blow your diet, of course). AND… Total calories burned is a product of INTENSITY times DURATION, not intensity OR duration. Too much focus on one variable at the exclusion of the other can lead to a less than optimal total calorie burn and disappointing results. And remember, intensity and duration are *variables* not absolutes! (“Variable” means you can change them… even if your “guru” says you can’t!) when you understand the relationship and interplay between INTENSITY X DURATION you will find a “SWEET SPOT” where the product of those variables produces the maximal calorie burn and maximum fat loss, based on your current health condition and your need for time efficiency.

REASON #2: TOO MUCH FOCUS ON WHAT TYPE OF CALORIES BURNED

There is one whopper of a mistake that is still KILLING most people’s cardio programs and that is…

Way too much focus on WHAT you are burning during the workout – fats or carbohydrates – also known as “substrate utilization.” This idea comes from the notorious “fat burning zone” myth which actually tells people to exercise SLOWER and LESS intensely to burn more fat. Hold on a minute. Pop quiz. Which workout burns more calories?

(A) A 30 minute leisurely stroll through the park
(B) A 30 minute, sweat-pouring, heart-pounding run?

Like, DUH! And yet we have trainers, authors and infomercial gurus STILL telling us we have to slow down if we want to burn more fat??? Bizarre.

The reason people still buy it is because the “fat burning zone” myth sounds so plausible because of two little science facts:

And thats the problem. You should be focusing on total calories and total fat burned during the workout and all day long, not just what type or percentage of fuel you are burning during the workout.

It’s not that fat oxidation doesn’t matter, but what if you have a high percentage of fat oxidation but an extremely low number of calories burned?

If you really want to be in the “fat burn zone,” you could sit on your couch all day long and that will keep you there quite nicely because “couch sitting” is a really low intensity (“fat-burning”) activity.

(Of course, “couch sitting” only burns 37 calories per half hour…)

HERE’S THE FAT-BURNING SOLUTION!

In both cases, the solution to burning more fat is drop dead simple: Focus your attention on how you can burn more TOTAL calories during your workout and all day long. If you want to burn more fat, burn more calories and you can do that by manipulating ANY of the variables : intensity, duration and also frequency. If you build your training program around this concept, you will be on the right track almost every time.

BUT WAIT – THERE IS MORE TO IT…

Naturally, we could argue that it’s not quite this simple and that there are hundreds of other reasons why your cardio program might not be working… and I would agree, of course. But on the exercise side, the ideas above should be foremost in your mind. On the nutrition side, you have to get your act together there too. For example, many people increase their food intake at the same time as they start a cardio training program, thereby putting back every calorie they just burned during the workout! Then some of them have the nerve to say, “SEE, cardio doesnt work!”

Incidentally, this is the most likely reason that a few studies show that adding cardio or aerobic training to a diet “did not improve fat loss”: It’s not because the cardio didn’t work, it was because the researchers didnt control for diet and the subjects ate more!!

It should go without saying that nutrition is the foundation on which every fat loss program is built.

Choose the combination of type, intensity, duration and frequency that suits your lifestyle and preferences the best, and WORK THE VARIABLES to get the fat loss results you want, but whichever cardio program you choose, remember that a solid fat burning nutrition program, such as Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle is necessary to help you make the most of it.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnOffTheFat.com

I hope that this article from Tom shed some more light on the issue of HIIT vs long duration cardio. You have to manipulate both the duration and intensity variables if you want continued success. Cranking up the intensity and keeping your workouts at a set time will only get you so far.

I’ve been a member and moderator at Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle for nearly two years now. He’s got many articles there where he picks apart a lot of research and topics that confuse most of us and are somewhat controversial. Not to mention all the other great information at his site which you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

Because of my relationship with Tom, he has allowed me to offer you a $1 trial to the Burn The Fat Inner Circle. You can check it all out by visiting…

www.Burn-The-Fat-InnerCircle.com

Have a 6 Pack Abs-solutely awesome day!

Scott Tousignant

“Steady State Cardio 5 X More Effective Than HIIT????”

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnOffTheFat.com
www.Burn-The-Fat-InnerCircle.com

High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short, has been promoted as one of the most effective training methods ever to come down the pike, both for fat loss and for cardiovascular fitness. One of the most popular claims for HIIT is that it burns “9 times more fat” than conventional (steady state) cardio. This figure was extracted from a study performed by Angelo Tremblay at Laval University in 1994. But what if I told you that HIIT has never been proven to be 9 times more effective than regular cardio… What if I told you that the same study actually shows that HIIT is 5 times less effective than steady state cardio??? Read on and see the proof for yourself.

“There are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics.”

- Mark Twain

In 1994, a study was published in the scientific journal Metabolism by Angelo Tremblay and his team from the Physical activity sciences laboratory at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. Based on the results of this study, you hear personal trainers across the globe claiming that “HIIT burns 9 times more fat than steady state cardio.” This claim has often been interpreted by the not so scientifically literate public as meaning something like this: If you burned 3 pounds of fat in 15 weeks on steady state cardio, you would now burn 27 pounds of fat in 15 weeks (3 lbs X 9 times better = 27 lbs). Although it’s usually not stated as such, frankly, I think this is what some trainers want you to believe, because the programs that some trainers promote are based on convincing you of the vast superiority of HIIT and the “uselessness” of low intensity exercise. Indeed, higher intensity exercise is more effective and time efficient than lower intensity exercise. The question is, how much more effective? There’s no evidence that the “9 times more fat loss” claim is true outside the specific context in which it was mentioned in this study. In order to get to the bottom of this, you have to read the full text of the research paper and you have to look very closely at the results. 13 men and 14 women age 18 to 32 started the study. They were broken into two groups, a high intensity intermittent training program (HIIT) and a steady state training program which they referred to as endurance training (ET). The ET group completed a 20 week steady state aerobic training program on a cycle ergometer 4 times a week for 30 minutes, later progressing to 5 times per week for 45 minutes. The initial intensity was 60% of maximal heart rate reserve, later increasing to 85%. The HIIT group performed 25-30 minutes of continuous exercise at 70% of maximal heart rate reserve and they also progressively added 35 long and short interval training sessions over a period of 15 weeks. Short work intervals started at 10 then 15 bouts of 15 seconds, increasing to 30 seconds. Long intervals started at 5 bouts of 60 seconds, increasing to 90 seconds. Intensity and duration were progressively increased over the 15 week period.

The results: 3 times greater fat loss in the HIIT group

Even though the energy cost of the exercise performed in the ET group was twice as high as the HIIT group, the sum of the skinfolds (which reflects subcutaneous body fat) in the HIIT group was three times lower than the ET group. So where did the “9 times greater fat loss” claim come from? Well, there was a difference in energy cost between groups, so in order to show a comparison of fat loss relative to energy cost, Tremblay wrote,

“It appeared reasonable to correct changes in subcutaneous fat for the total cost of training. This was performed by expressing changes in subcutaneous skinfolds per megajoule of energy expended in each program.”

Translation: The subjects did not lose 9 times more body fat, in absolute terms. But hey, 3 times more fat loss? You’ll gladly take that, right? Well hold on, because there’s more.

Did you know that in this oft-quoted study, neither group lost much weight? In fact, if you look at the charts, you can see that the HIIT group lost 0.1 kg (63.9 kg before, 63.8 kg after). Yes, the HIIT group lost a whopping 100 grams of weight in 15 weeks!

The ET group lost 0.5 kilograms (60.6 kg before, 60.1 kg after).

Naturally, lack of weight loss while skinfolds decrease could simply mean that body composition improved (lean mass increased), but I think it’s important to highlight the fact that the research study from which the “9 times more fat” claim was derived did not result in ANY significant weight loss after 15 weeks.

Based on these results, if I wanted to manipulate statistics to promote steady state cardio, I could go around telling people, “Research study says steady state cardio (endurance training) results in 5 times more weight loss than high intensity interval training!” Or the reverse, “Clinical trial proves that high intensity interval training is 5 times less effective than steady state cardio!” Mind you, THIS IS THE SAME STUDY THAT IS MOST OFTEN QUOTED TO SUPPORT HIIT!

If I said 5 X greater weight loss with steady state, I would be telling the truth, wouldn’t I? (100 grams of weight loss vs 500 grams?) Of course, that would be misleading because the weight loss was hardly significant in either group, because it doesn’t distinguish between weight loss and body composition and because interval training IS highly effective. I’m simply being a little facetious in order to make a point: Be careful with statistics. I have seen statistical manipulation used many times in other contexts to deceive unsuspecting consumers.

For example, advertisements for a popular fat burner claim that use of their supplement resulted in twice as much fat loss, based on scientific research. The claim was true. Of course, in the ad, they forget to tell you that after six months, the control group lost no weight, while the supplement group lost only 1.0 kilo. Whoop de doo! ONE KILO of weight loss after going through a six month supply of this “miracle fat burner!” But I digress…

Back to the HIIT story – there’s even more to it.

In the ET group, there were some funky skinfold and circumference measurements. ALL of the skinfold measurements in the ET group either stayed the same or went down except the calf measurement, which went up.

The girths and skinfold measurements in the limbs went down in the HIIT group, but there wasn’t much difference between HIIT and ET in the trunk skinfolds. These facts are all very easy to miss. I didn’t even notice it myself until exercise physiologist Christian Finn pointed it out to me. Christian said,

“When you look at the changes in the three skinfold measurements taken from the trunk, there wasn’t that much difference between the steady state group (-6.3mm) and the HIIT group (-8.7 mm). So, much of the difference in subcutaneous fat loss between the groups wasn’t because the HIIT group lost more fat, but because the steady state group actually gained fat around the calf muscles. We shouldn’t discount simple measurement error as an explanation for these rather odd results.”

Christian also pointed out that the two test groups were not evenly matched for body composition at the beginning of the study. At the beginning of the study, the starting body fat based on skinfolds in the HIIT group was nearly 20% higher than the ET group. He concluded:

“So while this study is interesting, weaknesses in the methods used to track changes in body composition mean that we should treat the results and conclusions with some caution.”

One beneficial aspect of HIIT that most trainers forget to mention is that HIIT may actually suppress your appetite, while steady state cardio might increase appetite. In a study such as this, however, that can skew the results. If energy intake were not controlled, then some of the greater fat loss in the HIIT group could be due to lowered caloric intake. Last but not least, I’d like to highlight the words of the researchers themselves in the conclusion of the paper, which confirms the effectiveness of HIIT, but also helps put it in perspective a bit:

“For a given level of energy expenditure, a high intensity training program induces a greater loss of subcutaneous fat compared with a training program of moderate intensity.”

“It is obvious that high intensity exercise cannot be prescribed for individuals at risk for health problems or for obese people who are not used to exercise. In these cases, the most prudent course remains a low intensity exercise program with a progressive increase in duration and frequency of sessions.”

In conclusion, my intention in writing this article wasn’t to be controversial, to be a smart-alec or to criticize HIIT. To the contrary, additional research has continued to support the efficacy of HIIT for fat loss and fitness, not to mention that it is one of the most time efficient ways to do cardiovascular training. I have recommended HIIT for years in my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program, using a 1:1 long interval approach, which, while only one of many ways to do HIIT, is probably my personal favorite method. However, I also recommend steady state cardio and even low intensity cardio like walking, when it is appropriate.

My intentions for writing this article were four-fold:

1. To encourage you to question where claims come from, especially if they sound too good to be true.
2. To alert you to how advertisers might use research such as this to exaggerate with statistics
3. To encourage the fitness community to swing the pendulum back to center a bit, by not over-selling the benefits of HIIT beyond what can be supported by the scientific research
4. To encourage the fitness community, that even as they praise HIIT, not to condemn lower and moderate intensity forms of cardio.

As the original author of the 1994 HIIT study himself pointed out, HIIT is not for everyone, and cardio should be prescribed with progression. Also, mountains of other research has proven that walking (GASP! – low intensity cardio!) has always been one of the most successful exercise methods for overweight men and women. There is ample evidence which says that obesity may be the result of a very slight daily energy imbalance, which adds up over time. Therefore, even a small amount of casual exercise or activity, if done consistently, and not compensated for with increased food intake, could reverse the obesity trend. HIIT gets the job done fast, but that doesn’t mean low intensity cardio is useless or that you should abandon your walking program, if you have the time and if that is what you enjoy and if that is what’s working for you in your personal situation. The mechanisms and reasons why HIIT works so well are numerous and will have to wait for the next newsletter. It goes way beyond more calories burned during the workout. Until then, train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto

Reference:
Tremblay, Angelo, et al. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism. Vol 43. no 7 (July). Pp 814-818. 1994.

I hope that this article from Tom shed some more light on the issue of HIIT vs long duration cardio. I’ve been a member and moderator at Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle for nearly two years now. He’s got many articles there where he picks apart a lot of research and topics that confuse most of us and are somewhat controversial. Not to mention all the other great information at his site which you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

Because of my relationship with Tom, he has allowed me to offer you a $1 trial to the Burn The Fat Inner Circle. You can check it all out by visiting…

www.Burn-The-Fat-InnerCircle.com

Tomorrow I will be discussing the time factor when it comes to HIIT vs long duration cardio. I’m not going to be holding anything back in this article and it may even upset some people, but hey, I can’t always be Mr. Nice Guy

Have a 6 Pack Abs-solutely awesome day!

Scott Tousignant