Still Time to Lose Fat this Summer:

If you have been wanting to lose some fat (notice I said fat and not weight) before Summer is over, there is still plenty of time. I believe that it is easier for some of you to lose fat by getting outside in the sun.

Whether the warmer weather helps increase your metabolism or whether there is some other factor that plays a role, being outside in hot weather seems to help you lose fat.

With the extra bike riding that I have done in the past month, along with being busy with other things, I have dropped close to 10 pounds.

Though if you read one of my new articles on fat loss, you will understand that weight loss isn't the main thing, but rather, fat loss is!

Maybe it's the getting outside and increased activity, or maybe the hot weather has something to do with it. Being in the Midwest, you tend to put on a few pounds in Winter time, either to help insulate your body or because you tend to stay indoors where it is warm.

In any case, I notice my shorts falling down without a belt on, and that means my waist is getting smaller. A good thing!

You can go to brianmorganfitness.com and read my new article on fat loss, along with two others I got from top fat loss expert Craig Ballantyne. Craig has a ton of experience with fat loss clients and is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the fitness industry.

Real World Core Strength:

Last week I was reading a blog that talked about an extraordinary achievement of real world core strength. Coach Robert dos Remedios wrote about famous surfer Laird Hamilton and an amazing feat of fitness he performed. To those of you not familiar to surfing, Hamilton is married to former volleyball star Gabrielle Reese.

Hamilton does a lot of surfing on a standup paddle board, which is a large surf board that he paddles through the surf while standing. Kind of like the gondolas in Venice Italy, only instead of using a long pole to push the boat, Hamilton uses a long paddle.

To say that this takes a lot of core strength is an understatement. Or rather, that it builds a lot of core stability in the process. Anyway, Hamilton recently paddled 43 kilometers across the English Channel!

Before this incredible feat he biked 148 kilometers, and then took an hour and a half rest before his crossing. Just a little warmup.

Then, he proceeded to ride 235 kilometers across France! Apparently he needed another challenge. While the biking is quite an achievement on it's own, to me the Channel crossing, which took 6 hours, is unbelievable. Most of us would have a hard time paddling 100 yards while standing on a surfboard.

While this kind of core stability isn't necessary for most of us, it points to the way that you should be training, and that's on your feet. Your back is tested more lifting or pulling heavy objects when standing, than it is while lying on the floor.

In other words, stop wasting your time with all those crunches.

To read a new article on real world core training, click here. I also posted a new article about how gravity affects your body.

For those of you who have been waiting for the bonus fat loss download, here's the link.

Biking, Walking, or Jogging part II:

In the first part of this article I talked about getting outside to exercise. After spending three years in Georgia and Florida, it has been a little change getting used to Winter again and not being outdoors all year long. I spent as much time as possible at the beach, enjoying being around the water.

Now after being inside all day long I prefer to get my exercise outdoors, if possible. I get to see a variety of wildlife, including great blue herons, some seasonal pelicans, ducks, geese and even seagulls. A couple of times I have had to slow down to avoid the hissing geese as their goslings feed along the path.

The last couple of years I have observed many walkers, bikers, and joggers on this path next to the mighty Mississippi. While they all are getting good exercise and enjoying the outdoors, some are burning more calories than others. I have noticed some joggers that are very faithful in their routines, maybe too faithful.

One in particular can be seen there often, always jogging at the same moderate pace. All this exercising hasn't seemed to make any changes. While she is not fat, she isn't dropping pounds either.

Why not? Her body has adapted to the energy demands of her routine and she needs to change things up a little. For example, include some strength training to increase her metabolism or jog at a higher intensity. Noticing some postural and probable flexibility deficiencies in her running style, she probably couldn't go any faster without incurring an injury.

So this brings up a few key points: one, to get the most out of your exercise efforts you need to address posture and flexibility issues before getting too far in your workouts, and two, your body adapts very quickly to steady state exercise and gets very efficient at burning calories, much like your car while driving on the highway.

Many of the cyclists I see are very lean, most of these are riding racing bikes meant for long distances. And while they don't stick around long enough for me to tell, they appear to be riding at a fairly intense pace for some length of time. This brings up another point.

Those exercising for an hour or two, whether jogging or biking burn plenty of calories even while moving at a steady pace, because they are working at a greater percentage of their max heart rate, ala Lance Armstrong or an elite marathoner.

Those exercising at a lesser intensity, whether riding, jogging or walking, don't burn as many calories. If you are just starting out, it is better to work at a lighter intensity, gradually increasing the length of time you are exercising. At some point though, you will need to pick up the pace to burn more calories. Otherwise you will need to do more overall work throughout the day, such as walking a little bit here and there, which at the end of the day adds up to quite a bit, like I mentioned in my article on the Amish.

So any exercise that you enjoy is beneficial and increases your health if it doesn't cause injury. For greater fat burning potential, at some point you will have to turn up the furnace - your intensity.

Bike Riding, Walking or Jogging:

Which is better for fat loss? Does it make a difference which one you do? No. The one that you prefer is the best one. Or you can use all of them on different days.

Recently, I purchased a new bike for the first time in 15 years. I haven't done much bike riding in the last 20 years, but the last bike I bought wasn't big enough for my large frame and I had to work too hard to overcome this inefficiency.

While living in Atlanta, I loved to hike in the hills and mountains that are within a short drive from there. You could find trails everywhere with plenty of hills to walk. I would often go out on the weekends and hike five or six miles, burning a lot of calories carrying my 240 pounds up and down hill.

A few years later and I am back in the Midwest. Now my outdoor experiences involve walking along the Mississippi river, which has a much flatter terrain. For some variety and to cover more ground, I bought a bike and have done some riding here the last few weeks. Of course, I went out too far my first time and really gave my legs a good workout.

Which leads to our original question - which is better for fat loss? Whether you ride a bike, jog or walk isn't the issue. For most of us it is the intensity, how much effort we are putting in. Specifically, the percentage of our maximum heart rate. For example, if I walk for forty minutes at 60% of my max heart rate versus forty minutes at 80% of my max heart rate, I burn less calories.

I know, you have been told that you need to do continuous exercise at 60-75% intensity to burn more fat. Unfortunately, this is a misinterpretation of the research. You may burn a higher percentage of calories from your fat stores, but your overall calorie burn is lower. For fat loss you are interested in two things - the amount of calories burned while exercising and the amount of calories burned after exercise. This is known as EPOC - excess post exercise oxygen consumption.

When you exercise at an higher intensity, whether doing strength training or cardiovascular exercise, your metabolism stays elevated for a greater period of time, burning more calories! A great way to achieve this is through interval training. When strength training, you would go back and forth between different exercises with little rest in between. Interval training for your cardio would involve doing periods of higher intensity work combined with periods of lower intensity.

If on your bike, you could pedal intensely and then go back to pedaling at a slower rate, and then alternate these intense and lighter sessions. This is a great way to increase your metabolism, turning up your fat burning furnace! This is what I have been doing and then getting off the bike for two or three minutes to enjoy the Sun shining across the river and the diverse wildlife, giving my legs a break.

Then I get back on the bike and ride a little bit more. This also gives me a break from the bike seat. The modified mountain bike I have is called a "comfort" bike, but still requires time to get used to the seat. Between the size of the bike and my own size, I am getting a pretty good workout, while trying to minimize saddle soreness. I may have to get a pair of padded bike shorts.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for part II of this article.

89 year old Racewalker:

She forgot to get older. Recently there was an article in the paper about an 89 year old racewalker. She walks or does strength training on a daily basis. In her own words, "I forgot to get older."

This dynamic lady is a five time world champion racewalker, who believes that the key to staying fit is to never stop moving. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Keep moving in order to keep your mobility as you age.

She didn't take up racewalking until 70, setting several records since then. In 2005, she had a fall and broke bones in her leg and hip. After surgery to place metal plates for support, her doctor told her he didn't know if she would walk again.

Not too long afterwards she was back to racewalking. Obviously, she is a very determined woman. She grew up a dancer and has kept active ever since. In addition to racewalking she takes a weekly self-defense class.

So there you have it. The key to keeping your mobility as you age is to start moving when you are young and then.....

never stop!!

Most of us really can stay mobile for life if we just work at it. And why wouldn't you? At 89 this woman is still active and feels great!

Another thing the article noted, even though it wasn't discussed, was that she strength trains, also. Walking is great exercise, but strength training is also needed. I have no doubt that the strength training played a role in her fast recovery after breaking her leg.

So the take home message is to keep active all your life if you want to help slow down the aging process.

Most of us really can have mobility for life with a little work!