There are no shortcuts when it comes to exercising. However, it is possible to exercise so effectively that it feels like you’re taking a shortcut.
We’re talking about the Afterburn Effect. This involves exercising at a particular intensity, for a short period of time, which has a near-miraculous impact on your metabolism.
If you can exercise in the right way, then you trigger the Afterburn Effect, which means you can carry on burning calories for a long time – up to three days – after you have stopped exercising.
Plus, you don’t need to devote hours to exercising, because these results can be achieved with around half an hour’s worth of exercise – sometimes less.
It sounds like a fad, or, worse, like we’ve totally made it up. But we promise it’s real: the secret is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and it’s absolutely fantastic. We use HIIT loads on our boot camps, and we have hundreds of happy campers who can testify to the results.
So, how does the Afterburn Effect work?
The trick is exercising correctly and effectively. It is crucial to understand that it’s quality, not quantity, of exercise, that is key. Yes, you still need to exercise frequently, but use your time wisely and make your exercises count and you’ll activate the Afterburn affect.
Imagine the difference between someone who sits on a bike at the gym, watching MTV and basically relaxing while they clock up endless empty miles. They could be on the bike for an hour and achieve very little: they are kidding themselves, and will never achieve their exercise or fitness goals.
Now compare them to someone who works at their absolute maximum for 10 or 20 minutes. This person will get their heart racing, send their metabolism rocketing, will feel stronger, and will burn far more calories, overall. This is when the Afterburn Effect is triggered.
There are various studies that document the success and efficacy of the Afterburn Effect – some claiming that as many as 95% of the calories lost as a result of HIIT happen after the exercise has finished.
Believe us, it’s a great feeling to know that your body is still working for you after you’ve finished warming down.
The Afterburn Effect, and HIIT, are both things that we’ll be talking about a lot on this blog and on social media. Look out for our forthcoming guide to HIIT, the dos and the don’ts, and tips on how to activate the Afterburn effect yourself.
If you are interested in losing weight the safe and sustainable way, why not have a look at our boot camps on offer where you’ll learn about the right foods for you and experience non-military personal training.
