Re-Sculpt Your Body

As the contest has started I've many strategies for winning!! They are all good ideas, and some are a great ideas. But I am hear to tell you 12 weeks is a long time. Don't over train to early, in fact don't over train at all. Towards the end some drastic measures can be taken (for a short time) if your time allows, but remember you can only go up to get more results. For example, if you start at 2 hrs of cardio a day the next step it 2.5 hrs and then 3 hrs....I don't know about you but this doesn't sound fun and honestly who has that kind of time. Pace your self. Nutrition, exercise and REST all have their place.

There are two types of training in order to re-sculpt our physique:
Anaerobic work (i.e. weight training.) is the number 1 way to re-sculpt your body. (No ladies, weight training won't make you muscle bound as you girls do not produce enough testosterone to allow for such a thing to happen.) Why is weight training so important?
Weight training is far superior to any other type of exercise because it increases your metabolism (which in turn helps you burn fat) and gives shape to your body.

Aerobic work (i.e. walking, running, conditioning) in your Fat Burning Zone (which is (220 - Age) * .75 = Fat Burning Heart Rate) is a good way to accelerate the fat burning process, as long as it is not overdone, and as long as it is only used in addition to a good weight-training program. Aerobics should never be used as a substitute for weight training.

Calculate Your Heart Rate!(The Easy Way)
To determine your Maximum HR, use the calculators below. The simple formula: Take 220 and minus your age which is accurate to approximately +15 BPM. You then take that number and multiply it by .75 - .85, which will give you your percentages of 75% -- 85% of your Max. HR.
This is the Target Range or Zone that you want to stay in when doing any type of cardiovascular (aerobic) activity. When in this range your body is getting an optimum workout with maximum benefit, and it stays in a Fat Burning mode.

Keep in mind that interval training and steady state aerobic activity are both great ways to go, just mix it up. Interval training is when you take your HR to its max and then bring it down and raise it again. Steady State Aerobics is when you get to your target HR rate and hold there for the duration of your workout.

HAVE FUN and DON'T over train...it will lead to slower over all progress and could result in injury.