You’ve seen it at your local grocery store, at a popular fast food chain (why were you there in the first place?), or worse yet, in front of a mirror. Yes, it’s belly fat, a ponch, your gut, muffin top, the pooch, beer belly, whatever the cool kids call it these days.

More specifically, we are talking about lower abdominal fat, which can be broken down into abdominal visceral fat (AVF) and abdominal subcutaneous fat (ASF). I’ve talked about these two types of fat extensivly in previous articles so I’m gonna keep it simple stupid for us here. AVF is internal fat around your organs while ASF can be thought of as the outside fat we see in the mirror.

So how do we lose this unsightly mess of fat around your abs?

In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity (May 2008), exercise prescriptions of moderate intensity did not induce significant weight loss and more specifically a reduction in AVF. Higher intensity exercise produced significantly greater results and was associated with a reduction in AVF and weight loss.

Cross-sectional studies have also suggested that physical activity is associated with a lower amount of abdominal visceral fat (AVF) for a given amount of abdominal subcutaneous fat (ASF) with further studies still to be completed.

Still don’t get it?

Let’s use an example to drive this point home.

Two women go for a walk. One finishes quickly; the other takes her time. (sounds like the classic Tortoise and the Hare story?) They each burn about 400 calories.

So who rid themselves of more belly fat?

Logic would tell us they both lost the same amount. WRONG!

New studies are popping up everywhere that show us the fast walker actually loses more (way to go Rabbit..err..Hare).

Researchers from the University of Virginia found that women who did three shorter, fast-paced walks a week (plus two longer, moderate-paced ones) lost 5 times more abdominal fat than those who simply strolled at a moderate speed 5 days a week, even though both groups burned exactly the same number of calories (400) per workout. The fast walkers also dropped more than 2 inches from their waistlines, pared about 3 times more fat from their thighs, shed 4 times more total body fat, and lost almost 8 pounds over 16 weeks!

Impressive, but it gets better.

The high-intensity exercisers lost about 3 times more visceral fat. “Vigorous exercise raises levels of fat-burning hormones,” says lead researcher Arthur Weltman, PhD, director of the exercise physiology laboratory at the university. It also increases afterburn (the number of calories your body uses postexercise as it recovers) by about 47% compared with lower-intensity workouts.

Great, but how do I turn up the intensity in my workouts?

Start with a progressive plan, which includes both shorter, high-intensity workouts and longer, moderate-paced ones.

As an example let’s take an aerobic activity like jogging:

Perform this activity for 3 to 5 minutes with a recovery period of walking for 1 to 2 minutes (then repeat the cycle five times).

This will enable you to sustain the activity for 20 minutes or longer then if you had been trying to jog the whole way through. Also, considering factors like orthopedic problems, obesity, respiratory coniditions, etc., shorter work periods can be easier on joints and soft tissue.

The work/recovery interval is expressed as a ratio. The first number represents work while the second number represents recovery. For example, the interval ratio for a beginner could be 3:1 (aerobic activity for 3 minutes with a 1 minute recovery).

Recovery can be either active (walking, light stepping, standing upper body work with light, one- to three-pound weights) or passive (rest). Adjustments can be made with the interval ratio according to the individual’s fitness level.

There are a bunch of names out there for this type of training such as HIIT, Interval Training, progression training, etc. However, if your really interested and want to learn more about Interval Training, we highly recommend you check out Turbulence Training by Craig Ballantyne. These workouts have been featured in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men (myself included) and women lose fat, gain muscle and get lean in less than 45 minutes, three times per week.

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