This holiday season, you’re going to hear all kinds of stuff that’s going to make you feel guilty. Like, you can’t enjoy yourself over the holidays because you’re going to eat too much and gain weight. And you need to lose weight through exercise.
Here’s what’s wrong with that…
Although most people have heard many times before that “it’s not about the calories,” most people have not heard that it’s not about the calories you burn during exercise.
What staying lean and healthy is about is burning calories after exercise so you can use them to remodel your body. It’s fixing your metabolism so you don’t have to worry about gaining fat.
The way to do this is “afterburn.” Afterburn is a way to describe how your body’s metabolism responds to your workouts. It’s the key to why your body transforms so fast when you do PACE.
For example, a real PACE workout challenges your lung capacity so your lungs become stronger. When you improve your lung capacity, it’s an anabolic event, and it needs calories from somewhere.
When you progressively challenge your muscles, you force them to become more powerful. It takes calories to grow stronger, and repair and energy replenishment after working out use calories too.
A PACE workout also raises your metabolism, breathing rate, blood circulation and temperature. Those all need to return to normal. That takes energy, and that’s afterburn. Your body burns off calories by choosing to use them for energy, oxygen replenishment and maintenance instead of fat storage – after your workout.
This is why with PACE, you can accomplish an incredible body transformation in a relatively short period of time. But PACE can also keep you in shape during the holidays so you’re free to enjoy yourself.
The good news is with a PACE workout, you don’t need much time, or special equipment. And you don’t need to go outside in the cold if you live up north.
To make it easy for you, here’s a powerful exercise you can do right in your living room. It will take less than 10 minutes, and you can squeeze it in quickly whenever you have time to spare.
I call it a Dirt Digger. It’s a functional strength workout that uses your whole body…
- First, lower yourself into the push-up position.
- Keeping your left leg straight, push off with your right foot and bring your right knee toward your chest
- Land with your right knee bent and your right foot on the ground.
- Now push off with both feet in opposite directions and switch positions, straightening your right leg while bringing your left knee forward.
The momentum of your legs should resemble riding a bicycle.
Here’s a video that shows you exactly how to do it:
Do these as quickly as you can for 30 seconds, then recover and start over with the scissor jacks.
Do one repetition for each, then repeat the circuit two more times for a total of three sets.
This is very good for getting your heart rate up and challenging your lungs, but only do what you can. Then stop, catch your breath and recover. Then do a tiny bit more the next set. That’s called progressivity. It’s what every other system of exercise in the world is missing, and what gives you the challenge that keeps your energy up and the extra pounds off.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD