Q: Which Machine is Best for Weight Loss?

A:  None of them, if you don’t know what you’re doing!!

There is a misconception out there that THIS machine or THAT exercise is going to lead you to your magical desired end point – weight loss.

It’s simply not true.

“most obvious being the type of food you eat – NOT the amount”

Weight loss comes from a number of factors, the two most obvious being the type of food you eat (NOT the amount of food you eat) and the way you do your exercise.

Purely on the machine’s own value, there is very little difference in each machine’s ability to help you lose weight.  Pick the one you enjoy using the most!  (I’m using the example of cardio machines but it really does apply to literally any machine in the gym)

Now, don’t do steady state cardio.  If you think that 2 hours a day of walking on the treadmill at 5km/hour is the most effective form of exercise for weight loss, I have GREAT NEWS for you!

You’re dead wrong and you don’t have to do it!!!  (But the bad news – you WILL have to sweat).

“Weight loss IS NOT about energy in, energy out”

Weight loss IS NOT about energy in, energy out, in its simplest form.  It is COMPLEX because our bodies are complex.  There is a massive synergy of chemical reactions that occur within the body, most of which are outside of our direct control.  Can you instruct your body to go to sleep at will?  Can you tell your body to raise its temperature?

(No.  You have to do other things to affect these functions within the body and we can’t completely control them).

But one of the things that scientists have been finding consistently is that weight loss from exercise occurs best by implementation of HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training).

What does that mean?

“use whatever cardio machine you like most”

That means that you can use whatever cardio machine you like most.  You can even use the leg extension machine if you like (though I don’t really recommend it as it can cause muscle imbalances), you can use a kettlebell or you can even use no equipment at all!

Try intervals of working at your highest level for 30 seconds, and then 30 seconds of rest.  Go as hard and fast as you can for a whole 30 seconds.  Depending on the exercise, it’s harder than you may think!  If you start finding that 30/30 is no longer effective to make you breathe HARD, then try changing you work period or rest period.  Some do Tabata style – 20/10.  Some do 60/30.  As long as you are working intensely, it doesn’t really matter.

It doesn’t even take that much time per workout.  Even just 10-20 minutes of training this way is enough to cause a change.

So tell us your favourite way to do HIIT!