Double Sessions: The How To Guide

As you probably already know, I LOVE the gym.  In fact, I love it so much, I'm usually there twice a day.  I'll go for a morning session, during which I do heavy squats and some core work, then head off to class.  The same afternoon I'll go for a full out Olympic weightlifting session as dictated by my coach, which is both brutal and heavy.  And you know what the remarkable thing is?  After all this, I'm still alive to tell you about it.  Fancy that, eh?  So how's it possible?  Could you do the same thing, but maybe taylored to your own goals a little more?  And if you're at all interested, how could going for two-sies really benefit you?  Let's find out.

First of all, I'd like to address those screaming their heads off right now at their computer monitor, claiming that I'm just begging to induce over-training or "burning-out," which is a state of extreme, chronic physical and mental fatigue caused by lifting too intensely at the gym.  To those people, I'd like to say that I believe you only overtrain if you go drastically above and beyond what you're currently doing.  If you are used to hitting the gym 3 times a week, for one hour sessions, then yes, if you decided to triple that and hit the gym 9 times a week for three double session days and 3 single session days, you'd burn out like a bad candle.  But that's a silly thing to try right off the bat, don't you think?  If you introduce new routines to your body more slowly and consistantly, anything is possible in the long run.  Remember this quote:

"There's no such thing as overtraining, just undertraining"

-John Broz

He's right you know.  The body is capable of far greater loads and stresses than you could ever imagine.  Tapping into the true potential of your body takes practice though, so let's find out how to increase your loading over an extended period of time, and figure out exactly how it could really benefit you in the long run.

If you're at all interested in training twice a day, you HAVE to start slow.  Like I said before, if you jump right into a double session week, you'll burn out in a heartbeat (or lack of one, because you'll be so dead.)  Take it one step at a time.  If your workouts are geared toward general fitness, and include both cardio and lifting weights, I'd suggest doing light cardio in the morning (I'd say 10-20 minutes, but your definition of light may differ), then have a good span of time between that and your evening workout, which should also be relatively light (in terms of weight this time.)  Try this one day a week, preferably a day you have free so that you can rest and recover between workouts.  And when I say rest, I MEAN REST.  Don't plan your family hike for that afternoon, just lay out in the sun, or go for a swim, or watch some TV, or take a nice long nap.  Recovery is just as important as the workout itself.  If you do it right, you should be ready to hit the gym again that evening.

If you're all cardio, it's a pretty simple setup to get two sessions into one day.  Start with a light jog in the morning, then later that evening hit a serious cardio session, like your timed run, biking trip, swim, etc.  Cardio is easy to overdo, but if you're serious about it your body should adapt quickly.  Keep carbohydrate levels very high, and make sure to take care of those joints (especially runners), because they can get very sore very quickly.  Stretch, ice, heat, foam roll, massage, do what you have to do to keep pounding the pavement.  Many runners go for double sessions, so finding one to talk to about it isn't too hard a task.  Look around, see what works for others, and try to incorporate their techniques into your workout.

For a bodybuilder, a double gym session is a GREAT way to increase volume on certain muscle groups.  If it's back and bicep day, you can hit one group of exercises in the morning for a moderate number of reps, then really finish those muscles off in the evening with a completely different routine, going all out.  Increasing workout volume is a fantastic way to gain size quickly, and I bet you'll be surprised at the results.  Don't be afraid to hit the same muscles twice in a day, they can take it as long as you supplement them properly.  If you're wondering exactly how to do this, I found a great post in the bodybuilding.com forums by username "labradarep" that explains the concept pretty well:

"Do the same bodypart(s) twice in a day. First session should be moderate number of sets in the 4-6 rep range. 2-3 exercises per bodypart(30-40 minutes max with 2 -3 minute rest periods). Rest 4-6 hours & then perform different exercises for the same bodyparts. 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps. 1 -2 exercises per bodypart (20 minute workout with very short rest periods)."

That in my opinion is the perfect way to ensure you don't overtrain, but still hit each muscle group for an AWESOME amount of volume.  Try it out, and watch all the other guys in the gym start to pale in comparison to your massive size and muscularity.

If you're a strength athelete, like me, and want to incorporate some morning and evening material into your workout, I'd suggest squats in the morning, and your full, organized workout in the afternoon (my "organized" workout involves the Olympic lifts themselves, just in case you're wondering what that means.  If you're a power lifter, it may include deadlifts, or bench press.  Strongman may include things like axle presses, farmer's walk, deadlifts, etc.)  Keep your body guessing, and do a workout that won't impact your body enormously for the day in the morning.  When I do my set of squats in the morning, I squat heavy, but for low reps, and with large rest periods in between sets, just to make sure I don't burn out or expend too much glycogen too early on in the day.  Keep it casual at first, go slow, and like I said, try one day at a time first.

When you start to adapt, obviously you can increase the frequency of these double sessions.  Add another one in three or four days later, basically in an attempt to split the week up as evenly as possible.  You don't want two days of double sessions in a row, at least not initially.  Don't increase the workout intensity just yet.  Personally I find that increasing frequency works much better than increasing intensity.  I do 3-4 double sessions a week, and NONE of the morning sessions are EVER as intense as my afternoon ones, purposely so.  Stay relaxed, focus on moving the weight, and keep yourself under wraps.  Remember, you've got another workout later where you can go all out.

Now, I forgot to mention one thing, and it's in regard to your diet.  Double days make you HUNGRY.  And if you decide to skip out on meals, or keep your calorie level the same thinking your body doesn't need the extra food, you're ABSOLUTELY NUTS.  YOU NEED TO EAT!!!!!  Plan on increasing caloric intake from between 300-500 calories on double days (and possibly the day after), and when you start adding more and more double sessions, you have to consistently keep your body fueled.  If you don't, you'll feel it, IMMEDIATELY.  You'll feel like a zombie amongst the living.  You'll be sore, unable to focus, drained, and barely able to move weights you practically tossed up before.  Eat...more...food.  I've found increasing carbohydrate intake works wonders.  Have a sweet potato and a glass of milk, or a bowl of oatmeal and a whey and banana shake.  No matter if you're a cardio-aholic, bodybuilder, or strength athlete, keep your body fueled, and you'll start to see the double sessions work wonders for your body.

If at any point in the week you begin to burn out, BACK OFF THE DOUBLE SESSIONS.  Seriously, eat some food, get some good sleep, and rest until you feel like you can hit the gym that hard again.  Double days take a lot out of you, so don't be surprised if the adjustment process is long.  Don't rush it.  

Basically, to be successful with double sessions, it all boils down to two things:  Eat more, and sleep more.  Keep your diet clean and VERY full, and your bedtime early and consistent, and you'll find hitting the gym twice a day isn't so bad.  I love it, and if I could set up a cot in the corner, I'd probably be in the gym all day.  So to all my fellow gym lovers, rejoice, if you want to spend even more time pumping the iron or sprinting to nowhere, you're more than welcome to.  In fact, it can do wonders for your strength and physique.  You'll get leaner, stronger, faster, bigger, and more powerful faster than you ever thought possible.  So what are you waiting for?  The gym beckons.

Lift hard, run fast, eat big, sleep deeply, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

Enjoying Health and Fitness

Today I'd like to cover a topic that you'd think would be a no-brainer when it comes to health and fitness, yet for some reason it always gets pushed to the back of people's minds.  It's like there's this evil aura that surrounds the health field, one that people believe they must live within and constantly ward off in order to achieve any REAL results.  But there I go with my wordiness again.  What I'm really saying is:  many people believe that in order to be lean, fit, strong and healthy, they must also be miserable.

Wait...what?  Isn't the whole point of being healthy to feel BETTER about yourself, your diet, and your overall physical and mental image?  Well, yeah, I think so.  But every day I see people at the gym, young and old, who are in torture, hating every second they're on that treadmill, despising every rep on that stupid chest press machine.  They go to the gym to leave the gym, and to say to anyone else that they WENT to the gym.  That's about it.  They eat healthy to say they eat healthy, not because they like eating healthy.  I hate to watch people choke down things they hate just because they think that's the only way to do it.  It's saddening, depressing, and makes me wonder what the health and fitness world is really coming to.

Listen:  in order to be successful, YOU HAVE TO ENJOY WHAT YOU DO!  Do you think you'll make any real progress in the gym if you hate its guts?  No, because subconsciously on every rep you'll cheat yourself, you'll work slower than you could, lighter than you could, and for shorter amounts of time than you are really capable of.  You'll never push yourself to your limits, because that's not where your mind is at.  You'll instead be thinking about how much you hate this place and can't wait to leave.  If your head's not in the game, you're not going to give it your all, and you're NOT going to see the results you really want.

Same thing goes with diet.  Sure, anyone can scarf down a salad, but if you hate everything that's on it, how likely is it that you can make that salad something permanent?  More likely in a week or two (or if you've got more dedication it can take a while longer, a month or year perhaps), you'll switch back to a couple slices of pizza for lunch, followed by a cookie, or whatever.  That healthy stuff will be far behind you.  If you don't like the food you eat, you won't keep eating it.

So the big question is, how do you ensure that going to the gym and eating healthy become enjoyable things?  That, my friends, is a GREAT question.  And unfortunately I can't give you any super solid answer, BUT I can give you some pretty darn helpful guidelines.  The gym's the easy part, I almost guarantee you I could find a way that would make you love to come each day.  Here are a few suggestions:

Find Lifts You Like:  This may sound stupid, but everyone has certain muscles that feel GOOD to push hard, and work to their limits.  I can't tell you exactly which muscles, because everyone is different.  I enjoy squats (as you can probably tell by now).  They make me feel strong, do my body a hell of a lot of good, and feel GREAT to get right.  Yes, they feel good, I'm not lying to you.  So there's your first tip.  Throughout the week try to work different muscles in different ways, and more than likely you'll find an exercise that makes you feel like a real beast.  No, you can't only work that muscle, but hey, it gives you something to look forward to throughout your workout week, and it's not like there will be only one muscle you like working.  More than likely you'll find a lift every day that you can at least be content to push hard on.  You'll teach your body how to more effectively target muscles, and more than likely more and more lifts will start feeling easier and more fun.  Awesome!

Relieving the Pain of Cardio:  OK, I'm with you on this one, I HATE CARDIO.  Luckily, as a weightlifter, I barely do any =].  But do as I say, not as I do.  Unless you're specializing in a weight related sport, cardio is very important.  And yes, it sucks.  I jogged for many years, and struggled to find enjoyable things about it.  But it IS possible.  What I've found is that once you hit a good pace, and your body equilibrates to the run, you don't feel so bad.  So my first tip is, if cardio is killing you in the first couple minutes, wait a few more, it'll stop hurting so much.

-Second tip?  Make it interesting.  Run a new route every day, or have a good set of running routes that you can cycle depending on how you feel and what you're in the mood for that particular day.  Also, I found that running "down and back" was quite depressing, because when you got to the turnaround point you knew you still had that whole damn stretch you just ran left.  My suggestion is to have someone pick you up at the end of your run, so you'll constantly be treading new ground, and things don't get repetitive.

-Third tip?  Make it even MORE interesting.  And by this I mean, vary the pace.  Like I said before, I'm a firm believer in high intensity interval training (HIIT).  Jog for a minute, sprint for 15 seconds, then jog again. It feels great to push yourself when you're sprinting (no I'm not lying, it does feel good, try it out) and it makes your run go by a lot quicker.  You'll also get awesome results.

-Fourth tip?  Do cardio with a friend.  My runs with friends were SO much more enjoyable than alone, and the constant distraction removes the feeling of monotony and fatigue.  It can be fun to run/bike/walk with others, and more likely you'll push yourself harder and be able to go for longer periods of time.  So buddy up and DO IT!

Get With The Program:  There are all sorts of other things that can help the gym become a place of new excitement.  I personally love setting new records, and that's what keeps me coming back 6-7 days a week. I LOVE IT.  Weightlifting is my thing, and hey, if you're interested in it then I suggest finding a weightlifting club near you to try it out.  You might love it just as much as I do.

And that's my final tip.  Find a program you like.  I like weightlifting.  You might like gymnastics, or Zumba, or group cardio, or salsa dancing, or spinning classes, or bodybuilding clubs, or WHATEVER!  Join up with someone or something and hit it hard!  You'll be surprised at how much fun the gym can be.

Now, onto dieting tips.  I know people take diets quite seriously, so I'm hoping these can really alleviate a lot of diet depression.  Don't get stuck with food you hate and end up chucking any chances of success out the window after a few weeks.  Read these tips and see if you can try a few out ASAP:

TRY LOTS OF FOOD:  Some people think that healthy foods are few and far between.  WRONG!  There are thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of healthy foods out there, waiting to be cooked up and eaten by anyone who cares to.  Fruits, veggies, carbs, proteins, fats, they're all there, and there's such a huge spectrum that I can 99.9% guarantee you will find a few foods in it that you will wholeheartedly enjoy.  Don't like that salad with carrot shavings you brought for lunch?  Fine, bring some chicken breast, apple slices and whole wheat bread with skim milk tomorrow.  Didn't like it? (seriously?)  Well then, tomorrow bring some shrimp, a portobello mushroom, and maybe an orange or banana.  Still no?  (wow...) Make yourself up a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter, and have some cooked peas and carrots on the side, or if you want something sweeter bring some fresh strawberries.

You see?  There are so many options, you don't have any excuse to say you hate all healthy food.  Read my other articles, find some foods you like, and try them.  Then, once you do, find a few more, and start constructing a diet you can't wait to eat.  I love what I eat, and it's a very clean diet.  I don't feel deprived, depressed, or crave crappy food (and this is coming from a guy who once ate pizza and brownies for breakfast.)

TRY LOTS OF RECIPES:  Same concept here.  Maybe simple food doesn't quite float your boat yet (it will eventually, if you keep at it.)  Until then, try a few complex, healthy recipes.  Grill up some fish and garnish it with vinaigrette and a few herbs, or make a healthy bean salad with salsa and corn, or bake some chicken with a coating of nice spices.  There are millions of healthy recipes out there, all ready to lose you some fat and build you some muscle.  Just do a little searching.  I have all sorts of recipes posted already, search through those as a start!  Don't be lazy, just spend some time making some awesome food and I bet pretty soon "healthy meal" will be your middle name.

Teach Yourself:  This one may not seem like quite as much fun, but it's quite valuable in the long run.  The basic concept being if you don't like a certain food, but know it's really good for you, give it one more try, and try to appreciate certain things about it.  Like I've said in previous articles, our taste buds are EXTREMELY adaptable, and can learn to enjoy just about anything.  I used to hate olives, but kept trying them.  I now enjoy them on every salad I have, and look forward to their powerful flavor.  Have an open mind, and tell yourself that you WILL like the food you're about to eat.  Your brain is powerful, and can do amazing things for you, including make an extremely healthy meal quite palatable.  Once you like the foods that you used to hate, it'll be a lot easier to keep eating them, right?


So there you have it, a few tips to make sure that you can actually enjoy a lifestyle of health and fitness, and in turn, strength, beauty and longevity.  Ah....doesn't that sound nice?  Don't be afraid to change up your routines, your diets, and your overall attempts at health multiple times until you start to find bits and pieces that you really enjoy and can fasten together into a healthier lifestyle.  Keep exploring, don't get stuck in a rut.  There are healthy things out there for everyone!

Keep it fresh, have an open mind, and this time especially...GOOD LUCK!!!!

Your Treadmill is a Liar!

Yeah that's right, you heard me!  Your treadmill, and any other piece of so-called "cardio equipment" you own, or regularly use at the gym, are big...fat...LIARS!  Shame!!!

All right, time to calm down slightly.  What do I mean by all this ruckus and shouting?  Well, I'd like to address what is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about cardio-equipment, and in turn one of the greatest miscalculations in the daily recording of fitness activities.  Now I'm guessing that the treadmill, bike, elliptical, stair-stepper, rowing machine, or whatever doesn't just have one on/off button.  No, I bet you look down each day you step on that thing and feel slightly like a pilot with all the gauges and buttons displayed to you in big, bright, digital fashion.  You might see your total workout time, distance traveled, heart-rate, incline, mile-rate, intensity, resistance, interval graphs, and the one piece of information I have the BIGGEST beef with:

Calories Burned.

You don't know how frustrating it is to have people come up to you on a daily basis (knowing you're a fitness buff with your own blog online), and proclaim proudly: "hey man, I just burned 680 calories on a treadmill."

....Congratulations, you want a medal?

But seriously, what does that even mean?  How did you burn that supposed number of calories?  Did you sprint for 10 minutes?  jog for an hour?  walk for three hours?  crawl for two miles?  What was your heart rate? Incline?  Speed?  What's your weight, height, age stride, pace, fitness level, bodyfat ratio, muscular density, anxiousness, meal before your workout, and your metabolic rate?

I hate to break it to all of you, but if your treadmill doesn't take all these factors into account, it has no idea how many calories you actually burned.  

You see, that calorie counter works through a consistent little program created through obtaining an average calorie burn rate of near "average" individuals.  Some programs are more accurate than others, yes, but in the end, nobody is average.  We all have different metabolisms, fitness levels, bodyfat ratios, etc.  To give you a simple example, someone with a higher metabolism will burn more calories during a 1 mile run at 7 mph than someone with a slower metabolism doing the exact same run.  Or maybe there are two people with the exact same height and weight, but one has been running his entire life.  The more experienced, more cardiovascular efficient person will burn less calories per mile than the person who's less "fit", if they both run at the same speed.  You see all these little nuances?  As fancy as that treadmill is, it can't take that into account.

So don't come up to me and tell me how many calories you burned.  I will either not stop what I'm doing and mumble "cool," or if the figure is nutty enough, I'll stop what I'm doing, look you square in the face, and say "no, you didn't."

BUT WAIT!!!  This information shouldn't depress you.  Sure it may throw you off a little bit, but it also frees you up to become MUCH more physically fit than ever before.  Instead of focusing on the calories burned, how about instead you focus on the intensity and length of your workout, and record THOSE figures instead.  Bottom line is that the more intensely you get your heart going in a cardio workout, the more calories you'll burn.  Why do you think high intensity interval training works so well?  Use the timer, the speed, and the incline/resistance with more gusto than the calorie counter.  Use the counter only as a reference.  If it reads 100 calories greater than last time, great!  You burned more calories!  You won't know exactly how many more, but hey, it looks significant!

Don't fall for the treadmill's lies anymore.  Calories don't matter so much.  Intensity does.  Get that heart going, and you'll be more than happy with your results.

Push hard, run fast, and as always, good luck!

All About Glycogen

I bet you've all had them.  Those days when you drag yourself to the gym, and for some reason can't lift even fractions of what you normally could.  You'll end up frustrated beyond belief at the end of your session, wondering why weights that you generally pull with ease just won't budge.  You may look in the mirror, and feel as if your muscles looks smaller, softer, and less "bulky" than they usually are.  You just may feel weak, a shadow of your formal, beastly self.  Why has all your progress suddenly come to naught?

The answer?  Glycogen depletion.

Glycogen is an extremely important substance that is stored in your muscles and in your liver.  It is the body's usable source of carbohydrates.  You've always wondered how all that food you ate ended up as usable energy.  Well, glycogen is the answer!  Your body basically converts ingested carbohydrates into glycogen, and saturates your muscles and liver with the stuff to use as an efficient and powerful fuel source.  Hence, after your workout (in which you've hopefully depleted a large amount of your glycogen stores), it would definitely be in your interest to consume carbohydrates with your protein (the ratio is under scrutiny, some say 2:1 carbs to protein, others say as much as 4:1) in order to initiate both protein and glycogen synthesis.  

Easy enough right?  To keep those glycogen stores topped off, keep some carbs in that post-workout meal.  But because you've read my other articles (you have, haven't you?) , you may, upon considering this information, have reached a quandary about replenishing glycogen stores.  You may have realized that there are multiple types of carbohydrates (namely simple, and complex).  So which does a better job of fueling up those muscles after a hard workout?  Or maybe you're wondering if it matters at all, as long as your muscles get those much needed nutrients.

Well we've established in previous examples that IN GENERAL complex carbohydrates are a more effective energy/nutrient source for your body.  They are released slowly and used efficiently, and are less likely to be stored as fat.  They'll give you lasting energy for long periods of time, and are the better choice for filling up those glycogen starved muscles.  Why aren't simple carbs quite as good?  Well here's a quote from a website I found that describes it better than I could:

"… complex carbohydrates … are more effective in replenishing glycogen stores than simple sugars. This makes sense because complex carbs are released slowly whereas simple sugars are released very rapidly, potentially overwhelming the glycogen synthesis pathways and "spilling over" into fat stores. Furthermore, the increased insulin release resulting from simple sugars causes more of the sugar to be converted to fat (Parillo, p.20)."

So there you go, glycogen stores are more effectively replenished via complex carbohydrates.  Good examples of easily consumable complex carbohydrate sources are maltodextrin and brown rice syrup, both of which can easily be mixed into a post workout protein shake.  

Brown Rice Syrup...lovely isn't it?

But simple, sugary carbs also have their place post workout.  In fact they play a very important role in initiating both glycogen and protein synthesis.  Simple sugars (like dextrose, a commonly used sugary carb in the fitness scene) will quickly spike your blood sugar, which allows muscles to rapidly absorb all sorts of nutrients.  In fact, post workout is about the only time you really want to voluntarily "spike" your blood insulin because it allows for all that good synthesis material such as amino acids, carbs, vitamins, minerals, you name it, to be sponged up by those soft, tired muscles in no time flat.  Pretty nifty biochemistry, if I don't say so myself.  

There it is, a simple explanation of muscle glycogen, and why it is so crucial in the strength/fitness scene.  Low glycogen levels=poor performance, and believe me nobody wants to feel like crap in the gym.  If you've come off a long training cycle, chances are your glycogen stores are very low.  Don't be afraid to take a day off and eat a good amount of quality carbohydrates.  Everybody needs a re-feed every now and then!

Keep those muscles fueled, lift heavy and run like the wind.  Good luck!

Reference Article (A great read if you have the time, delves into more complex topics about glycogen replenishment):  http://fitnessforoneandall.com/nutrition/article/glycogen.htm

Spot Fat Removal: ONE GIANT MYTH

Have you ever seen those commercials for the ab belt?  Or the ab spinner?  Maybe the glute strengthener?  Or the shake weight?  I've seen all these commercials, and all have one thing in common (besides being absolutely ridiculous.)  They all claim to be able to remove fat from those "stubborn" areas, like the lower abs, under arms, and legs.  They claim to target those specific areas and blast away the fat from wherever you would prefer.

Or maybe you don't care about those infomercials, and like me, think they're pretty ridiculous.  However you're in the gym every day doing crunches, determined to make that six pack poke through your belly.  Sit-ups, V-ups, leg raises, planks, you've done them all, but still can't see those abs.  While you may not believe in those infomercials and they're stupid methods, what you're employing is something almost as naive.


THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS SPOT REDUCTION

That means that you can't choose where to take fat off of.  Doing more crunches will NOT burn belly fat specifically.  Doing squats won't take weight off only your back end.  Your body doesn't work like that.  Fat loss happens gradually, and symmetrically.  Where you lose fat first is completely up to your genetics.  Yes, I'm sorry, but that's the truth.

So ladies, you say you have "trouble areas"?  I'm sorry to say, but those trouble areas won't go away from focusing on working them specifically.  You need greater overall fat loss.  Accomplish that, and I guarantee those stubborn fat areas will disappear.

So here's a piece of advice that you can take to heart.  You want six pack abs?  Stop doing crunches, and start doing some cardio.  Your abs will only show through when you have a very low body fat percentage (around 11%), and a calorie deficit for the day is really the only way to make sure your body is using fat stores for energy.  Here are a few suggested techniques to really get your fat loss kick started-

HIIT:  Hate running for incredibly long periods of time and seeing no results?  It's time to pump up the pace a little bit, and decrease that monotonous treadmill time.  HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) means you alternate between high intensity and low intensity exercise in timed intervals. Probably the most common example is to alternate between sprinting and fast walking (slow jogging.)  Try it out next time you're on the treadmill.  Jog for about a minute and a half, then full out sprint for 30 seconds.  Really push yourself.  Make those thirty seconds as intense as you can without risking injury.  After the thirty seconds, bring the pace back down to the original jog.  Repeat a few times, so your total time is between 8 and 20 minutes (you can start with less than this though, I'd suggest only 4 minutes of HIIT if you're just getting into it.)

HIIT will make your metabolism go NUTS.  You're heart will be working in overtime, and your metabolism will be elevated for up to 18 hours after you're done with your workout.  Now that's an after-burn effect.

Hill Sprints:  Yeah, they sound horrible.  And I guess I'll reveal that, no surprise, they don't feel good.  But they are extremely effective at both burning fat and building leg muscle.  It's a  pretty simple concept.  Find a hill, and sprint up it.  Walk back down it, then sprint up it again.  Do this as many times as you feel necessary (I would suggest around 4 to start, and 10 if you're a seasoned hill sprinter.  Try jogging back down, or find a longer/steeper hill to add difficulty.)  These are kind of like HIIT.  Short periods of high intensity exercise followed by a recovery period of low intensity exercise.  These will set your metabolism in FLAMES.

Build some muscle:  Muscle burns calories.  The more you have, the faster your metabolism will be.  So many people (I'll pick on women here) refuse to lift weights because they believe it has nothing to do with fat loss.  WRONG.  It has everything to do with it.  If you're looking to increase your resting metabolic rate, I would strongly suggest you lift weights.  Cardio is great, but definitely needs to be combined with weight lifting to have lasting effects.

Think of it this way.  You may lose fat by running.  But if your metabolism can't support your new lighter weight, you'll put it all back on.  More muscle will help you to support this leaner you.

And ladies, don't worry about bulking up.  You could lift heavy almost every single day and would never look like a bodybuilder.  Your hormones will NOT allow you to put on massive amounts of bulky muscle.  I can't emphasize enough that lifting weights will only do you good.

Go the extra mile:  Take every opportunity you can to just be a little bit more active in your average day.  Park a little farther away from the grocery store.  Stand for an extra ten minutes while you're watching TV or making dinner.  Walk the dog, or do some yard work.  If you put in a little effort, OFTEN, it will add up quite quickly.  An extra 100 calories burned per day will definitely add up quickly.

So if you're looking for those abs, stop doing crunches, and go find a hill, or a longer walk, or a hike, or some dumbbells.  Because like I said before, you may hate that belly fat, but it's not going away until your body decides its time.  And the only way you can make your body decide is to force all the fat you can off that muscle of yours.  Start slow, and build up, as with anything else.

Run hard, run fast, walk more, and pack on the meat.  Good luck!