Your "burn"

Saw this posted on one of the many facebook pages I follow....thought it was worth sharing....  :)

Your "burn" isn't just about the NOW, it's about the AFTER.
Don't be overly focused on the calories the machines say you burned. Not only are they often not calibrated correctly, but if you're trying to lose, or get lean, you need to see your whole picture which means, what are you burning when you're done with your workout?
Steady state cardio will only get you so far as your body adapts quickly to the same amount of stress every week. What you're doing is essentially training to be an endurance athlete.
You need to think about workouts that will help you burn when your body is "at rest". Adding weight training is essential to building metabolism as well as building the strong muscles that burn around the clock. HIIT (high intensity interval training) is another way the body burns even after you're done moving.The nontechnical term is called the "afterburn" effect and is actually more important than the calories burned during the workout.
Round your workouts. It shouldn't be just cardio, or just weights. You can do steady state, but also include intervals. Keep your body moving at different speeds, with different weight and in different positions to keep it burning all the time.

-Heather Frey