Make sure you’re fit for surgery and you’ll bounce back faster

Take two patients. Two women in their late 50’s, healthy in appearance, who are having the same operation – a routine hip replacement. Both operations go to plan, but their stories afterwards are very different.

Patient number one spends four days in hospital. After this time she is up on her feet – her medical team judge that it is appropriate to discharge her. Within two weeks the wound is healing nicely and she is cheerful although tired. After two months recovering she is back at work.

The second patient needs intensive pain relief and develops an infection after the operation, necessitating antibiotics. She is much less mobile, and isn’t discharged for more than a week. Her wound heals slowly and scarring is more extensive. On painkillers for more than a fortnight, she becomes constipated, requiring more medication. The long recovery time and extreme fatigue she suffers leaves her depressed. She is off work for nearly six months.

Simply a story of bad luck? Not so. What distinguishes these patients is that the first had been eating an excellent diet and taking some exercise for a month before her operation, while the other hadn’t.

It wasn’t that the latter patient was unhealthy – but an operation places enormous stresses on the body. Preparing physically in advance for elective surgery – from hernias to hysterectomies – means you are 50% less likely to experience post-operative complications.

Surgery is always traumatic to the body. Any wound forces the immune system to go into overdrive. Vast amounts of drugs are pumped into the body and an anaesthetic interferes with some of the most vital mechanisms such as breathing, circulation and even blood pressure.

Each individual reacts differently, which is why you need to be in optimum health to cope with healing. If you are overweight, try to lose enough weight to get your BMI within normal levels before the operation.

Even if you aren’t overweight, make sure you take exercise. If you’re active, the heart and lungs are working efficiently and vital blood and oxygen are circulating throughout your body.

Exercise also releases mood enhancing endorphins, reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke and strengthens muscle tone.

Daily Mail December 2011

Does your cardiovascular Exercise do this?

Burn MORE fat and calories.....for the next 24-48 hours.

This is the secret to the fast fat loss results that we all desire!

Traditional cardio is great and is enough if weight loss is your only goal. You can easily jump on your favorite piece of cardio equipment and chug away until you see your goal number of calories are burnt...which may take you a good 45 - 90 minutes a few times a week. Thing is once you get off the cardio ride your calorie burn begins to decline and your body goes back to normal.

What else can you do?

The shorter and more intense your cardio workout, the more overall fat and calories you will burn...and KEEP burning!

How?

Through a process known as EPOC "Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption" which is basically a scientifically proven technique that not only causes your body to burn fat but BOOSTS your METABOLISM!

A Faster Metabolism = Faster Fat Loss

Boosting your metabolism gives you continuous fat loss results..even when you are NOT working out!

When you make Intensity the focus of your cardio, you are essentially training your body to work for you - vs constantly working your body.

3 Tips to make Interval Training achieve your Body Shaping Goals

+ Intervals preserve lean muscle
Muscle is your metabolism, workout in ways to keep it!

+ Intervals curb your appetite
Ever notice how the more cardio you do...the hungrier you become?

+ Intervals are time savers
You don't need hours to complete your workout and achieve results!

You simply cannot expect such benefits (or results) from traditional, long duration cardio.

So if you want to triple the amount of fat that you burn and cut your cardio time in half - or more - all you have to do is...

Trade out traditional cardio for short burst interval training workouts!