Research shows that regular cardio doesn’t really help with fat loss. One study showed interval training was better than cardio at burning belly fat (and cutting workout time in half). A second study found that 300 hours of cardio per year helped men lose only 6 pounds (and women lost only 4 pounds). So that’s about 50 hours of cardio per pound of weight lost – at BEST!

(Source: Obesity 15:1496-1512 (2007). Exercise Effect on Weight and Body Fat in Men and Women. Anne McTiernan, et al.)

Mindset

You may not be aware of it – they might not be aware of it, but the people in your work environment might be slowing you down. New research by University of Calgary shows that regardless of their intentions, having an individual working on a different task – within your field of vision – could be enough to slow down your performance.

The reason for this is a built-in response-interpretation mechanism that is hard-wired into our central nervous systems. If we see someone performing a task we automatically imagine ourselves performing that task. This behavior is part of our mirror neuron system.

(Source: Science Daily, Feb. 21, 2008)

Rest and Recovery

If you’re getting less than eight hours of sleep each night, chances are you’re sleep deprived. What’s more, you probably have no idea just how much lack of sleep is affecting you.

You may be sleep deprived if you…

• Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
• Rely on the snooze button
• Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning
• Feel sluggish in the afternoon
• Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms
• Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
• Need to nap to get through the day
• Feel the need to sleep in on weekends
• Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed

(Source: Helpguide.org)