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LEAVING A WARM BED to run or ride a bike on a cold, gray winter morning takes a monster-size set of stones (naturally, they don't stay monster-size in the cold for long). Some men prepare by tossing on multiple layers to keep warm, but after 15 minutes they're clammier than R. Kelly at a Girl Scout convention.

If you live to be out there, no one is going to convince you of the joys of a treadmill or a stationary bike. But there are certain advantages to them. We've asked two veteran personal trainers/gym owners for the best ways to keep you moving, and your weight-control and fitness gains advancing, during these indoor-bound exercise sessions. Follow these steps, get your heart rate up, and keep from turning yourself into a flab bag.

GO FAST, LOSE FAT. Research shows that performing intervals--interspersing high-intensity sprints with lower-intensity recovery periods--is up to three times more effective at reducing fat stores than steady-state aerobic exercise. And scientists at the University of Western Australia found that you can maximize fat loss from intervals by keeping them short. In a study published in the European Journal of Physiology, guys who alternated six-second sprints with nine-second recovery periods for 40 minutes burned more calories from fat than those who sprinted for 24 seconds and recovered for 36 seconds. The reason: The longer you sprint, the less oxygen that's available to your working muscles. That forces your body to use more carbohydrates for energy, decreasing the amount of fat you bum. To keep muscle oxygen levels high, limit your sprint time to a maximum of 15 seconds and exercise at an easy pace for at least 1 1/2 times longer than the duration of your sprints. For instance, sprint at your full effort for 10 seconds, then slow down to a pace that's about 40% of your full effort for 25 seconds before sprinting again. Start with 10 minutes (use a longer recovery period, if needed) and add a minute each week until you're able to perform the interval workout for a full 20 minutes.

TRAIN FOR THE MILE. Instead of plodding along for the same 40-minute treadmill run each workout, remove the boredom by training to set a new personal best in the mile. "Improving your time in the mile will boost your overall fitness fast, while giving you a tangible goal to shoot for over the winter" says Barrie Shepley, Canadian Olympic triathlon coach and president of Personal Best Health and Performance (personalbest.ca). Simply try to reduce your mile time each week. Added motivation: Scotty Carter, owner of the master's world record in the outdoor mile for the 75- to 79-year-old age group. The time to beat: 5:57.

PLAY MUSICAL MACHINES. If you're hooked on just one cardio activity, like running or cycling, it's wise to take regular breaks from it. Once or twice a week, use any cardio machine except the treadmill if you're a runner, or any machine except the stationary bike if you're a cyclist.

"If you do the same activity every day, you are always stressing the body in the same way" notes Glen Carrigan, owner of Progressive Health and Fitness Center in Hilton Head, S.C. "Periodically changing activities, and therefore placing different demands on your body, improves your overall cardio fitness, reduces overuse injury risk, and burns more fat and calories. You'll also avoid boredom and burnout."

DON'T LEAN ON THE BARS. Although you'll see people doing this in the gym all the time, supporting yourself on the front or side bars of an elliptical or stair-stepper machine serves only to reduce the intensity of your workout. Instead, loosely rest your hands on the bars and only do that when it's needed to maintain your balance. Once you're comfortable, don't touch the bars at all.

"Using bars for support will burn less fat and fewer calories," says Michael Lopez, owner of Body Image Personal Fitness in Mill Valley, Calif. Even more problematic, it can also lead to injury. "That's a fairly common cause of carpal tunnel syndrome because pushing on side rails hyperextends your wrists," says Lopez. "You can also injure your shoulders by hunching over the bars."

WATCH HOW YOU TREAD. When you're running on a treadmill, you'll probably be better off increasing the speed than raising the incline. "Experienced runners can do both, but for most people, it's hard to maintain good form while running uphill," Carrigan says.

If you're walking, though, feel free to mess around with both settings. After a few minutes of gradually increasing the speed to a brisk walk (3.5-4.2. mph), gradually raise the incline to a maximum of 4%. By including an incline, you work pretty much the same leg muscles as when the grade is flat, but you increase the resistance. "You're working those muscles more intensely," says Carrigan. If it's still easy and you're able to maintain good form, the next step is to lower the incline to level again and go into a run.

PERFECT YOUR PEDALING. Whether you're on an outdoor bike or a stationary model, set the seat so there's just a slight bend in your knee when you're seated with one foot on the bottom pedal at its lowest position. "Too many people ride with the seat too low" says Carrigan. "That increases fatigue in the quads, so they tire out more quickly." Doing long bike workouts with the seat set too high or too low may even lead to a knee injury.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:41 AM