8 week to lose weight: Exercising to Lose Weight - 1 of 2

Hey you, the girl with the nice body and serious dedication to fitness. Yes, you! You work out all the time, you've been exercising for years, and even though you've noticed some great changes in your physique, you still want more, don't you? If it's true that the better shape you get in, the higher the bar rises for the shape you want to be in, then this is the workout for you.

Fast paced and progressively challenging, this eight week program focuses on increasing muscle tone and definition with an emphasis on wasting fat from your body. It's hardcore, serious and time-consuming. If you follow it - for the results it was intended to produce - be prepared to push your body beyond its comfort zone, further than you've ever taken it before. Be prepared to come out on the other side of eight weeks with a body that sets the standard rather than one that follows.

Eight the hard way

No doubt, this program will have you working hard, fast and often. It has to if it's going to be effective. Nothing good comes easy, but if you do it right, it may come a little quicker, and that's the premise of this workout. Eight weeks is a reasonable amount of time to commit to a serious exercise program without risking burnout, overload or boredom. It's time enough to see and feel your body transform, to reach new heights and realize more of your potential.

If you're looking for a way to lose 20 pounds or to build a fitness-competitor physique, we have to tell you, it's going to take longer than a mere eight weeks. It isn't going to happen in a couple of months, with this program or any other. But what you can expect is to have a stronger, leaner, shapelier body and to feel great about making the time and effort to achieve it.

Each week focuses on a different style of training, which helps to keep your body from becoming accustomed to a particular workout or set of exercises. You'll do circuit, heavy, high-rep and supersets training, repeating the cycle - with few changes - the last four weeks. The cardio portion of the program is progressive, geared to increase in not only frequency, but duration and intensity, as well. This is to kick your body into fat-burning mode, especially in the last few weeks when your metabolism is already burning hotter.

When doing the cardio intervals, follow the suggestions for the work-recovery ratios. For example, on a day where you do 30 minutes at 1:1, this means you warm up for five minutes, bump up the intensity for one minute (work), then bring it back down for one minute (recovery). During the work portion of the session, raise your heart rate to 80% - 85% - or higher, depending on your level of fitness - then drop it back down to 60% - 65% during the recovery phase. You can also extend the work-to-rest periods, as long as they're kept even. So if you'd rather, you can work at a high intensity for two minutes and then recover for two minutes. Or bring those numbers down if you prefer.

The fine print

Don't neglect flexibility training. To help keep muscles supple, reduce the risk of injury and help maintain joint health, warm up for 5-10 minutes with a low-impact activity and then begin your stretch session. Two days of flexibility training are automatically built in. If you'd like to devote more time than that allotted to this part of your training, by all means, go right ahead.

You'll also notice three days during the eight weeks designated as rest days, where you have the day off completely. Don't train on these days - at all. Instead, take the time off to reflect on your level of dedication thus far and appreciate the downtime. Probably your most highly anticipated day will be the dietary cheat days, of which there are three. On these days, you have license to eat whatever you want, within reason. Bon appetit!

When doing resistance and cardio training on the same day, lift first. Hit the weights when your muscles are fresh to reduce the risk of injury. Follow the 90-minute rule: Keep your workouts under 90 minutes in length. As long as you spend your time wisely, you should be able to accomplish all the goals for each day within the time frame. And of course, we can't say it enough: Make sure that you take the time to stretch your muscles to reduce injury and soreness.