Twelve minutes a day is all it takes to start burning fat and getting in the best shape of your life. There is a little known technique developed by a Dr. Al Sears.

The technique is quite simple. You simply pick an exercise you would like to do and start doing it “full bore” until you have yourself in a “breathless,” ( anaerobic,) state. It is when your body is in this breathless state, where you have built up a large oxygen debt, that your body will send out the chemical signals to start burning fat for energy! When you reach this state of breathlessness, you back-off on your exercise until you regain your breath, then, you start going “full bore” again until you are again breathless, then, you back off again. Keep repeating these cycles for 12 to 20 minutes at least 3 to 5 times per week.

Dr. Sears says that this type of exercise is the way our bodies were designed to be used. He cites that early man utilized this form of exercise in their daily existence and survival. If you can imagine being chased by wild animals, our ancestors would run for their lives and had need for the ability to have short bursts of exertion followed by recovery periods of catching their breath.

There are many health benefits to this form of interval exercise. In addition to conditioning the heart to respond to any demand placed upon it, a breathless, anaerobic state requires that that large amount of air be moved in and out of the lungs which improves overall lung capacity and tidal volume. Heavy breathing also benefits the lymphatic system in that the movement of the chest in respiration actually acts as a pump in moving lymphatic fluid out of the extremities. The lymphatic system plays a key role in removing cellular wastes and impurities from the body.

Effective exercise need not consume a large portion of your day. As said before, 12 to 20 minutes 3 to 5 times a week is all it take to get in the best shape of your life!