Drive Slow, Train Fast!

I was cruising down the motorway this morning at my new slow speed of 60mph and I realised just how similar I am to my van! I used to always drive as fast as possible as I always want to get where I'm going as fast as possible, but recently I read an article that showed just how much money you waste on fuel in a single journey at 80mph compared to 60mph so decided to slow it down and take my foot off the accelerator!

Of course, it makes perfect sense. Driving slowly, even if it takes a bit longer, is much more energy efficient. You get more miles per tank (I have almost got it to 5oo miles and its still not on the red - the last time I tried to get it to 500 miles I ran out of fuel on the M4...). The absolute worst way to drive for efficiency is to accelerate and brake repeatedly, as you cane through the fuel like there's no tomorrow.

Hmmm, where have I encountered that before? Exercise, maybe?? Long, slow cardio may get you further on a 'full tank' but do we want to be efficient??!! No, not at all! We want to cane through the fuel tank (fat stores) as much as possible! Stopping and starting, AKA intervals, is energy inefficient, so we burn more fat!

So leave the fast driving and stop-and-starting to the training sessions, and chill out on the motorway! There are some flaws to the analogy of course - you can find out more about how your cardio programme may be sabotaging your fat loss success by reading the article: The Dark Side of Cardio...