You know I love shorter, harder and more advanced workouts for losing fat, building muscle and sculpting the kind of hard body that could cause fender benders when you're out running around town.

But the fact of the matter is you can't go hard every single workout, especially when you're following an aggressive fat loss diet plan.

So speaking of running, one of the most effective ways to add powerful calorie burning workouts to your weekly regimen without risking overtraining, is to use tempo running.

A tempo run (also called anaerobic threshold runs, lactate threshold runs or just threshold training) is basically a moderate duration steady state run done at threshold pace, which is the effort level where your body's ability to clear lactate can no longer keep up with lactate production.

You're probably wondering how you're supposed to know how hard of a pace this is.  Good question.

If you have access to a heart rate monitor, this would be at about 85% of your maximum heart rate.  I prefer to just go by feel, though.  A tempo run should be done at a pace that is uncomfortable, but not impossible, to maintain.  It's faster than  you'd like to run, but nowhere near the intensity level used with interval training.  Most tempo runs should last 20-40 minutes, depending on your fitness level.

Tempo-pace running is ideal for maximizing aerobic capacity and increasing aerobic efficiency.  This carries over to your workout routines to build muscle and more demanding cardio workouts, where you'll be able to perform at a higher output without hitting the wall.

Not only does tempo running increase the fat-burning potential of other workouts by allowing you to train more efficiently, but it's a pretty solid calorie-burning tool in itself.  The icing on the cake is the fact that tempo training is just moderate enough in intensity that it gives your muscles and nervous system a break from the insanity they're exposed to in other (more hardcore) workouts.

You can take this a step further and perform tempo runs in interval-like fashion.  This segmented threshold training is also referred to as tempo reps, tempo intervals, tempo cruising or moderate interval training.  The standard protocol is of course longer runs done at tempo pace that last anywhere from 90 seconds to 10 minutes, followed by brief rest intervals of about 1 minute, and repeated for 20-40 minutes.

This longer, but less intense form of interval running allows you to accomplish a higher volume of quality training without adding excessive amounts of stress to an already taxed body.  I really like using a cardio workout such as this when I'm feeling a little drained from fasting.

In fact, I did a 30 minute tempo rep run this morning because I knew I wouldn't have the fuel to attack a more challenging workout (this morning was the tail end of a 31 hour fast I used to get back on track after a few slip ups the past few days).

After a brief warm-up, I ran 90 seconds at a challenging (tempo) effort, recovered at a slower jog for 45 seconds and repeated nonstop for 30 minutes total.  This was just the right blend of intensity and duration and I felt like a million bucks afterward.

Anyways, that's the skinny on how to use tempo running to get un-fat.  Make sure you're using this training tactic to your advantage throughout the week.  I'm off to flex in the mirror for a bit.  Be cool.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

PS - I just got a new iPhone, in case you're wondering how I came up with the picture theme for this post.  I must have got screwed 'cuz my iPhone didn't come with apps like that.

Want a challenging bodyweight-only workout routine?  Try this: Navy SEAL Workout