All of us know that if we want to lose weight and have a healthy body we must exercise
. But like everything else there are certain misconceptions. Many of us believe that aerobic exercise tones and firms our muscles. If we want to tone and firm our muscles we must do resistance exercise that is training with weights.
Experts have agreed on the fact that the best way to lose weight is a combination of aerobic exercise and weight training. There have been studies done that confirm the fact that if you do aerobic exercise and weight training combined your weight loss will increase by 56 percent.
Many people use the argument that muscle weighs more, making it more difficult to lose weight. But when you increase your muscle composition your body is able to burn more fat even when you are resting. The reason for this is your metabolism is now faster. An interesting fact is that a pound of muscle will use 350 to 500 calories per week to survive, while a pound of fat only needs about 14 calories per week.
Strength training is essential for everyone. Your age or sex doesn’t matter. Strength training is now accepted to be a very important part in your total fitness. Older people who have lost strength and muscle use to attribute this to old age, but now it has been found to be a result of lack of activity. More surprising is the fact that a younger person can also lose muscle mass and strength due to lack of activity. It doesn’t take much to increase your strength and muscle mass. Exercising twice a week with weights and taking part in weight resistant exercises cam maintain or increase your muscle mass.
Some people fear that if they work out with weights they will have large bulging ugly muscles. This is not true if you take part in several sets with multiple repetitions using moderate weights you will not get huge muscles. Instead you will start to build bone mass and increase your metabolism. At the same time you will also be toning and firming your muscles. This is what gives your body the appearance of looking trimmer.
If you are about to start doing exercise for the first time keep in mind it is important to do both aerobic and strength exercise. Aerobic exercise helps your heart and lungs get stronger as well as your body to utilize oxygen more efficiently. When you do strength exercise it helps to develop your muscles, it reduces body fat and maintains your bone mass.
Aerobic exercise elevates your heart rate and breathing for a continuous sustained period. This causes an overload in the heart and lungs and forces them to work harder than at rest. There are many different types of exercises to choose from to get a good aerobic workout. They can be as simple as walking to more challenging ones like biking and swimming. It is suggested that you perform aerobic exercises at least 20 minutes a day at lest 3 to 4 days a week. If you are trying to lose weight you may want to increase the number of days you work out a week and the amount of time you workout.
If you want to lose weight a good exercise regime is essential. Find one that works for you and that you feel you can maintain. Due keep in mind that you want to stretch before and after all exercises and give yourself a fair amount of cool down time. The principles behind exercise is to help you build a healthier body and lose weight and not cause injury to your body.
Author Source: Harold McBride
|
|
|
|
