The best workout for weight loss is
the one which maximizes your calorie burning, without reducing your resting
metabolism. It is possible for some exercise regimes to reduce your resting
metabolism, so that you actually need fewer calories to live. Then you may stop
losing weight, even though you are getting fitter.
The human body, for all its wonders,
controls its weight pretty simply. Consume more calories than you use and you gain
weight. Use more calories than you eat and you lose weight. So why is it so
difficult to find a diet and exercise regime that really works?
The simple answer is that there are
competing factors at work. For example, if you starve yourself on a really harsh
diet, you consume a lot less calories. But, you will also start losing muscle
mass. Then your resting metabolism, the calories which you use just to keep
your body going each day, will decrease.
As this resting metabolism uses a
huge 65% - 75% of your total daily use of calories, a reduction can soon mean
that you need less calories each day to live, so the diet will not have the
same effect. Dieters often find the so-called 'plateau', where initial weight
loss levels out, despite severe calorie restriction in their diet.
The same effect can be seen with
exercise. There has been much talk about the increase in resting metabolism
after exercising. The theory is that, after exercise your metabolism stays at a
higher rate, causing you to burn more calories even when you have finished your
workout.
The length of time that this
continues running depends on how hard and for how long you exercised. However,
most people who aren't athletes don't work hard enough for the effect to last
more than an hour - so the total amount of extra calories burned after
exercising finishes may be less than 50 calories. A drop in the ocean when most
of us consume 2000 - 3000 calories per day!
Clearly a more coordinated approach
is required. Many studies have found that the combination of controlling the
diet with a good exercise regime produces the maximum weight loss, and helps to
maintain the reduction. The key things to achieve are:
Restriction of the intake of
calories
.
Some exercise that increases muscle
mass, which increases resting metabolism.
Other exercise which uses calories
while you are doing it, and keeps your metabolism at a higher level for as long
as possible when you stop.
The first point is fairly obvious,
although there has been more work done recently studying how the make up of the
calorie intake affects weight loss.
The best workout for weight loss
must include some resistance exercises to increase muscle mass. Basically you
want to push your main muscle groups to the level where the body feels the need
to build them up.
One way to build muscle is to lift
weights which are so heavy that after a certain number of repetitions you tire,
and can't manage any more. What happens is that your body responds to this
'overload' by adding muscle mass. Then you do the same again, and again, slowly
increasing the level of resistance, with the muscle mass increasing all of the
time.
It is important to remember that the
body carries out this 'bulking up maintenance' when you are resting. After
doing some resistance exercises, you need to rest. That means no more
resistance exercises on the same muscle group for at least 48 hours. Failure to
observe this simple rule can easily lead to injury.
Ideally you will follow a program
which exercises each of the main muscle groups in the body - arms, legs,
abdomen, etc. You don't need any special equipment, or to join a gym if you
don't want to, as all the muscle groups can be exercised with so-called 'body
weight' exercises. However, beginners are advised to be very cautious to avoid
over-straining, or to get good quality guidance from a reputable guide or
fitness instructor.
Many people, me included, find
muscle-building exercises a bit of a drag. But don't forget that a suitably
trim and muscular body looks much more attractive than a thin, wasting-away
one. You want to lose weight, but you don't want to travel by fax, do you?
Thirdly, you need to introduce the
calorie burning part. Here's where you can have most fun - maybe you like
running, maybe you don't. There must be some form of endurance exercise (i.e.
one takes some time and gets you sweating) that you like. Swimming? Playing
basketball? Or tennis? There are so many possibilities. The key thing is that
you really enjoy doing them. If you enjoy doing something you are much more
likely to stick with it than if you find it a drudge. Newlyweds probably won't
need any help with ideas in this area!
So if you want to lose weight and
get fitter, you need to combine controlling your diet with doing some exercise.
And the best workout for weight loss is to do something you really enjoy. Then
add some muscle building exercises for maximum calorie burning.
Find out more about the Diet and
workout for weight loss and tips for dieting and weight loss please visit : https://weightlossthrill.com/
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