There are many myths and fads when it comes to weight loss. Some say that it is necessary to go on a strong diet to reduce calorie intake. Some say that diet is not important as long as you maintain strict exercise programs to lose weight. Some take the middle path and say that you should eat a healthy diet and do some type of exercise program.
While it’s well established that a healthy diet is important, what many people don’t address is what type of exercise is best for promoting long-term weight loss. Do the wrong type of exercise and you could be wasting your time, or even working against you in the long run.
Low intensity training has long been held to be the best way to burn fat. The reason given was that training in the low intensity zone allows the body to use oxygen and fat to fuel the exercise. (The low intensity zone is where your heart rate is at approximately 65% of your maximum heart rate threshold while exercising. Maximum heart rate is approximately 220 beats per minute minus your age.)
Exercising in this zone for 30 minutes burns approximately 300 calories (depending on your weight) which has been established as the amount you need to burn for weight control.
The problem with this approach is that burning fat with low-intensity training while dieting also burns protein, which is the building block of muscle. Burning muscle and fat to lose weight is not a desired result, as your metabolism will slow down. Research has shown that building and toning muscle is important for increasing metabolism. Why is that important? Well, if you increase your metabolism, which is the rate at which your body processes food, you speed up fat burning and weight loss.
Studies conducted at the University of New South Wales in Australia have shown that combining low-intensity training with bursts of high-intensity training promotes faster weight loss, as well as toning and building muscle. This style of exercise is called interval training. The claim studies that it is possible burns up to six times the fat than in normal low-intensity cardiovascular training.
The workout involves high-intensity exercise for 8 seconds, followed by a 12-second recovery period. This is repeated for 20 minutes. Make sure you warm up well. It is important to assess your fitness level before beginning any interval training program and to increase recovery periods if necessary. Always check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
The most effective methods for interval training are jogging, using a bicycle, or a stationary bike.
Losing fat and preventing loss of muscle mass is critical to maintaining the weight lost permanently. It is common to gain weight rapidly after ending a diet, or to stop a cardiovascular exercise program to lose weight if muscle has been lost, because as muscle tone returns, protein is replaced and weight gains. . That is why people sometimes experience a rocking effect of losing weight and gaining it back when the weight loss exercise program is stopped.
The most effective way to stop this seesaw effect of losing weight then gaining it back, and perhaps even more, is to maintain muscle mass, keep your metabolism high, and focus on losing just that stubborn fat with weight loss exercise programs that incorporate intervals. training.
