Exercising for weight loss
The do’s and don’ts of exercising for weight & fat loss:
1) Don’t perform steady state low intensity cardiovascular exercise.
Why? because it causes increased cortisol output which causes more abdominal bodyfat, more oxidative stress which increases brain aging and cardio burns muscle as well as fat.
This includes walking, swimming, cycling, and those aerobic classes….yes I mean Zumba etc.
2) Do perform resistance training
By training with weights you increase your muscle mass which in turn improves insulin sensitivity (how you deal with carbs), improves balance and strength, increases your metabolism and burns bodyfat.
3) Don’t perform static stretching as part of your warm up
Static stretching makes the muscle weaker and in turn is a sure fire way to get injured when performed pre-exercise.
4) Do exercise frequently and consistently
Performing regular exercise will not only give your body a stimulus to burn bodyfat but will also serve as a positive activity for the mind. Your body thrives on consistency and requires regular stimulus for adaptation to take place. I suggest that you exercise 4 days per week for 45-75 minutes including warm up & cool down.
5) Don’t follow the same program over and over again
On average you should change your workout every 6 sessions, beginners can make appreciable progress for longer, but most people respond best when there body as a new stress to adapt to, so change any of the following often: exercises, exercise order, reps, sets, rest period, load.
6) Do perform progressive interval training
Interval training where you perform bouts of High intensity and Low intensity exercise burns bodyfat very effectively, doesn’t negatively impact your cortisol output and improves physical performance markers.
Increase the duration of the high intensity from 10-60 secs and decrease the low intensity from 180-90 secs as you get faster, leaner, stronger.
If you want to put this into practice contact us for a prescribed exercise program.
