Frustrated that you can’t seem to lose even just a few kilos? Sounds like it’s time to shake up the routine!
Along with eating a healthy, balanced diet, exercise is a great option to help your weight loss going in the right direction.
I need to say here first .. using exercise alone to achieve your weight loss goals should not be your first choice ( my personal opinion ). The amount of exercise you would need to do if you continue to eat more than your body really needs would be crazy and you may end up doing more damage than good. Exercise however, has amazing benefits for your body and will absolutely move your weight loss goals along a little faster.
There are so many different types of exercises though, it’s not always easy to know which is the best. You just want results right?
Ask any of your friends, google, your trainer and you are likely to get a different result each time!
Each exercise has it’s benefits though .. and which one you choose really comes down to your own personal goals.
Many people would suggest doing some form of cardio, usually a moderate intensity, steady state cardio for longish periods of time ( think brisk walking or even taking it up into a jog / run ). Great choice … you can usually maintain this pace for a while and it can burn lots of calories because you are going for such a long time. Cardiovascular exercise is excellent for improving your heart health and increasing your metabolism but there is a down side … some find it boring and repetitive.
Enter strength training or weight training
Want that lean, toned, athletic look? Lift some heavy weights ( well, not so heavy that you can’t actually lift them with correct technique though or that you have to drop them on the floor of the gym ). Strength training will help you build muscle, get stronger, prevent osteoporosis.
As you build more muscle, your metabolism will increase to meet the demands of the new muscle and you will be burning more calories, even at rest! An intense strength training session can elevate your BMR ( Base Metabolic Rate – the base amount of calories your body needs just to function ) for up to 48 hours! Good news right? Downside, some people don’t enjoy this type of training, finding it boring. Weird right, but each to their own!
Want to get as much bang for your buck as you can? Try out HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training ). Yep, you will burn some serious calories and get your metabolism firing for hours after a session. The sessions can be quite intense and as such a benefit is that they are short and sharp! Think sprints, hill repeats, tabata type training as an option. However, this type of exercise is really not enjoyable for some … some people may not even be able to do this type of training.
So, what type of exercise is the best for weight loss? I still haven’t really answered that have I?
The short answer, without all the fluffing around
do the exercise that you enjoy and that you will actually do .. consistently. It might be a combination of all of them ( my preferred option ).
The ultimate way to get the weight loss results you are after is doing an exercise that you will do, regularly, combined with a healthy, balanced diet.
Most importantly, find the combination and balance that works for you!
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