Best exercise to lose weight : Understanding What Works

Best Exercise To Lose Weight: Understanding What Works !

For almost all dieters one of the hardest lifestyle changes to make is to schedule regular workouts and trips to the gym.

Initially you start out committed to five days a week but then life happens and thing begin to get challenging.

Often this includes a work schedule change or your kids suddenly needing additional time and attention. The result is that structured exercise sometimes falls by the wayside.

What Research Shows

Research in weight loss shows that the best exercise to lose weight is aerobic, low to moderate intensity and that you will be able to do without the need for those time consuming trips to the gym. Cardio workouts that can be a combination of both high and low intensity are the most effective in burning calories, speeding up your metabolism and helping to burn fat already stored in the body.

Cardio Explained

Cardio workouts are divided into two types, those that are long in duration and low in intensity and those that are higher in intensity and shorter in duration. Both should increase the heart rate up to about 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for the duration of the exercise.

For those that are really in shape the maximum heart rate may go slightly higher to about 90 percent of your resting heart rate in the high intensity cardiovascular workout.

For those that are using the low intensity long duration cardio the exercise period should last at least 45 minutes, high intensity exercise blocks are about half that length or about 20 minutes in duration.

High intensity cardio workouts require your heart rate to increase to the upper levels of that 80 to 90 percent range, but this has to be build up over time.

Typically high intensity cardio workouts are those that include a lot of arm and leg movements, really moving the large muscles of the body in rapid movements over longer time periods.

Typical exercises in this group include:

-High or low impact aerobics classes

-Step aerobics classes

-Spinning classes

-Running

-Stairs

-Swimming

-Cross country skiing

-Intense rowing

Remember these exercises should not exceed 20 to 30 minutes in duration for maximum fat burning.

Best Exercise to lose weight : Low Intensity Cardio Workouts

Low intensity cardio workouts can include similar exercises just done at a less intense pace or modified to include fewer arm movements, especially above the chest level. The duration of these exercises should be at least 40 minutes, with a goal of about one hour after a suitable training time to get muscles into shape. Low intensity cardio workouts can include:

-Jogging

-Power walking

-Hiking

-Cycling

-Treadmills and elliptical machines

-Dancing

Low intensity cardio workouts should raise a bit of a sweat but not result in stress, fatigue or difficulty in breathing.

Cardio Combinations

Interval training is a very popular option to combine both low and high intensity cardio workouts. Many athletes and dieters believe this to be the best weight loss exercise since you increase the metabolic rate for longer periods of time while also helping to build muscles that use stored fat and glucose.

Basically interval training includes the standard low intensity activity broken up by three to five minute bursts of intensive cardio work. An example would be a 40 minute brisk walk with a three minute hard run every 10 minutes during the walk.

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