Since spring has finally sprung in Michigan, I've witnessed lots of people outside moving their bodies on a regular basis again. It's a beautiful thing!
In the last couple weeks, I've also heard from countless folks, mostly women, who are frustrated with their weight loss efforts. At various speaking events I've done, this is one of the most common questions I'm asked. In the mom's forums I belong to, this is the hot topic of conversation. Even when I take the kids to the park, I overhear other moms expressing their dissatisfaction with their weight.
Now, obviously there's a whole lot to the weight loss issue: nutrition, activity level, type of exercise, stress levels, hormonal balance, etc. So I don't kid myself that I could tackle that hairy beast with one little recommendation!
But, recently, the one thing I've been hearing women discuss, is the type of exercise they do. They describe, with exasperation, the hours they spend walking, swimming, cycling, even jogging... with "no results". I met one young lady who jogs for miles each day, yet struggles with her weight. She jogs the same path every time, week after week, month after month. Another group of moms who do water aerobics several times a week for 40 minutes - walk in a circle one way for awhile, then reverse for awhile. Same story... no results. Another mom at the playground was walking in a circle around the equipment while her children played for 30 minutes. She said that's her exercise a few times a week. In the online forums, it's the same story as well. Countless women wondering WHY they're not shedding pounds as a result of their diligent exercise.
The one detail I don't hear these same ladies talk about is the INTENSITY of their exercise. Remember, if fat burning and weight loss are part of your fitness goals (in addition to the all-important mental and social benefits of it), then you MUST bump it up a few notches in your intensity level.
If you jog, then add some wind sprints or hill sprints to your casual jog. If you walk, add some bursts of speed as well. Or, stop and do jumping jacks or squat jumps or push-ups... anything to challenge your body and force it to work much harder for a short period of time. If you swim, add bursts of challenging resistance moves during your laps (or circles).
Increasing the intensity of your workouts results in an increased Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is what burns fat for your, even when you're resting. You can increase your intensity by adding more resistance, adding more speed and adding more variety... all in short periods of time, with rest periods in between. In the case of "working out" you can accomplish this by doing full body workouts, exercise the large muscle groups, use challenging weights, don't dilly-dally in your workout and change it up quite regularly.
So, while a nice steady-paced, low to moderate intensity jog, walk, swim is fabulous for your overall health, in most cases, it's not nearly enough to accomplish effective weight loss and fat loss. You'll burn lots of calories WHILE you're doing the activity, but not for very long afterward. On the other hand, if you include high intensity bursts of activity a few times each week, you'll see the amount of calories you burn OVERALL dramatically increase.
Another great way to accomplish this addition of high intensity bursts to your fitness regime is to take up a sport or class that includes that type of movement. E.g. tennis, kickboxing, spinning, racquetball, soccer, etc.
By the way, one word of caution... don't trip over all that fat as it falls off you!
No comments:
Post a Comment