In an effort to save you weeks or months of time using the 'trial
and error' method of finding the best exercise to lose weight, I'm
going to share with you some information that will surely help you
determine not only the best exercise to lose weight, but also powerhouse motivation methods to ensure that you continue to do it - rather than perform the exercise regularly for only a few weeks or months before making excuses and giving up.
Very few of us have much time in the day to waste, and to this end we certainly don't want to frustrate ourselves using our time and energy trying to lose weight through methods that don't give us great results.
Personally, it took me several weeks to figure out what the best exercise to lose weight was. Doctors had their opinions, nutritionists theirs, and bodybuilders had their own thoughts. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how the different factions were measuring their results.
It then struck me like a brick to the head that I needed to go directly to the source: find the people who were actually successfully losing weight. As a result, I spent a lot of time researching the habits of the people who had gone from, say, 300 pounds to 150 and less.
Here is what I found based on what a few dozen such people do:
- The two most popular aerobic activities among successful fat-burners were 1)running and 2)spinning.
- 97% also engaged in weight-training or some form of resistance training to build muscle (and lose weight as a result).
- The majority began their exercise sessions in small increments, some as little as 5 minutes at a time, and gradually worked their way up
I did research into aerobic exercise and exactly why I would need to do it in order to lose weight. I discovered that exercise involving continuous movement for a sustained period of time (30 - 60 minutes when you can reach that level) is crucial because when you engage in any form of exercise the first thing that happens is that the body burns glycogen (stored carbohydrates that fuel muscle contraction) rather than fat. It is only after the glycogen stores are depleted that the fat begins to burn. This explained to me why I was not seeing fantasti results with 10-15 minute cardio sessions, and gave to me the first component of the best exercise to lose weight.
Although running and spinning were the most popular for the most successful 'fat-burners' I studied, many were also getting great results in the gym using things like:
I would guess that running and spinning were the most popular because even if you have the most penny-ante fitness center in your apartment building, they will usually include a treadmill and a stationary bike. Also, running does not require any equipment, and if you own a bicycle then you can use that in lieu of a stationary bike - as long as you make it an aerobic exercise (for example, by cycling on a track somewhere) rather than an anaerobic exercise (where you're continuously starting and stopping). Making it anaerobic takes away the 'best exercise' aspect of it since the fat stores don't get touched as much.The main reason I have listed the other aerobic options above is because ultimately, the best exercise to lose weight is the one that not only fulfills the requirements of sustained aerobic activity, but - and this is crucial - is something that you will enjoy. Enjoyment of an exercise will ultimately determine whether you decide to do it regularly, so this has to be factored into the 'best exercise' criteria. If you truly don't enjoy running, and can't picture yourself doing it regularly in the long-term, then it's not 'best' for you, and you're better off doing a different type of aerobic exercise that will still yield great results.
The other 'best exercise to lose weight' gives you results in a different (though equally effective) way. While aerobic exercise burns fat as you are doing it and for a short time afterwards, weight training builds muscle that speeds up your metabolism even while you are not doing any kind of exercise whatsoever. That's right - the greater amount of lean body mass that results from building muscle means that you are burning off more calories each day while you are at rest.
This is the reason why 97% of the people I studied were including weight training in their exercise plans. Make note as well that 95% of the people I studied were female, and were not involved in weight training in order to become professional bodybuilders. They simply understood the importance of resistance training towards long-term weight loss.
So, what kind of exercise schedule do you need to maintain in order to see the best results? As stated above, I found that for aerobic exercise 30 - 60 minute sessions, 4 - 6 days a week are great. However, as also stated above, many of the most successful 'fat-burners' began their exercise lifestyle with much smaller exercise sessions. If you can't do more than 5 minutes or so right now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's great to get started small so that you can get a feel for good exercise form. Make small goals for yourself, such as, "in 2 weeks I will do 7 minutes each day, in 4 weeks I will do 10 minutes", etc, and you will have reason to feel great about yourself every time you hit a new goal.
For weight training, the important thing is just to integrate it into your lifestyle. There are many different ways that the most successful do this: some do 2 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes each day on those days that they don't do cardio; some do it 3 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes a day on those days that they don't do cardio; some do it 3 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes a day right before their cardio sessions; others make the effort to do 4 days a week. The best results are had, however, when you don't do a weight training session for more than 2 days in a row, as your muscles grow in the recovery period, not during the session itself.
The easy rule of thumb for the actual performance is to use enough weight so that you get to the point of muscle failure at between 6 - 12 repetitions of the movement. When a given exercise gets too easy for you, simply increase the weight, or decrease it if you can't do a minimum of 6 reps. Eventually, you will want to do up to 3 or 4 sets of these, though if you can only squeeze out 1 set of certain exercises at the beginning, that's fine. You will progress as your body tells you that you can.
Since this article is entitled 'The best exercise to lose weight', then what is the best exercise in the weight-training category to ultimately lose weight with? Although there are literally thousands of different resistance exercises you can do with various types of equipment, the best exercise to do is a basic one using free weights. These include 'press' exercises (like the military press and bench press); squats (sometimes called the 'king of exercises' because of muscle growth potential of these exercises); lunges (with a barbell or dumbbells); and rows (includes the deadlift, high-pull, and the bent-over row).
At the beginning of this article I spoke about finding methods to ensure that you will keep at your exercise and lessen your temptation to give up. The number one way to do this is to consider all of the effective exercises listed and figure out which of them you would enjoy most. Another important method is to ease yourself into it, rather than thinking you 'should' do a certain amount of exercise, find that you can't, and give up in frustration. Many others motivate themselves by using their exercise time to listen to music that they haven't gotten around to hearing (by bringing a portable device and some earphones), by catching up on the news or watching TV (even most gyms have televisions in their cardio rooms now), or to catch up on their reading. The latter two are not recommended when you first begin, so that you can focus on your form and the sensations arising, but they may help push you to exercise later when you need the motivation more.
So, ultimately the best exercise to lose weight actually comes in two different forms, aerobic exercise and resistance training. They complement each other like Laurel & Hardy, peanut butter & jelly, and you & your thinner new body.
Very few of us have much time in the day to waste, and to this end we certainly don't want to frustrate ourselves using our time and energy trying to lose weight through methods that don't give us great results.
Personally, it took me several weeks to figure out what the best exercise to lose weight was. Doctors had their opinions, nutritionists theirs, and bodybuilders had their own thoughts. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how the different factions were measuring their results.
It then struck me like a brick to the head that I needed to go directly to the source: find the people who were actually successfully losing weight. As a result, I spent a lot of time researching the habits of the people who had gone from, say, 300 pounds to 150 and less.
Here is what I found based on what a few dozen such people do:
- The two most popular aerobic activities among successful fat-burners were 1)running and 2)spinning.
- 97% also engaged in weight-training or some form of resistance training to build muscle (and lose weight as a result).
- The majority began their exercise sessions in small increments, some as little as 5 minutes at a time, and gradually worked their way up
I did research into aerobic exercise and exactly why I would need to do it in order to lose weight. I discovered that exercise involving continuous movement for a sustained period of time (30 - 60 minutes when you can reach that level) is crucial because when you engage in any form of exercise the first thing that happens is that the body burns glycogen (stored carbohydrates that fuel muscle contraction) rather than fat. It is only after the glycogen stores are depleted that the fat begins to burn. This explained to me why I was not seeing fantasti results with 10-15 minute cardio sessions, and gave to me the first component of the best exercise to lose weight.
Although running and spinning were the most popular for the most successful 'fat-burners' I studied, many were also getting great results in the gym using things like:
- Elliptical machines
- Rowing machines
- Stair-climbing machines
- Cross-country ski machines
I would guess that running and spinning were the most popular because even if you have the most penny-ante fitness center in your apartment building, they will usually include a treadmill and a stationary bike. Also, running does not require any equipment, and if you own a bicycle then you can use that in lieu of a stationary bike - as long as you make it an aerobic exercise (for example, by cycling on a track somewhere) rather than an anaerobic exercise (where you're continuously starting and stopping). Making it anaerobic takes away the 'best exercise' aspect of it since the fat stores don't get touched as much.The main reason I have listed the other aerobic options above is because ultimately, the best exercise to lose weight is the one that not only fulfills the requirements of sustained aerobic activity, but - and this is crucial - is something that you will enjoy. Enjoyment of an exercise will ultimately determine whether you decide to do it regularly, so this has to be factored into the 'best exercise' criteria. If you truly don't enjoy running, and can't picture yourself doing it regularly in the long-term, then it's not 'best' for you, and you're better off doing a different type of aerobic exercise that will still yield great results.
The other 'best exercise to lose weight' gives you results in a different (though equally effective) way. While aerobic exercise burns fat as you are doing it and for a short time afterwards, weight training builds muscle that speeds up your metabolism even while you are not doing any kind of exercise whatsoever. That's right - the greater amount of lean body mass that results from building muscle means that you are burning off more calories each day while you are at rest.
This is the reason why 97% of the people I studied were including weight training in their exercise plans. Make note as well that 95% of the people I studied were female, and were not involved in weight training in order to become professional bodybuilders. They simply understood the importance of resistance training towards long-term weight loss.
So, what kind of exercise schedule do you need to maintain in order to see the best results? As stated above, I found that for aerobic exercise 30 - 60 minute sessions, 4 - 6 days a week are great. However, as also stated above, many of the most successful 'fat-burners' began their exercise lifestyle with much smaller exercise sessions. If you can't do more than 5 minutes or so right now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's great to get started small so that you can get a feel for good exercise form. Make small goals for yourself, such as, "in 2 weeks I will do 7 minutes each day, in 4 weeks I will do 10 minutes", etc, and you will have reason to feel great about yourself every time you hit a new goal.
For weight training, the important thing is just to integrate it into your lifestyle. There are many different ways that the most successful do this: some do 2 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes each day on those days that they don't do cardio; some do it 3 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes a day on those days that they don't do cardio; some do it 3 days a week, 25 - 45 minutes a day right before their cardio sessions; others make the effort to do 4 days a week. The best results are had, however, when you don't do a weight training session for more than 2 days in a row, as your muscles grow in the recovery period, not during the session itself.
The easy rule of thumb for the actual performance is to use enough weight so that you get to the point of muscle failure at between 6 - 12 repetitions of the movement. When a given exercise gets too easy for you, simply increase the weight, or decrease it if you can't do a minimum of 6 reps. Eventually, you will want to do up to 3 or 4 sets of these, though if you can only squeeze out 1 set of certain exercises at the beginning, that's fine. You will progress as your body tells you that you can.
Since this article is entitled 'The best exercise to lose weight', then what is the best exercise in the weight-training category to ultimately lose weight with? Although there are literally thousands of different resistance exercises you can do with various types of equipment, the best exercise to do is a basic one using free weights. These include 'press' exercises (like the military press and bench press); squats (sometimes called the 'king of exercises' because of muscle growth potential of these exercises); lunges (with a barbell or dumbbells); and rows (includes the deadlift, high-pull, and the bent-over row).
At the beginning of this article I spoke about finding methods to ensure that you will keep at your exercise and lessen your temptation to give up. The number one way to do this is to consider all of the effective exercises listed and figure out which of them you would enjoy most. Another important method is to ease yourself into it, rather than thinking you 'should' do a certain amount of exercise, find that you can't, and give up in frustration. Many others motivate themselves by using their exercise time to listen to music that they haven't gotten around to hearing (by bringing a portable device and some earphones), by catching up on the news or watching TV (even most gyms have televisions in their cardio rooms now), or to catch up on their reading. The latter two are not recommended when you first begin, so that you can focus on your form and the sensations arising, but they may help push you to exercise later when you need the motivation more.
So, ultimately the best exercise to lose weight actually comes in two different forms, aerobic exercise and resistance training. They complement each other like Laurel & Hardy, peanut butter & jelly, and you & your thinner new body.
I learn from the very best - the most successful 'fat-burners'
who win the battle over failure and self-hatred to lose all those
unwanted pounds of body fat...
What methods do they use to completely change their lives and make themselves happy and healthy beyond their wildest dreams?
What methods do they use to completely change their lives and make themselves happy and healthy beyond their wildest dreams?
No comments:
Post a Comment