Archive for June, 2010
As you can probably imagine, there is no consensus on what is the best exercise to lose weight. Using what we know about exercise and the human body, however, it is easy to see what workout routines would be the most beneficial. In order to burn fat your body needs oxygen, which means that an aerobic workout is needed to lost weight quickly. And while running sprints or swimming may seem good for shedding pounds, they are actually anaerobic activities.
Another important component of weight loss is having muscle mass. While this may seem counterintuitive, muscle actually burns a high number of calories; so the more muscle you have, the higher number of calories you will burn throughout the day. Taking these two thoughts into consideration, I feel that circuit training is the most effective exercise routine to burn weight in a hurry. Because you are doing low reps and quickly moving from machine to machine, you are able to stay in an aerobic state. And following a weight lifting workout, you maintain a heightened metabolic rate for hours after you are done—not to mention you are building highly efficient muscle.
An Easy Tip to Break Through Lifting Plateaus
For people who are just beginning a lifting regimen, gains will come easily. Going from a sedentary state to any level of activity will inevitably garner results, but after a few weeks your body will adapt to the workout routine and your gains will diminish. In the weightlifting community these stagnant times are known as plateaus, and without the proper course of action, a plateau can last for several weeks or even months.
One of the best exercise tips—and one of the easiest to implement—is simply keeping a journal for your lifting. You can use the journal to monitor your progress and identify when you are plateauing. When this occurs, it is a sign that you need to switch up something in your workout routine. This can be virtually anything—from what muscle groups you workout on which days, to the amount of reps you do per set or even what exercises you perform.