body fat information about how to loose weight by exercising

Strength training

The most effective way to burn body fat and tone up is through strength training. The three factors that when combined result in success are intensity, progressive overload and recovery.

Before beginning an exercise programme it is recommended you check with your doctor first.

Intensity

Muscles grow when they are forced to work at a higher level than they would normally do. The best way to achieve this is to perform one to two sets per exercise until no more repetitions are possible as the muscle fails.

Progressive overload

This means forcing your muscle to work harder each time you exercise. The best way to achieve this is to increase either weight / resistance or the number of repetitions within a workout.

Recovery

When the target muscle group has been overloaded then you must allow ample time for recovery. Generally it takes 2-7 days to recover from a strength workout as the body refills glycogen stores whilst muscles repair and rebuild. The harder the workout the longer time needed for the body to recover and repair, so be wary of strength training too often! With this in mind strength training should be performed no more than 3 times a week.

Anaerobic & Aerobic exercise

In order to lose weight your body must use more calories than are consumed over a period of time, and this is achieved by burning either anaerobic or aerobic calories.

Anaerobic

When anaerobic calories are burned glucose is converted into a starch called glycogen and stored in the muscles. As this requires no oxygen anaerobic calories are burned in short bursts of intensely strenuous activities. Burning glycogen gives a burning sensation in the muscles as a by-product, lactic acid, is created.

Aerobic

The body needs oxygen to burn fat so low intensity exercise such as walking mainly burn body fat. Once the body's need for energy surpasses the oxygen intake rate, anaerobic calories start to burn.

Therefore it is aerobic and not anaerobic exercise that gives maximum potential to burn body fat. Aerobic exercise can be defined as activity that can be maintained over a long period of time and rhythmically uses large muscle groups. In other words long in duration but low in intensity.

Why should you workout?

The positive benefits of exercise are great for both your body and mind - decreased body weight, lower body fat, improved physical appearance, decreased risk of disease, more positive self esteem, reduced instances of depression, better sleep and increased strength and stamina.

Physical fitness decreases your body fat percentage and increases your lean (fat-free) body percentage. The advantage of increasing muscle size is two-fold; firstly muscles use up the body's energy even when at rest, secondly building muscles helps you to keep a constant metabolic rate (the speed calories are converted into energy). A typical person loses about 5% of their metabolic rate every decade without strength training. Regular exercise helps improve cholesterol levels, decreases blood pressure and lower heart rate when at rest and is a powerful tool against osteoporosis.

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