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Train your
muscles now so you can burn calories while you rest!
There are three
primary ways of energy expenditure (burning calories) in the
human body:
1) Thermic
Effect of Food. Our bodies burn calories when we
digest, absorb, transport and store food. This accounts for
roughly 10% of our daily energy expenditure.
2) Thermic
effect of exercise. While you are doing physical
activity (moving your body), your body burns calories.
The average person burns between 15 to 30 % of their
daily energy expenditure from physical activity. This varies
depending on intensity and duration.
3) Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). The rate
at which your body burns calories at rest.
*Roughly
70% of the calories our bodies burn come from our Resting
Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your body’s metabolic rate is highly
correlated with your lean body tissue (muscle tissue).
By increasing and maintaining your lean body tissue, you are
going to raise your metabolism so you will burn calories at rest
(even while you sleep).
By simply training
every major muscle group in your body at least twice a week, you
will increase your lean body tissue. This is the key to raising
your body’s metabolism and burning calories around the clock.
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Dieting = Starving
Your body is smarter
than you may think.
If weight loss (lower
percent body fat) is one of your goals, you may want to
reconsider your eating habits.
Dieting does not
work! Healthy eating and exercise does!
If you decide to
diet, your body will think that you are starving yourself and
will actually slow down its metabolism (RMR). Your body will
try to conserve and hold on to the few calories that you are
taking in. This simply means that by dieting you are doing the
exact opposite of the goal that you are trying to accomplish.
If you want to have a
caloric deficit (fat loss), then you should try to increase your
energy expenditure (not decrease it). You will raise your
metabolism by staying active along with eating healthy frequent
meals through out the day.
To sum it up:
-Eat a wide variety
of healthy foods through out the day (including 3 to 5 servings
of fruits and vegetables)
-Perform aerobic
physical activity at least 3 to 5 days a week (walking, jogging,
swimming, bicycling, etc.)
-Perform weight
bearing exercise least 2 days a week (i.e. muscle training)
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Lower aerobic intensity and
burn more fat!
In addition to strength training every
major muscle group at least twice a week, it is important to
perform aerobic training for a minimum of three to five days a
week.
The American College of Sports Medicine
Guidelines for healthy aerobic activity recommends
performing aerobic exercise 3-5 days a week, maintaining your
intensity for 30 to 45 minutes (ACSM,
http://www.acsm.org/pdf/Guidelines.pdf).
If one of your exercise goals is to lose
weight, then you should think of this simple equation: Input
vs. Output. Take in fewer calories than you are expending
on a daily basis and you will have a caloric deficit, which will
eventually lead to fat loss.
There are roughly 3500 calories in one
pound of fat. If your goal is to lose a few pounds, think of
what type of pounds you want to lose. Do you want to lose fat
when you perform aerobic exercise?
A safe and realistic exercise goal can be
to lose one pound of fat a week (500 calories * 7 days = 3500
calories). If you are eating around 2000 calories a day, this
means that you want to burn 2500 calories a day to have a
caloric deficit of 500 calories a day. In the real world, you
are not going burn 2500 calories a day from aerobic exercise
alone. Your healthy caloric deficit should come from the
combination of your Physical Activity, Thermic effect
of food and your Metabolism.
If you lose more than one pound a week,
than this additional weight loss can be coming from somewhere
else (water, carbohydrates, etc.).
Your aerobic exercise intensity should be
geared to fit your specific training goal. If your goal is to
burn fat during aerobic activity, you may want to lower your
exercise intensity.
When performing aerobic activity, your
body usually burns a combination of fat and carbohydrate for
energy. The higher the intensity, the more carbohydrate (muscle
glycogen) you are using for energy. The lower the intensity,
the more fat you are using for energy. You can refer to the
“Sports Coach” webpage at:
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/esource.htm#rer
for a simplified understanding of this concept.
In short, if you are trying to burn fat
from aerobic activity, try to perform aerobic activity at least
3-5 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes with light to
moderate intensity. A fast paced walk or a light jog can be
ideal for a fat burning aerobic exercise.
*A solid weight loss program includes
aerobic exercise (3 to 5 days a week), strength training (at
least twice a week), stretching and a healthy diet which
includes a wide variety of healthy foods J
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An Hour a Day Will
Keep the Doctor Away
Why work out? The
reasons are endless!
Did you know that
working out will actually improve your mental health, physical
health and emotional health.
There are 24 hours in
a day; I ask that you give yourself a small fraction of your day
to your fitness & health lifestyle. Is that really too much to
ask?!
You will not only
look better, you will also sleep better, think better,
concentrate better and even prevent diseases from arising in the
future. All you have to do is simply perform basic physical
activity a couple of days a week. Train your heart, lungs and
muscles on a consistent basis and your body will take care of
you for the rest of your life.
Aside from known
aesthetic benefits, exercising on a consistent basis will
additionally:
·
Help prevent heart
disease, adult onset diabetes, obesity and many other lifestyle
effected diseases
·
Raise your level of HDL’s
(High-Density Lipoproteins) which is the good cholesterol
in your body
·
Lower your level of LDL’s
(Low-Density Lipoproteins) which is the bad cholesterol
in your body
·
Increase bone density which helps
prevent osteoporosis
·
Strengthen your ligaments, tendons
and joints
·
Increase your lean body tissue
·
Lower your percent body fat
·
Raise your metabolism
·
Help prevent injuries
The benefits of
performing fitness and health lifestyle exercises are endless.
Live longer & healthier by treating your body with the respect
it deserves.
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No Excuses - All You Need
Is Your Body
A fitness and health lifestyle regime is
more simple than you may realize.
Use your own body for your fitness regime
and attain the results that you are looking for in a natural
setting. The fitness and health lifestyle program is
simple and easy.
You don’t need a fancy gym or expensive equipment to be fit and
healthy. If you like working out in a gym, that is great, but I
am offering you motivating alternatives. Try the natural
alternative of utilizing your own body for your fitness and
health lifestyle program!
You can perform exercises in the comfort
of your own home, a park or even the office.
Let’s start with a basic fitness and
health lifestyle program:
·
Train every major
muscle group at least twice a week.
You can use your own body for resistance. Think of an animal,
or better yet, think of a human before technology took over the
world. How did people move from place to place? Our bodies our
meant to be used. Here are some basic exercise examples where
all you need is your own body for resistance: lunges, squats,
pull-ups, pushups, dips and abdominal training. If a certain
exercise is too hard, think of alternatives and make it
easier. Build up your body in stages.
· Aerobic
exercise three to five days a week.
Move your major muscle groups
non-stop in continuous movements for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Walk, Jog, Run, Skip Rope, Ride a Bike, Swim, Skate - Do
Something!
Spring is in the air, so take advantage of
the weather. Get outside and move your body. Leave your car
keys at home and ride your bike or walk to work. Utilize your
body and get moving.
Remember the basic fitness and health
lifestyle equation is simple.
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