Exercise
An essential component
to any weight loss or health enhancement program is regular exercise.
This should be done concurrently with any dietary modification.
If you are a man over 35 years old or a woman over 40 and have not
been active for over six months or have any chronic diseases, you
need a medical check-up before starting any exercise program.
Once you have your doctor's
approval, get a fitness assessment to see where to start. A Certified
Personal Trainer is a valuable resource when beginning an exercise
program. If you have been active, a personal trainer can help you
make sure the program is appropriate for your goals.
Why exercise?
Exercise will help you
lose weight and/or redistribute your weight. Let's look at how.
But first, it's important to understand some basics.
The body is comprised
of the bones, internal organs, muscles and fat. The bones (which
provide the framework and structural strength for the body) and
internal organs are not likely to vary much in weight over the short-term,
whereas fat and muscle may.
Fat provides insulation
and cushions internal organs and joints. It also is a storage form
of energy and stores the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Muscles
provide the means for movement of the bones and protection for internal
organs.
Lean Body Mass (LBM)
is weight minus the fat weight. When one speaks of body fat percent,
it is how much of the weight is fat. There is a direct connection
to high bodyfat and many chronic diseases of modern western industrial
nations. When emerging nations become more affluent, they see significant
increases of these diseases as they adopt western dietary practices.
Extremely low bodyfat
has negative health consequences as well. Low bodyfat levels have
been found to interfere with women's menstrual cycles and production
of estrogen and other female hormones. This can lead to reproductive
problems and osteoporosis. Both genders face problems with temperature
regulation in the body when bodyfat is too low. There is also some
speculation that low bodyfat may cause lower levels of testosterone
in men.
Stress is known to be
a major contributor to the development of disease. However, that
is only part of the story. The body and mind actually require a
certain amount of stress to function optimally. Too little stress
makes people sluggish and too much stress has a wide range of deleterious
effects on the body and mind.
Exercise can be a positive
stress if it is within the capabilities of the exerciser to recover.
Exercising too hard, too often, or too long does not allow the body
to recover sufficiently before the next workout. Doing the same
type of exercise without variation is more likely to cause over-use
syndrome in the joints being used. Using different forms of aerobic
exercise is one way to approach avoiding over-training.
One can also change the
speed, terrain, and length of time of the workout and take sufficient
rest days. If you feel tired, sore, sluggish, it may be time for
an extra rest day. The same rules apply to strength training. Change
the exercises used for each muscle group periodically. Changing
the number of repetitions, the weight, the number of sets or arrangement,
and order of exercises are other ways to create change to prevent
boredom and burnout. You can also do calisthenics instead of weights
or vice versa.
Types of exercise
Exercise for weight loss
or weight redistribution should include three components:
1) Aerobic exercise.
This is used to burn calories and increase the body's ability to
use fat as a fuel.
2) Strength training. This is used to prevent loss of muscle mass
when dieting or increase muscle mass to bum more calories at rest.
3) Stretching. This is used to prevent injury during exercise and
to prevent or alleviate muscle soreness.
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise increases
the body's ability to use oxygen to burn fat as fuel An aerobically
fit body also burns a higher percentage of its' calories from fat.
However, it has been found experimentally that amino acids are used
as fuel after 90 minutes of aerobic activity. Amino acids are the
building blocks of protein, which can only be found in muscle.
This may be accelerated
when the blood sugar level becomes too low. That is why it has been
found that long-distance runners require more protein per pound
of weight than normal runners to maintain muscle mass, Therefore,
excessive endurance training has a negative impact on metabolism.
It also decreases immune system response to infection.
Stretching
Stretching helps elongate
the muscles, reduce tension, increase the range of motion of joints,
and prevent or alleviate delayed onset muscle soreness. Tight low
back and hamstring muscles are a known risk factor for low back
injury, as are weak abdominal muscles and fat accumulation at the
waist.
Ballistic stretches,
in which one bounces in and out of the stretch, as performed in
many sports and may have specific sports applications, should not
be used for general use. Rather, hold each stretch for about 20
seconds to avoid injury and maximize the effectiveness. When the
stretch is maintained at a safe length, the muscle perceivably relaxes.
Also, breathe normally to avoid dizziness.
Strength training
Strength training refers
to any method of using resistance to improve muscular strength,
muscular endurance, and muscle mass. This can include weight machines,
air or water resistance equipment, resistance bands, exercise balls,
free-weights, calisthenics, isometrics, stone lifting, or log lifting,
such as used by the U.S. Navy Seals.
The entire idea behind
strength training is that the muscles contract against resistance.
As time progresses, the amount of work done increases either by
adding weight, doing more repetitions and sets, or making the exercise
harder by changing body position. Free-weight training utilizes
weights as low as one pound, which is good for very small, ill,
injured, or poorly conditioned people.
It can also produce extremely
high resistance for those who need it. Free-weights and weight training
machines are the most widely available strength training equipment
and easiest with which to quantify improvements. It is also the
method used by the overwhelming majority of strength trainers.
When strength training,
it is important to learn to warm-up properly. An easy 8-10 minutes
of light aerobic activity makes the muscles less prone to injury.
Doing a long or hard aerobic session prior to weight training may
fatigue the muscles too much for good motor control during the weight
workout. Leave that hard or long aerobic workout for after the weight
training or on the days you aren't strength training.
Another positive consequence
of strength training prior to aerobic exercise is that it is a carbohydrate
burning activity, which ought to reduce glycogen (stored carbohydrate)
and blood sugar. If that happens, fat burning will happen earlier
in the session.
General exercise guidelines
Proper movement speed,
range of motion, grip placement, foot placement, neck and torso
position and other aspects of form are important to preventing injuries,
and working the desired muscles. Breathing properly is important
to prevent hyperventilating, which causes dizziness, headache, and
light-headedness. It is especially important for people with high
blood pressure or heart disease.
Exercise choice, frequency
of training, number of sets, repetitions, amount of weight, and
length of rest between sets all have effects on the quality and
safety of the program. All these variables depend on the ability,
level of fitness, and program goals. No one answer works for everyone.
Going into these highly specific issues is beyond the scope of this
article and is easier to learn hands-on in the gym.
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