Achieving Your Exercise Goals
Do you ever feel as if you never get any closer to fulfilling your exercise goals? Have you been exercising forever and still have ten pounds to lose? Are your arms still wimpy, even after a thousand whily-bird arm circles? Before you give up and throw in the sweat towel, be sure your exercise program is living up to your exercise expectations.
If you want to lose fat, does your exercise routine maximize the burning of fat and calories? If muscle development is your goal, does your program offer the resistance you need? How do you know? Here are a few fitness facts you can use to determine if your exercise program meets your needs.
Fat Loss
Here are two ways to exercise away excess fat, provided your diet is sensible in terms of caloric and fat content.
- If you have time to spare, try the low-intensity long duration approach. You should perform aerobic exercise at least three to five times per week at a low to a moderate intensity. Ideally, your workout should last 30 to 40 minutes or longer if possible. The combination of low intensity and long duration allows your body to use fat as its primary fuel source.
- If time is of the essence and you have only 20 to 30 minutes to spend on the aerobic portion of your program, focus on maximizing your caloric expenditure. You can burn extra calories in a short period by working "somewhat hard" to "hard" in terms of your perceived exertion. Pick up the pace to a level which will allow you to exercise for 20 to 30 minutes without becoming breathless. Even though exercising at a higher intensity causes your body to use a larger percentage of carbohydrates rather than fats as fuel, you'll still end up burning more calories for the given amount of time.
A word of caution
As the intensity of your workout increases, so does the risk of injury... so, if exercise is new to you or you have physical limitations, start off slowly and allow yourself at least four to six weeks to work up to an increased pace.
How soon does the body's fat content begin to change? That varies from one individual to the next. Basically, you lose fat when you expend more calories than you consume. Therefore, much depends on the balance of exercise and adequate diet.
Muscular Strength
If you wish only to enhance your muscular strength and endurance, simple calisthenic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and leg lifts will certainly do the trick. However, if significant change in your muscle size and strength is your goal, then you need to undertake a progressive resistance training program that utilizes free weights or weight machines. Most aerobic programs do not offer the resistance necessary to effect these increased changes in the muscle. Keep in mind that the degree to which a muscle can develop in size is largely determined by heredity.
Cardiovascular Fitness
Most exercise enthusiasts are interested in the physiological benefits regular exercise brings - increased stamina, decreased blood pressure, and a lower resting heart rate, to name a few. With as few as three aerobic-exercise sessions per week, each lasting a minimum of 20 minutes at a moderate intensity, you can achieve these positive changes in your body in about six to eight weeks.
Flexibiliy
To improve your flexibility, you should do stretching exercises regularly - before and following vigorous activity. Your stretching routine should be consistent and progress properly, taking each stretch to the point of tightness without discomfort. Each stretch should be slow; sustain it for at least 30 to 60 seconds, to allow the muscle to relax and lengthen. With such dedication, you can expect to see an increase in your flexibility in four to six weeks. With an improvement of only 1/100 of an inch daily, you could gain one inch in range of motion in about three months.
Assessing your exercise needs and evaluating your exercise program are essential in achieving your goals. Once your program components match your expectations, the desired results are sure to follow!
From the site formerly known as physical.com
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