So you've considered to start training at home? Great! That's a WONDERFUL idea - at least for the time being. Please let me remind you of this:
- EVERY exercise program works during the first month, after you've been eating crap and not working out for ages;
- MOST exercise programs work for at least three weeks, unless they're rudimentary and you're advanced.
So, if you work out at home, regularly and consistently (at least every other day), you're going to get desirable results since Week 1 and for about 1-2 months.
And why only for about 1-2 months? Let's suppose you've got an elliptical trainer at home. Every morning you step onto the machine and start pedaling. You do, say, 10-15 or 20 minutes at level 2 for a whole week. You take a day off on Sunday. Monday - weigh in day. Phew!, you're down 1.5 lbs. You think your successful moves were (1) your balanced nutrition plan, and (2) your 10-15 or 20 minutes on the elliptical machine six days a week. Well, you're right, those were probably the main reasons for your success. So you're happy about it and you come to think, "This week I'm going to do the same routine, and I'll get the same results". Cool line of reasoning! But it couldn't be more wrong. Oh, perhaps you could lose another pound this week doing the same you did it last week, but - it won't take too long until your past successful actions start failing. And why's that? "The human body adapts to exercise over time. Once the body adapts, it becomes more efficient. That means it burns less calories for the same activity. In order to burn more calories, one has to add more time or more intensity." (Kim Ball in Is Your Cardio a Waste of Time?) So if you did 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer, at level 2, on week 1, what should you do on week 2? If those 15 minutes are no longer challenging, then do 20 minutes, and you can also try 10-15 or 20 minutes at level 3. And so on. Your body keeps adapting to the exercise, keep it guessing by increasing either time or intensity periodically.
And now that I mentioned the cross trainer, what type of exercise should you be doing for fat loss? The answer is, both cardio and strength training. Mind you, you can do cardio 3, 4, 5 or even 6 times a week, but you should lift weights no more than 4 x week, with at least one rest day in between sessions. You will find an interesting article about the importance of doing both types of exercises, cardio and strength training, at Suite 101 (just click on the link). To sum it up, you must do cardio in order to burn as many calories as you can, but if you only do cardio, you're not only going to lose fat but also lean body mass - and you need this to boost you metabolism so that it keeps burning fat, you see? So you must also do strength training to build muscle, which increases your metabolism and helps your body burn even more calories and thus, more fat. Yep, it's that simple. And if strength training has so many benefits, why should you take a day off in between sessions? Because muscle grows while is resting, not while it's working, and you want to make sure that you're giving your muscles enough time to recover and grow, otherwise you'll only be hurting them and hurting yourself.
There are many programs involving both cardio and strength training during the same session. However, it's also a good idea to do a cardio session separatedly. What's the best type cardio? You can find the answer on Shapefit.com: "The best cardio exercise is simply the one you will do day in and day out consistently. Choose one which you enjoy doing and don't be afraid to mix the exercises up. Interval cardio work consists of moving from one exercise to another in set time intervals." (For the rest of the article, go to http://www.shapefit.com/cardio-exercises.html)
As regards strength training (with or without the cardio), you can either lift weights in the own privacy of your home, visit a Gym or follow a routine on video.
These are the top-5 strength training programs & workouts I've ever tried, so I can recommend them to you now. They are E-L-I-T-E for fat loss!
And of course there are more DVDs featuring Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, Kim Lyons and TBL stars. They're everywhere so you if you search them, you'll find them.
You can create your own strength training routine adding exercises for each body part, with explanations and pictures provided, by opening an account on Shapefit's FitTracker.
I suggest you pay a visit to the Health & Fitness section on eHowTo. Personally, I prefer watching their videos directly on YouTube: eHowToChannel.
You can find more fitness videos, nutritional guidelines, tips, recipes, and a database with exercises by bodypart on Fast Track to Fat Loss. If you want your own virtual personal trainer, as well as your own workout and meal plans, you'll have upgrade and apply for a Gold (non-free) membership.
So there's no reason for you to avoid it - start your fitness journey N-O-W! Don't wait until Monday! You're worth it!
THANDRON - Train Hard AND Rock On!
N. D. B.
THANDRON - Train Hard AND Rock On!N. D. B.
No comments:
Post a Comment