[amyj606]

A big hello from a new user! I joined to help me out with som guidence in terms of exercise and weight loss. Im want to drop a jean size and loose abut 3 inches off my hip area and generally tone up and get in shape. I currently do 40 mins walking monday to friday for work and go on my cross trainer a couple of times a week but i can't seem to shift the weight And wondered what other things can do to shift the weight. I have been told to do weights before i go on my cross trainer to speed up my metabolic rate but wouldjust like pointed as to if this would help and what else I can incorparate.

Thanks

[wrighty1106]

Hi,

I have recently started a fitness regime. I am eating natural yoghurt for breakfast, fish and salad for lunch and either seafood or chicken salad for dinner. I have been doing 30 mins on tghe cross trainer each lunchtime Monday to Friday and I am now on my third week but haven't even lost one pound in weight. I am 9 stone and 5 foot tall. I just want to loose three or four pounds to get back to my normal weight and tone up my belly but just can't seem to shift it. Should I be going to the gym at the weekend as well? It just seems like such a waste of time when there is no result! Its so de-motivating!

[admin]

You need to incorporate both Aerobic and Anaerobic exercise into your exercise plans. Aerobic fitness refers to levels of fitness when exercising with Oxygen, whilst anaerobic fitness refers to exercise without Oxygen. For beginners, it may be best to start with Aerobic exercises initially.

Aerobic calories burn fat as your body breathes in oxygen. Low-intensity activities up to and including walking are mainly fat burning. However, as your body's need for energy becomes greater than your rate of oxygen intake, your body begins burning anaerobic calories.

Anaerobic calories burn glucose by converting a starch stored in your muscles known as glycogen. Since this doesn't require oxygen, anaerobic calories are used in very strenuous activities for short periods.

The build up of lactic acid as a by product of anaerobic activity produces a burning sensation in the muscle. This symptom means you are burning glycogen, not fat. You can't feel fat burning!

So it's pretty obvious that in order to lose fat to the maximum, you must concentrate on aerobic activities rather than anaerobic activities. An aerobically fit individual can work longer, more vigorously and achieve a quicker recovery at the end of the aerobic session. Think of aerobic activity as being long in duration yet low in intensity. Anaerobic activity, on the other hand is short in duration and high in intensity.

Aerobic activities include: brisk walking, biking, jogging, swimming, aerobic classes and cross-country skiing.

Anaerobic activities include: weight lifting, sprinting, softball, soccer and football.

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise has a number of health benefits for you. At least 30 minutes of daily activity can help improve your heart, lungs and blood flow which ultimately lead to a longer life. Some of the benefits include:

1. Weight loss
2. Increased endurance
3. Improved immune system
4. Reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and certain types of cancer
5. Improved cardiovascular system and circulation
6. Increased good cholesterol, decreased bad cholesterol

Benefits of Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic exercise also offers quite a few benefits. Anaerobic exercise makes your muscles stronger and helps decrease body fat. A strength training routine allows you to build muscle mass, increase bone density, decrease body fat, and provides many of the same overall health benefits as aerobic exercise. Another common form of anaerobic training is a HIIT routine, which involves short bursts followed by recovery periods. This type of training has been shown to increase your metabolism after completion of the exercise to allow for more calorie burning than low intensity exercise. There’s also the release of HGH, a hormone that promotes fat loss and muscle gain. You also improve your cardiovascular system and increase your aerobic capacity. That’s right, anaerobic training actually helps your aerobic capacity.


For me personally, my exercise regime includes an hour of jogging 3x a week, 15 minutes of high intensity boxing 3x a week, and other exercises such as sit ups, lifting a 13Kg dumbbell for varied reps, and I walk to and from my place of work, which totals 5 hours per work. This works great for me, it's all about varying your exercises and hitting as many parts of the body as you can through strength training such as boxing, dumbbells, etc and ontop of this cardio work such as jogging, cycling, etc.

Let me know how you get on guys!

[amyj606]

Hey

Thanks for the reply I don't know loads about exercise so unsure what kind of work out i should be doing :/ I could do with a proper work out schedule :/