There are lots of exercise types, but they all fit nicely into two categories: aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercises. But which type of exercise is best for weight loss?
Many trainers and doctors suggest that aerobic exercises – or oxygen using exercises – are the best weight loss exercises you can do. This includes walking, jogging, mountain climbing, dancing, playing tennis, basketball, football and all other sports that involve moving a lot.
To get the maximum fat burning effect while doing aerobic exercises, you must keep your heart rate at 65% to 80% of the maximum recommended heart rate for your age. To find out the maximum recommended heart rate for your age subtract your age from 220.
For example if your age is 30 years old, your maximum recommended heart rate is 190 beats per minute. That means that while you are doing aerobic exercise your heart rate should be between 123 and 152. This is the fat melting sweet spot if you are 30 years old.
The simplest way to asses if you are in the fat melting sweet spot while doing your aerobic exercises is to use the Talk Test. While exercising try and speak out loud. If you can do it easily but you find you don’t have enough air to sing a song you are doing just fine. A simple test that works every time.
Now this is my little rant against aerobic exercises.
Doing aerobic exercise is great for your circulatory system and for your heart. It even helps you burn fat, but unfortunately not that much. Plus the wear and tear on your body is very severe, especially if you are exercising on a daily basis. That is what I have found thru personal experience. After jogging one whole summer my knees were killing me (and I used only proper equipment).
Let’s talk a little about anaerobic exercises. I wasn’t a big fan of them at the start. I got into the whole aerobic exercise fad for fast weight loss. But after my knees were punished enough I turned to anaerobic exercises.
Anaerobic exercises are actually better for weight loss than aerobic exercises. You see while you do aerobic exercises you burn lots of energy but once you stop exercising the fat burning stops. Anaerobic exercises are exactly the opposite: you burn little energy while exercising and a lot of energy once you stop exercising. In fact you keep burning energy and fat for up to 10 hours or more. It all depends on the intensity of the workout.
And that is the key to a good fat burning anaerobic workout: INTENSITY.
It isn’t about how much you exercise, but how hard you exercise. In fact if you exercise using light weight you are doing aerobic exercise not anaerobic exercise.
If you exercise for 15 minutes but you push your muscles hard you will burn fat. Lots of fat. You see your body needs lots of resources and energy to rebuild your muscles, to make them stronger. So it is forced to melt the excess fat to get that energy.
A Friendly Tip For Women
Don’t fall prey to the following misconception: women doing anaerobic exercise get bulky and lose their feminine looks. NOT TRUE! To get bulky you need lots of testosterone flowing through your body. If you don’t have a mustache you can’t get bulky. Simple.
Women that do anaerobic exercise tend to have a more sculpted body, more curvy. All their muscles are firmer and stronger, tucking their excess fat in. Besides, if by some miracle you get too muscular all you have to do is be a couch potato for a couple of month and all you excess muscles will be gone. It takes constant work to keep excess muscle mass on.
The Best Exercise Plan For Fast Weight Loss
Do something. Any type of exercise is better than nothing.
For the best results I suggest you mix anaerobic exercises with aerobic exercises. Hit the gym at least 2 times per week. Go dancing one night per week. Take several long walks throughout the week, maybe even jog a little. Or play some sport that involves lots of movement. The options are almost endless.
Just do some kind of exercising for starters. You will lose weight fast and become a lot healthier.
You should also check out:
- What does aerobic exercises mean? What about anaerobic exercises?
- Office exercises you can do at your desk
- Best Workout Music: keep boredom away while exercising
- Healthy Gym Workout Rules to Avoid Health Problems
- Being a Workaholic Is No Excuse for Not Working Out
- 6 Simple Abs Workout Exercises for Killer Looking Abs
April 12, 2011
Exercise & Fitness