Cardio Training
Cardio exercise refers to aerobic activity. This means that energy for exercise comes from the oxidation of glucose molecules by oxygen. Cardio workouts include running, aerobics, elliptical trainers, steppers, bicycles, rowing machines, jumping rope and active dancing.
It is believed that cardio workouts are suitable for beginners, that they train the heart muscle and from such workouts you can lose weight. This is all true if you follow some conditions. If you have a calorie deficit in your daily diet, you will actually lose weight faster with cardio exercise. You also have to consider your heart rate to lose weight. During cardio workouts you can stretch your muscles or injure your knee, so in the beginning it is better to exercise under the control of a trainer or according to a program developed for beginners.
To calculate your heart rate for burning fat, you can use the formula. To begin with, you need to determine your maximum heart rate: HR max = 220 – your age.
Next you need to understand the lower limit of your fat-burning zone: HR max X 0.65.
Now calculate the upper limit of the fat-burning zone: HR max X 0.85.
Let us assume that you are 37 years old. Then your HR max would be 183 beats. Upper boundary of the fat-burning zone = 155 beats. Lower boundary of the fat burning zone = 118 beats. This means that your fat will burn when your heart rate is between 118 and 155 beats per minute. The rest of the time you’ll just be wasting calories.
High Intensity Interval Training/HIIT
This kind of training can be classified as aerobic cardio exercise, but it has its own peculiarities. During HIIT training, periods of intense exertion, when the heart rate is in the fat-burning zone, are followed by periods of rest. Your workout can consist of interval running, where you run very fast, a little slower, then accelerating again. This way you can train all muscle groups. For example, doing lunges, burpees, jumping rope, and standing plank.
V.I.T. is good because the workout can take as little as half an hour three times a week. With a calorie deficit, you will actively lose weight and your muscles will grow. This workout also increases your endurance.
If you decide to do high-intensity training, it is worth paying attention to your diet. Long carbohydrates should be eaten at least half an hour before your workout. After your workout, eat something protein-based. Be sure to give your muscles a rest. It is better to train at such a pace no more than three times a week. And if you have never been engaged in sports, it is better to start an active lifestyle with a long walk.
Long walks
Walking at least five kilometers a day is a must if you want to lose weight. Long and regular walks can replace working out in the gym. But this way of losing weight requires a lot of time and regularity.
For walking to be sufficiently intense, set yourself up for the pace of a kilometer in 10 to 12 minutes. It is difficult to walk for an hour at a very fast pace, so alternate the intensity.
It is very important to make a plan in advance for this kind of workout. Make a route with an understanding of how many kilometers you will walk in a walk. Calculate the time and dress comfortably. Take a bottle of water with you. If you have a tracker or smart watch, it will help you monitor your mileage, steps, and speed.
Such workouts not only help you lose weight, after a month you will notice that you feel better and have more stamina. And if you replace a late dinner with a long walk, after a month you will also lose weight.
Power training
Such training can be done at home and in the gym. For home training, you will need dumbbells, a barbell, a bench for abs, and weights. But you can also train with water bottles instead of dumbbells. On the Internet you can find programs for self-training without special equipment. There are exercise machines, dumbbells and discs, and other equipment in the gym for training.
Strength training helps to build muscle mass and tone the body. Each workout should end with cardio exercise from 15 to 45 minutes. This can be a jog, stepper, elliptical trainer or bicycle.
Such workouts have a significant disadvantage. If you perform exercises without proper technique, at best the result will be very modest, at worst you can injure the spine, knees or get a muscle stretching.
At the beginning it is better to take a few trainings with a trainer. Before each you need for 5-10 minutes to warm up. If you decide to practice at home, carefully read the technique of each exercise.
Yoga
Yoga classes are not at all about walking on hot coals or acrobatic tricks on your hands. Many asanas are very simple in appearance, but you can spend 400-500 calories in one hour and a half class. And that’s a lot even for strength training, for which the average expenditure is 300 calories.
Yoga develops stamina, tones the body, and improves stretching. After a few months of regular yoga practice, back pain disappears. But if you have never practiced yoga, you should start classes with a teacher. Many fitness clubs have such group programs. You can also find yoga studios for classes today. The most popular among Europeans are hatha and ashtanga yoga. The first helps to develop flexibility, the second will help build muscle and will train endurance.
For classes you will need only comfortable clothes and a mat.
Stretching
Stretching is good for your muscles, joints, and spine. If your diet is not deficient in calories, it is unlikely that you will lose weight just from doing stretching, but you will tone your body. Stretching will also help make your body flexible, and that will reflect on how you feel about yourself. It’s one thing when you can barely button your shoes, but it’s another thing when you can not only bend down with your hands to the floor, but you can also sit on the twine.
Fitness trainers recommend starting a strength training session with stretching to prepare your muscles. Stretching exercises are good to complete a cardio workout or to do them after a long walk. In general, if you plan to have a slim, trim and healthy body, you can’t do without stretching. Choose a set of five or six exercises that are suitable for you. Be sure to change them every few months, so that your body does not get used to the same load.
