So you’re overweight, “fat”–to be honest–and you want to start exercising. Before you take off like an overlarge airplane and start preparing for the Olympics trials, stop right there. You may have it all figured out by now, after checking with your friends, the media and finally that fickle fiend known as the bathroom mirror, that a regular exercise program is the only way to fly when it comes to permanent weight loss. That entails working out or otherwise flexing your physical and psychological muscles on a regular basis, perhaps three times a week, or maybe even once per day.
But therein lies the rub. How do you get started? How often do you exercise? Most importantly, if you’ve been very sedate or at least somewhat off your feet for awhile, what’s the safest way to begin an effective, weight-loss centered exercise program?
Beginning a Righteous Program–Realistically
First of all, follow the old saw about consulting with your doctor. Don’t start thinking you can just begin running around the block. That’s why the medical profession exists, to advise and keep you safe. You doctor will recommend specific types of exercise tailored to fit your own individual lifestyle, personal health needs and concerns. But you don’t need to make it entirely clinical when you begin an exercise program.
Most importantly, you need to pick something you’re going to stick with. What do you like in the way of sports? If you’re people-oriented, you should look into joining a team sports program of some kind in your area, one created for adult participation. You can look for a local softball league, take a beginning aerobics class at a fitness center, or play regular games of basketball at a gym with your buddies. And then there’s golf, the perennial favorite of people who want to perform fun and interesting mild exercise. All you have to do is motivate yourself and perhaps some friends to get started. Or if you’re a loner, you can take up an individualized sport such as bicycle touring, which can also be done in small groups, or laps swimming at your community pool.
But be realistic, and work with your doctor. You want to aim for something fun that you’ll keep committing to doing regularly. If it’s something you hate, perhaps such as running on a track, climbing stairs or using what seems to you to be boring exercise equipment, forget it! Don’t spend all your money on something you can’t keep doing because you feel guilty, or think you have to punish yourself into exercising. Be sure you like what you’re going to do before you get started. Simply walking around the block is a very inexpensive and potentially fun way to go from a sedentary state to a beginning new level of much better health and fitness. You must start with something easy and simple if you haven’t been exercising for decades, and you should gradually increase your level of activity as you feel comfortable with it. Move by inches, not by miles.
Eventually, you can try exercising every single day, anywhere from twenty minutes to a full hour. But especially at first–and that may be for several months–don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t go all out, and get frustrated because you can’t keep it up. You don’t have to be a college athlete, and you can seriously hurt your heart by pushing too hard or overdoing it. Remember, you’re doing this for fun, for health reasons and to feel good about yourself. Don’t try to become an “athlete” unless you think that will be something you’ll want to commit to on a much more rigorous schedule. Later!
Easy Exercise Comes–Naturally
Americans tend to think of exercise as more their duty than as a part of their culture, or “way of life.” But it’s a true lifestyle preference. Throughout the world, many forms of regular exercise are taking hold of whole general populations. Take walking, for example. In Europe, people are flocking to their local well-developed public hiking trails, and there’s quite a few of those spread across the USA as well. Walking of a moderate type is called Volkssport in Europe, and it’s really been around for many centuries.
Easy-going exercise such as walking continues to stave off heart disease, osteoporosis, high cholesterol and many types of cancer, as well as taking care of most of your belly flab. It doesn’t sound like much, but it will really tighten your whole body up. Your legs will especially benefit, and your buns will automatically grow firmer as you stroll. Not to mention that the worst investment you need to make is a pair of comfy, sturdy sensible shoes, preferably made of leather or canvas with rubber soles. You may think that yoga is some uncomfortable form of Eastern self-punishment and mysticism, but it’s not. Yoga is great for toning your body, as it’s extremely gentle when done correctly. It combines traditional breathing and relaxation techniques with simple stretching. It’s good to use yoga during a weight-loss program when you’re sedentary, as it’s very easy on your body, you don’t have to repeat the same exercises every day, and it requires a minimal time commitment. Yoga can be used in conjunction with a more rigorous exercise program to help maintain your overall state of fitness. “Yoga doesn’t take over your life, it enhances it,” says Alice Cristensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association.
Continuing Your Program–Goals and Motivation
Okay, so you’ve gotten started, but what does all this have to do with watching your weight? To keep on schedule with this as your original goal, you also have to keep that commitment to lose enough poundage to be a healthy, happy and physically fit person.
First of all, you have to figure out exactly what you’re expecting to accomplish. Are you looking for optimal health, or do you really want to fit into slinky clothes better? Either way, you’re going to have to set goals and try to attain them as you go. It helps to clearly keep in mind what you’re aiming for, and it helps to visualize yourself at your ideal weight several times a day. This image impresses itself upon your subconscious and inwardly motivates you to continue your program with a bulldog’s sheer tenacity and motivation. You want that; whatever happens, you don’t want to stress out and quit. Try looking at old photographs of yourself at your ideal weight and picturing realistically what you’ll look like when you’re back there again. Don’t expect the Fountain of Youth, but you’d be shocked how close you can get to your mental picture, and how good you’re going to feel as you move your body, eat less liberally and become fit and not fat.
You must also remember to keep it simple when you’re losing weight. In most cases, burning more calories than you ingest is the biggest concern. You have to expend approximately 3,500 calories to lose one pound of adipose fat tissue. Water weight doesn’t count, and that’s what a lot of people lose at first. Also, the important thing about exercise is that you can eat almost normally and still lose the weight at a healthy and reasonable pace. If you don’t exercise and try to lose weight, you’ll be tempted to embark on a starvation diet. This has been shown to make you lose lean muscle mass instead of fat in most cases, and although you’ll drop some pounds, they may be the wrongest ones. Chances are that if you’re unfit while you’re losing weight, you’ll get physically tired, sleep less, become overly emotional, and stress out and become extremely irritable. It simply isn’t healthy to do it that way, so you need at least a moderate exercise program.
Try keeping a journal of your progress every day, and consult with it when you want to know how far along you’ve come. You can also use it to gauge how you’re doing, and whether or not you’re losing weight at a reasonable pace. Congratulate yourself every time you ate the right thing, kept to your walking schedule, or didn’t give in to temptation that day by making a brief note about it. Read the journal to inspire you about what you’re doing whenever you feel the urge to let go.
Don’t forget to share any successes or failures with your friends and family. Tell them all about how proud you are of the new lifestyle choices you’re making, and share in their enthusiasm. They want you to be healthy and go on living, and so do you. But some of them may worry that you’re starving yourself or are in a state of denial. Reassure them, and proceed carefully with your healthy diet and exercise plans, while always knowing that it’s exactly what you need to do to look better, feel stronger and live longer.
Easy Dieting Tips to Live By–Starting Now
• Never eat after 7 pm. Studies prove that your body’s metabolism begins to shut down in the early evening. It needed fuel to function earlier, but at night you’re getting yourself ready to fall asleep. Eat the bulk of your daily food intake around noon–that’s when you’re burning the most calories. But if you work nights, do it the other way around, of course. It’s not the time of day that’s important; it’s the fact that your body is well-adjusted to a cycle where it doesn’t burn many calories before and during bedtime.
• Limit your intake of saturated fats, sugars and any other substances in food proven to add empty calories to your daily diet. Don’t drink any pop or sodas at all as they’re very bad for you generally, being full of chemicals. Diet sodas tempt you into drinking the sugary ones, and all soda pop robs water from your system and makes you thirstier. That can lead to eating more food.
• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. You might want to go easy on some of the higher-calorie fruits such as starchy bananas, and don’t eat lots of high-fat avocados. But in general veggies are a dieter’s best friend. You might want to always eat your veggies with some meat protein to curb any histamines that might ravage your system and make it harder for you to breathe. Also, eating plenty of veggies kills the hunger signals from your brain, due to their sheer bulk and fiber. And the nutrients in fruits and veggies will increase your physical strength. Eat your spinach!
• Also eat lots of whole grains, which provide antioxidants that fight cancer and help you feel satisfied in a manner similar to that of eating veggies. But whole grains are even more filling, and help you digest your food. You want to eat plenty of fibrous foods, plus drinking lots of water, to flush toxins left over in your body from the dieting completely out of your system.
• Take a healthy multivitamin. Don’t go overboard and try to take everything, because some of the substances we need interact non-positively and can cause chemical imbalances. Consult with your doctor and see what’s recommended nowadays. One good wholistic multivitamin and mineral supplement–not a megadose of potentially harmful chemicals–can improve your skin, hair, overall appearance in general, and also your chances of managing on a little bit less food.
Marjorie
are so many exercise bikes available that it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Spinning bikes, stationary bikes, dual action bikes, and recumbent bikes are probably some of the terms you’ve heard. It’s almost as though you have to be a fitness equipment engineer to understand the differences! Here’s a quick summary of these confusing terms.
o Spinning Bikes
You’ve probably heard about the spin craze that has become so popular in health clubs. Spinning bikes usually have at least a front wheel that spins (which is why they are so brilliantly named spinning bikes). These bikes might be the current fad, but they aren’t very comfortable. The seats are small and hard. The classes make these boring bikes more interesting, but as home exercise bikes, they quickly become tedious.
o Stationary Bikes
Stationary bikes (or upright bikes) are the exercise bikes that most people can identify. It’s the same basic model as in the 1980’s. Once again, it’s fairly uncomfortable. You can’t really do anything like read or watch TV because you’re leaning left and right and bouncing, so it, too, quickly gets boring.
o Dual Action Bikes
Dual action bikes are aptly named, as they give you both an upper and lower body workout. There are handles that move independently - much like an elliptical machine. It’s a good workout, but a bit tough for beginners, and as usual, the time on the bike will eventually get boring.
You can also get dual action bikes that allow you to adjust the machine to create an arm-pedaling workout. It’s usually fairly difficult to make the adjustments. It’s also two separate exercises, which create a longer workout. Most people aren’t as likely to keep up such a routine.
o Recumbent Bikes
Recumbent bikes are the exercise bikes with the comfortable bucket seats. You sit back and lower to the ground as you pedal. These exercise bikes are easy enough for even the most sedentary beginners, and they usually offer workout programs to keep the workouts from becoming mundane.
The Experts Recognize the Advantages of Recumbent Bikes
Most physicians and personal trainers recommend recumbent bikes. Recumbent bikes are better for people of all different fitness levels. You are more likely to keep up a recumbent bike routine over time, the bikes are safer, and there are different benefits for both men and women.
o Recumbent Bikes for All Fitness Levels
Even the most sedentary person will find a recumbent exercise bike easy to use. You can adjust the settings to offer little or no resistance as you pedal. People who are overweight will definitely find the seat much larger and more comfortable than other exercise bikes.
Athletes will find the recumbent exercise bike a challenge. The resistance can become incredibly difficult. The bike can simulate pedaling up hills. Most recumbent bikes offer various programs that will require you to sprint and tackle hills. If you want an upper body workout as you pedal, you can easily add weights and do repetitions as you sit back in the recumbent bike seat.
o Recumbent Bikes Offer a Sustainable Workout
The programs offered by most recumbent exercise bikes definitely keep the workout from becoming boring. You can simulate a course that is easy or difficult, flat or hilly. When shopping for exercise bikes, it’s better to get a bike with as many variations as possible.
The fact that a recumbent bike is suitable for all levels will keep you getting back on the bike. If you’re feeling particularly tired or lazy one day, you can have an easy workout where you can read a book or newspaper. If you really want to test your limits, you can crank up the music, set the machine to more difficult levels, and add some weights for an upper body workout.
o Recumbent Bikes are Safer
Because you sit back and lower to the ground in a recumbent bike, it is better for your body. Most exercise bikes force you to hunch over, causing a stiff back. Some dual action bikes are back injuries waiting to happen. Recumbent bikes require that you sit with good posture as you pedal.
Recumbent bikes also offer one of the few cardio workouts that put no pressure on your knees and other joints. You can’t “cheat” on a recumbent bike and stand up when you’re finding it more difficult to pedal. Standing like that on other types of exercise bikes puts unnecessary pressure on your knees and ankles. Recumbent bikes let your body exercise at an angle where your body weight is not stressing your joints. Even people with back and knee problems will find a recumbent bike easy to use.
o Why Men Should Choose Recumbent Exercise Bikes
So many men neglect their lower bodies when they workout, especially in strength training. It’s common to see buffed out men with giant biceps and tiny little bird legs. That’s because it’s easier to get an upper body workout at home. If you just invest in a recumbent bike, you can set the machine to high resistance. You will build leg muscle, and you can even do curls while you pedal.
Recumbent bikes can also allow men to get a great cardio workout without the discomfort that only a man knows on regular bikes or other types of exercise bikes. With the large, comfortable seats of recumbent bikes, you are much more likely to enjoy your workout pain-free.
If you move the seat of a recumbent bike up a bit to bring your legs higher, you can even target the lower abs and have to do less crunches to get the bottom of your six-pack!
o Things Women Should Know About Recumbent Bikes
Two words, ladies: legs and bottoms. Recumbent exercise bikes are so comfortable and easy to use that eventually you can do workouts giving you results like you’ve spent hours a day on a stair-stepper.
Recumbent bikes can give you a fat burning cardio workout with enough resistance to help you build long, lean muscle. Picture Tina Turner legs. Recumbent bikes also are great for your inner thighs. Using different programs and settings, you will be able to target different muscle areas in your legs for longer looking, leaner legs.
According to most polls, women claim in higher numbers to not have time for exercise because of more responsibilities in the home. With the positioning of a recumbent bike, you can multi-task to more easily fit in a workout. You are able to read, catch the news, and even use a phone or your handheld organizer.
Finding a Recumbent Exercise Bike
With prices between $200 and $3000, there is quite a variety of recumbent bikes available. Use the Internet to find great deals (including free shipping most of the time). Because the bikes are great for any level and help you to finally be able to stick with a safe and effective workout routine, you can splurge a little. This is definitely one of the best investments you can make for your health.
Michael
Want to lose weight effortlessly and quickly without harming your health? Then choose exercise as one of your weight loss tools.
There is no moment like the present.The man who will not execute his resolutions when they are fresh upon him can have no hope from them afterwards: they will be dissipated, lost, and perish in the hurry and scurry of the world, or sunk in the slough of indolence. ~Maria Edgeworth
Starting an exercise program in bleak midwinter is a pretty dismal idea, but as it is Christmas time and 2008 is looming just around the corner, I bet many people are considering doing just that. We are all reviewing 2007 and resolving to be fitter and healthier and thinner in 2008.
It is very important to understand is that you don’t have to immediately start going out for long-distance runs. In fact to do so if you are quite overweight could be detrimental to your health. In the beginning of an exercise program it is better to start by going out for short, slow walks. Don’t be concerned if initially they are short walks and slow ones at that; the idea is to build your fitness level gradually to avoid injury.
Starting a new exercise program is the most difficult part. Once you take the first steps towards your exercise and weight loss goals it will become easier and easier as you go along.
Even if you don’t like exercise you need to be aware of the fact that exercise is one of the fastest ways for you to reduce weight and improve your health and speed up your metabolism. The more exercise you do, the more energetic, supple and motivated you will become and this in turn makes it a lot easier and enjoyable for you to achieve your daily activities.
Exercise also helps to flush out toxins in the body and improve your digestive system with increased blood flow throughout the body so even small levels of exercise are going to benefit to some degree.
Cardiovascular exercise (speeds up your heartbeat) is very important to keep your heart healthy, but so is suppleness and resistance training. Any exercise that involves the use of resistance such as weightlifting will boost your ability to lose weight considerably as muscle burns fat and any muscle that you can build will help ensure quick and easy weight loss.
These resistance training type exercises also help to increase the strength of your bones that is very important as you age. And if it is weight-bearing (walking, skipping, jogging) it protects you against osteoporosis.
Do some physical activity each day and exercise a minimum of 30 minutes three times per week at least. If you find that you can’t do that initially don’t be too concerned as you will build up to it before too long and most people end up enjoying it and make it part of their regular lifestyle.
Exercise is also beneficial to your mental health. It stimulates the production of endorphins that make you feel good about yourself. It also strengthens your immune system, protecting you against cancer and disease. Even if we are currently in the darkest of winter-time, starting an exercise program as part of your New Year resolutions is no bad idea at all. Come spring-time you’ll be fit as a fiddle and radiantly healthy and will fit into your summer clothes effortlessly.
To motivate yourself to get going and keep going once you have started, I would recommend self-hypnosis and visualisation. You can suggest to yourself while under hypnosis that you love exercising and are very good at it, and use visualisation to see yourself slim, fit and healthy, walking on a beach in your bathing suit, getting many admiring glances…
So just go for it. If you want to guarantee quick and easy weight loss, choose a form of exercise you enjoy and will be able to stick to for the rest of your life, and gradually increase the time and effort you put into your training program. Look after your body, you only have the one, and it is certainly worth it.
Ida
Getting enough exercise is a great challenge in today’s work-driven world: there are just too many reports to finish, too many accounts to attend to, and too many deals to close. A day at the gym can be too demanding for the busy executive, and a few hours spent at the treadmill can be hell for anyone rushing after a thousand deadlines.
A greater challenge, moreover, is getting the proper exercise: every minute of the one or two hours spent at the gym should count, and every exercise should put your muscles in stronger, better shape.
The hard gym floor, however, can tax greatly on your back and the soles of your feet, as the impact of either hard wood or stone can rattle your bones or strain your muscles. One alternative is using exercise ball routines to keep fit.
By using an exercise ball, even as a chair in your office, you can engage in easy exercise ball routines to keep your body in good shape without having to spend hours on the stationary bike or aerobics class floor.
The use of an exercise ball does not only ease your body from the impact of a hard gym floor. It allows you to concentrate on stretching your muscles and addressing major muscle groups that would otherwise feel worn out and pained after long hours of routine aerobic exercises or machine-based workouts.
Exercise ball routines, moreover, allow you to address muscle groups that would otherwise be left out in other conventional exercise routines. In fact, there are exercise ball routines built around strengthening your upper and lower abdominals, as well as the muscles of your hard-to-reach, but delicate lower back.
Before you engage in exercise ball routines, however, you must consult with your gym trainer on exercise ball routines that are best suited for your body type and fitness goals.
It can be difficult to design exercise ball routines if you have scoliosis or frequent lower back pains, so you also have to consult with your orthopedist or chiropractor on how you can avoid damaging your spine.
Gail
Everyone these days is working to get in shape, and they want to see results quickly. These quick and easy exercises will give you a better, more toned stomach with little effort and fast results! Using these three quick exercises will allow you to quickly firm up your abs. As you grow more accustomed to these three exercises you will be able to increase the number of repetitions that you complete, but be careful not to overdo it!
Each of these three quick exercises should take ten minutes or less, and within four weeks or less you will begin to see incredible, positive results, guaranteed! All that this means is that you need five hours a month to spare in order to get your abs in the best shape of your life!
Quick Ab Exercise #1 - Sit down on a sturdy high back chair with your torso completely straight. Bring your arms back behind you so that you are giving support to your lower body. Extend your legs, pointing your toes outward in the process. Hold this position for between 5 and 10 seconds. Then slowly bring your legs up toward your chest, squeezing both your abs and buttocks in the process. Hold this position for between 5 and 10 seconds. You have just completed one single repetition. Complete this set at least five to ten times a day, every day, in order to achieve the best possible results.
Quick Ab Exercise #2 - In this second exercise, you should begin by laying down flat on your back. Lock your hands together behind your head. Slightly bend your knees, and spread your legs slightly apart. Now slowly lift your upper body to your knees in a crunch, making sure not to put any unnecessary pressure on your head or the back of the neck. You should be using your abdominal muscles for the lifting rather than anything else. Hold this position for between 3 and 4 seconds before slowly returning your body to the starting position. Make sure not to jerk or move hastily when returning to the floor. When you begin doing this exercise, two sets of ten repetitions every day is a good place to start, increasing the repetitions and sets as you become more accustomed to the exercises.
Quick Ab Exercise #3 - The third quick ab exercise also involves beginning by laying down on your back. Just like before, you are going to want to bend your knees and spread them apart slightly. Extend your arms out, and slowly lift your body up toward your knees. With your hands, reach as far as you possibly can, stretching your fingers out. Hold this position for between 3 and 4 seconds, and then slowly return your body to the floor. You should begin with two sets of ten repetitions each and every day, increasing the repetitions and sets as you become more accustomed to the exercises.
Figuring out the right exercises to tone your abs, along with the rest of your body, can be difficult if you do not have expert help from someone who knows how to generate results.
Todd
