Cardio or strength, a lot or a little, dangerous or not, but will I be such a jock in the gym? Such questions arise in your head when you are trying to lose weight and you don't know where to start. I want to be slim and fit, without breaking loose, but also without overdoing training. We share five universal weight loss rules for women and men that will help you calculate the load correctly and keep yourself in shape.
Combination Exercises
The question that needs to be answered first is what types of training should be included in the weight loss program, cardio or strength?
Cardio training is an aerobic exercise that works the lungs and heart hard, and the heart rate rises above 120 beats per minute. During burning, fats are the main source of energy, they are oxidized with oxygen. Alas, these are not the fats we first think of when trying to lose weight. First, intramuscular fats are consumed, and only the next step is subcutaneous and visceral. Accordingly, to get the result, you need to systematically do moderate cardio lasting 40-60 minutes.
Strength training is anaerobic, during which energy is produced without the participation of oxygen, which means that the body does not eat fat. It seems you can stop there and choose cardio. But no. Thanks to strength exercises, the amount of muscle mass increases and, as a result, the basal metabolism. Calories are spent more efficiently, and the body no longer needs to "store" them for future use in the form of body fat.
For weight loss, strength and cardio exercises should be alternated: for example, within one week or one session (combined training).
More coins
From newbies to sports clubs, you can say the phrase "I want to lose weight in my stomach" or "I just need to get rid of fat from my thighs. " Unfortunately, the fat burning process doesn't work that way. By systematically pumping the press, you will, of course, be a beautiful relief, but it will be firmly hidden under a layer of genital tissue.
Any isolated exercise that targets a single muscle or muscle group does not require much energy. And for effective fat burning, you need to spend more, and basic exercises will help with this.
Basic exercises involving several muscle groups and more than one joint at the same time are called exercises: squats, deadlifts, lunges, gluteal bridge and others.
Let's look at an example. Let's imagine an average woman weighing 65 kg, who is afraid of heavy weights and loves to work out on simulators. To "lose weight in the hips", she often does leg extensions in the simulator, 15 repetitions with a weight of 15 kg. At the same time, it consumes only 32 kcal of energy. However, lifting a barbell weighing 40 kg and doing 10 squats, she will already spend 45 kcal.
In general, if we compare the calorie expenditure of a workout that includes only isolation exercises and a workout that only includes compound exercises, the latter uses 50-70% more energy, and is therefore more effective.
Calculate the intensity of your trick
Strength training intensity can be calculated simply as the number of exercise repetitions per unit of time.
For example, you train for 60 minutes, and you do 7 different exercises during 2 sets of 12 reps. The total number of repetitions is 168 per hour, this is the intensity value. If at the same time you do 8 exercises in 2 sets, but 15 repetitions each, the indicator will rise to 240. Accordingly, the second workout will be more intense.
Long, moderate-intensity workouts, which can be varied by varying the number of repetitions and rest time between sets, burn fat most effectively.
The intensity of the cardio training is determined by the heart rate. The maximum number of beats per minute is calculated as "220 minus age. "So, for thirty years old, the maximum heart rate during aerobic exercise will be 190 beats per minute, and for effective fat burning, 60-85% of this figure is sufficient, that is, 114-161.
Number of exercises
If for gaining mass it is important that the muscles have time to recover after training, then in the case of weight loss this is not necessary. Accordingly, the number of workouts can be increased.
The amount of fat oxidation can be increased in just a month of regular exercise three times a week. If you train less, then classes will have minimal effect. It is best to do fitness 4-5 times a week.
At the same time, it is important to respect the general regime, because fitness is not only about exercises, but also about a healthy lifestyle:
- sleep for at least 8 hours, otherwise tolerance to stress decreases and motivation is lost;
- adhere to a strict drinking regime to compensate for the lack of water and maintain water salt metabolism;
- maintain a small calorie deficit (more on that below).
Pay attention to food
Diet is an important factor in losing weight. A large amount of carbohydrates in the body prevents fat oxidation. For example, if you eat sweets right before exercise, a fat burning supplement can reach 35%.
Basic principles of nutrition for weight loss:
- Eat 20% fewer calories than you expend. Yes, you need to count calories, and this is most conveniently done in meal planning apps. Common products are listed there (some even have specific brands and manufacturers) with KBJU already calculated.
- Eat often in small portions. The longer we feel hungry, the stronger the need for the body to "store" energy. On the contrary, if you eat often, a smaller amount of substances will enter the stock.
- Be sure to replenish energy after a workout - even a light snack is better than nothing.
- Reduce fats and carbohydrates in the diet, but increase proteins. Most of them are in meat, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese.
Active physical activities, such as cleaning or walking, can help reduce snacking cravings. It turns out that the areas of the brain responsible for satiating food and water get confused and turn thirst into hunger. Therefore, it is important to drink a lot of water - about 30-40 g of water per 1 kg of body weight per day. And, of course, plan meals, otherwise chaotic snacks and excuses from the "now there's no time to cook, tomorrow I'll start eating healthy food" category are guaranteed for you.
If the suggestions do not help and the constant feeling of hunger does not subside after a week or two, you should consult a doctor. This condition could be due to hypothyroidism, an excess of prolactin, or a low sensitivity of the body to leptin, the hormone responsible for feeling full. Based on the results of the tests, it will be clear how to adjust the diet and whether it is necessary to connect drug therapy.
Effective exercises for weight loss
Based on the principles described above, we have selected the most effective exercises for weight loss, which provide a high total load and require serious energy costs.
With cardio, everything is simple - you can run while maintaining an average pace and watching your heart rate. The disadvantage in this case is that the body will receive serious shock loads. Cardio equipment, such as a stepper or ellipsoid, allows you to reduce them, and they are less effective. You can also replace running with dance, cycling, step and water aerobics.
Finding adequate exercises for strength training is much more difficult. Duplication of the training programs rarely takes into account that someone wants to work out at home and does not have the necessary equipment: dumbbells, barbells, a training bench, and even fitness rubber bands. But there are some exercises that will help you start without preparation and equipment.
No inventory:
- Bench presses.Instead of a bench, you can use a stool or a stable chair. We stand with our backs to the bench, we rest against it with our hands, slightly wider than our shoulders. We place our feet on the floor, straight or bent. We start to push up and make sure that the body moves vertically up and down, and does not go forward or back. The great advantage of this exercise is that it is easy to adapt to any level of training. It is easier to do push-ups on bent legs, but it is more difficult if you straighten them and put them on a stand.
- Lying pelvic liftaka gluteal bridge. We lie down on the floor, arms along the body, we bend our legs at the knees. We begin to raise the pelvis, at the highest point we linger and push the buttocks, and lower back.
- Hip extension on all fours.The exercise is not very basic, but it uses a lot of energy, it is good for them to finish the workout to pump the buttocks. Get on all fours, rest on your elbows and knees. Lift the right leg up, trying to lift the knee (that is the knee, not the toe) as high as possible. We keep the leg at the highest point and gently lower it, pulling to the chest. We repeat with the left leg.
With rubber bands:
- Deadlift.One of the basic exercises to load mainly the buttocks, lower back and upper thigh. We take a long ring tape, folded in half, and step on it in the middle. We hold the loops at the ends with our hands. The legs are slightly bent, in the lower back we keep a natural deflection, we do not hunch. We straighten the back and legs, making sure that the gluteal muscles work mainly, and we lean back.
- Horizontal drag.We sit on the floor, legs straight. We stick to a long rubber band at the feet and continue. We straighten our shoulders, push our back and take the body straight, pulling the tape with our hands. We stay in this position and lower ourselves back. Exercise allows you not only to work on the relief, but also to stretch the muscles.
With weights (dumbbells, weights):
- Squats.We take dumbbells in our hands or put on weights. You can start with a weight of 1. 5 kg and gradually increase the load. We stand straight, feet slightly wider than shoulders. We start to squat and make sure that the back is straight (you can lean forward, but not more than 45 degrees), and the knees do not go beyond the socks - otherwise it is very easy to injure the knee joints. We squat until the thigh is parallel to the floor, and then return to the starting point. The lower you squat, the more your glutes work.
- Lungs.We take dumbbells in our hands, we stand on the right leg, and we take the left back and put it on the toe. We start squatting on one leg (you can, of course, do lunges, step forward, but there is no difference in effectiveness in practice). We make sure that the body does not bend, and that the knee does not go over the toe. Engaging the thigh muscles, we raise back. We repeat with the other leg.
In general, a training program aimed at losing weight should be dominated by basic exercises and moderate-intensity cardio at a moderate heart rate. To increase muscle tone, you can add high-intensity exercises with light weights.
As you can see, fitness is not only about building muscle or "losing weight by summer", but about a healthy lifestyle, systematic exercise, proper nutrition and fitness. And if you build this system correctly, then the coveted result, expressed as a number on the scales, will not keep you waiting.