Cardio or strength, a lot or a little, dangerous or not, but will I become that joke in the gym? Such questions arise in your head when you want to lose weight and do not know where to start. I want to be slim and fit, not cut off, but also not to overdo it with exercise. We share five universal rules for weight loss for women and men that will help you correctly calculate the load and keep yourself in shape.
Combine exercises
The question that must be answered first and foremost is what types of exercise should be included in a weight loss program, cardio or strength?
Cardio training is aerobic exercise that intensively works the lungs and heart, and the heart rate increases above 120 beats per minute. In its course, fats are the main source of energy, they are oxidized by oxygen. Sadly, these are not the fats we think of first when we want to lose weight. First, intramuscular fats are consumed and only the next phase is subcutaneous and visceral. Therefore, to get the result, you should systematically do moderate intensity 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 consume fat. It looks like you can end here and choose cardio. But no. Thanks to strength exercises, the volume 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 training and cardio should be alternated: for example, within a week or a session (combined training).
More basic
From newcomers to a sports club, you can hear the expression "I want to lose weight on my stomach" or "I just need to remove fat from my thighs. "Unfortunately, the fat burning process doesn't work that way. By systematically pumping the press, you will, of course, form a beautiful relief, but it will be well hidden under a layer of adipose tissue.
Any isolated exercise aimed at training a muscle or muscle group does not require a large amount of energy. And for effective fat burning, you need to spend more, and basic exercises will help you with this.
Basic exercises are called exercises that involve several muscle groups and more than one joint at the same time: squats, deadlifts, lunges, gluteal bridges and others.
Let's look at an example. Let's imagine an average woman who weighs 65 kg, is afraid of heavy weights and likes to train on simulators. To "lose weight in the hips", she most often does leg extensions on the simulator, 15 repetitions with a weight of 15 kg. At the same time, it consumes only 32 kcal of energy. However, taking a barbell weighing 40 kg and doing 10 squats, she will already spend 45 kcal.
In general, if we compare the caloric expenditure of a workout that includes only isolation exercises and a workout that consists only of compound exercises, the latter uses 50-70% more energy and is therefore more effective.
Calculate the intensity of your workout
Strength training intensity can be calculated simply as the number of repetitions of an exercise per unit of time.
For example, you train for 60 minutes, during which you do 7 different exercises in 2 sets of 12 repetitions. The total number of repetitions is 168 per hour, this will be the intensity value. If at the same time you do 8 exercises in 2 groups, but 15 repetitions each, the indicator will increase to 240. Therefore, the second exercise will be more intense.
Fat is burned most effectively during long, moderate-intensity workouts, which can be varied by varying the number of repetitions and rest time between sets.
The intensity of cardio training is determined by the heart rate. The maximum number of beats per minute is calculated as "220 minus age". So, for a thirty-year-old, the maximum heart rate during aerobic training will be 190 beats per minute, and for effective fat burning, 60-85% of this figure is enough, that is, 114-161.
The number of exercises
If for mass gain it is important that the muscles have time to recover after training, then in the case of weight loss this is not necessary. Therefore, the number of exercises can be increased.
The rate of fat oxidation can be increased in just one month of regular exercise three times a week. If you train less, then the classes will have a minimal effect. It is optimal to exercise 4-5 times a week.
At the same time, it is important to observe the general regime, because fitness is not only about exercise, but also about a healthy lifestyle:
- sleep at least 8 hours, otherwise stress tolerance decreases and motivation is lost;
- adhere to a strict drinking regime in order to compensate for the lack of water and maintain the water salt metabolism;
- maintain a small calorie deficit (more on that below).
Pay attention to food
Diet is an important factor in weight loss. A large amount of carbohydrates in the body inhibits the oxidation of fat. For example, if you eat sweets just before training, the suppression of fat burning can reach 35%.
Basic principles of nutrition for weight loss:
- Eat 20% fewer calories than you expend. Yes, you need to count calories, and it's more convenient to do so in meal planner apps. Popular products are listed there (some even have specific brands and manufacturers) with KBJU already calculated.
- Eat often in small portions. The longer we experience the feeling of hunger, the stronger the body's need to "store" energy appears. Conversely, if you eat often, a smaller amount of substances will enter the warehouse.
- Be sure to refuel after a workout - even a light snack is better than nothing.
- Reduce fats and carbohydrates in the diet, but increase protein. Most of them are in meat, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese.
Active physical activities, such as cleaning or walking, can help reduce the urge to snack. It happens that the areas of the brain that are responsible for satiety with food and water get confused and confuse thirst with hunger. Therefore, it is important to drink enough water - about 30-40 g of water per 1 kg of body weight per day. And, of course, plan meals, otherwise chaotic meals and excuses from the category "now there is no time to cook, tomorrow I will start eating healthy food" are guaranteed.
If the recommendations do not help and the constant feeling of hunger does not decrease after a week or two, you should consult a doctor. This condition can be due to hypothyroidism, an excess of prolactin or a low sensitivity of the body to leptin, the hormone responsible for the feeling of satiety. Based on the results of the tests, it will become clear how to adjust the diet and if it is necessary to connect therapy with drugs.
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 overall load and require serious energy costs.
With cardio, everything is simple - you can run at an average pace and watch your heart rate. The disadvantage is that in this case the body will receive serious shock loads. Cardio equipment, such as a stepper or ellipsoid, allows you to reduce them, while not being less effective. You can also replace running with jumping, cycling, stepping and water aerobics.
Finding adequate strength training exercises is much more difficult. Repetitive training programs rarely take into account that someone wants to train at home and does not have the necessary equipment: dumbbells, barbells, an exercise bench and even fitness rubber bands. But there are a number of exercises that can help you get started without any preparation or equipment.
No inventory:
- Bench press.Instead of a stool, you can use a stool or a stable chair. We stand with our backs to the bench, lean against it with our hands, slightly wider than our shoulders. Place your feet on the floor, straight or bent. We begin to push up and make sure that the body moves vertically up and down and does not deviate forward or backward. 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 in a stance.
- Elevation of the recumbent pelvisaka gluteal bridge. We lie on the floor, arms along the body, bend the legs at the knees. We start to raise the pelvis, at the highest point we stretch and strain the back and go down.
- Hip extension on all fours. The exercise is not quite basic, but it uses a lot of energy, it is good for them to perform the buttock pumping exercise. Get on all fours, resting on your elbows and knees. Lift the right leg up, trying to get the knee (that is, the knee, not the toe) up as high as possible. We hold the leg at the highest point and gently lower it down, pulling it to the chest. We repeat with the left leg.
With rubber bands:
- Deadlift.One of the basic exercises that mainly loads the buttocks, lower back and upper thigh. We take a long ring tape, folded in half and step 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 deviation, we do not bend. We straighten the back and legs, making sure that the gluteal muscles work mainly and lean back.
- Horizontal pull.We sit on the floor, legs straight. We cling to a long rubber band by the legs and bend forward. Straighten your shoulders, straighten your back and raise your body straight, while pulling the bar with your hands. We stay in this position and sit back. Exercise allows you not only to work on relief, but also to stretch the muscles.
With weights (barbells, weights):
- Squats.We take dumbbells in our hands or put weights. You can start with a weight of 1. 5 kg and gradually increase the load. We stand straight, legs slightly wider than shoulders. We begin to sit and make sure that the back is straight (it is possible to bend forward, but not more than 45 degrees), and the knees do not go beyond the socks - otherwise it is very easy to damage the knee joints. We sit until the thigh is parallel to the floor and then return to the starting position. The lower you sit, the harder your muscles work.
- Lunges.We take dumbbells in our hands, stand on the right leg and take the left back and put it on the toe. We start to sit on one leg (of course you can do lunges, moving forward, but there is practically no difference in efficiency). We make sure that the body does not bend and the knee does not go beyond the toe. Engaging the thigh muscles, we rise back. We repeat with the other leg.
In general, a training program aimed at weight loss should be dominated by core exercises and moderate-intensity cardio at a moderate heart rate. To increase muscle tone, you can add high-intensity training with light weights.
As you can see, fitness is not only about building muscles or "losing weight until the summer", but about a healthy lifestyle, systematic training, proper nutrition and well-being. And if you build this system correctly, then the coveted result, expressed as a number on the scale, will not keep you waiting.