Cardio or strength, a lot or a little, dangerous or not, but will I be like that athlete in the gym? These questions arise in your head when you want to lose weight and you don't know where to start. I want to be slim and fit, not lose control, but also not go overboard with training. We share five universal weight loss rules for women and men that will help you correctly calculate the load and stay in shape.
combine 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 workout that works your lungs and heart hard, raising your heart rate above 120 beats per minute. In the course of it, fats are the main source of energy, they are oxidized by oxygen. Unfortunately, these are not the fats that we first think of when we want to lose weight. Initially, intramuscular fats are consumed, and only the next stage is subcutaneous and visceral. Accordingly, to get the result, you need to systematically perform cardio exercises of medium intensity for 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 would seem that you can end there and opt for cardio. But not. Thanks to strength exercises, the volume of muscle mass increases and, consequently, the basal metabolism. Calories are spent more efficiently and the body no longer needs to "store" them for future use as body fat.
To lose weight, strength and cardio exercises should be alternated: for example, within a week or one session (combined training).
more bases
From newcomers to a sports club, the phrase "I want to slim my stomach" or "I just need to get rid of the fat on my thighs" can be heard. Unfortunately, the fat burning process doesn't work that way. By systematically pumping the press, of course, it will form a beautiful relief, but it will be safely hidden under a layer of fatty tissue.
Any isolated exercise intended to train a muscle or muscle group does not require a large amount of energy. And in order to effectively burn fat, you need to spend more, and basic exercises will help you with this.
The basic exercises are called exercises that involve several muscle groups and more than one joint at a time: squats, deadlifts, lunges, glute bridge and others.
Let's see an example. Let's imagine an average woman who weighs 65 kg, she is afraid of heavy weights and loves to exercise on simulators. To "lose weight on the hips", she most often does leg extensions on the simulator, 15 repetitions with a weight of 15 kg. At the same time, she consumes only 32 kcal of energy. However, taking a 40 kg barbell and doing 10 squats, she will already expend 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 training
Strength training intensity can be simply calculated 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 sets, but 15 repetitions each, the indicator will increase to 240. Accordingly, the second training will be more intense.
Fat is burned most effectively in long, medium-intensity workouts, which can be varied by changing the number of repetitions and the rest time between sets.
The intensity of cardiovascular training is determined by the pulse. The maximum number of beats per minute is calculated as "220 minus age". So, for a thirtysomething, the maximum heart rate during aerobic exercise will be 190 beats per minute, and for effective fat burning, 60-85% of this figure is enough, that is, 114-161.
Number of workouts
If for mass gain it is important that the muscles have time to recover after training, in the case of weight loss this is not necessary. Accordingly, the number of workouts can be increased.
The degree of fat oxidation can be increased in just one month of regular exercise three times a week. If you train less, 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 regimen, because fitness is not only about exercises, but also about a healthy lifestyle:
- sleep at least 8 hours, otherwise stress tolerance decreases and motivation is lost;
- observe a strict drinking regimen to compensate for the lack of water and maintain the metabolism of water and salt;
- 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 inhibits the oxidation of fats. For example, if you eat sweets just before exercise, the suppression of fat burning can be as high as 35%.
The 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 it in meal planning 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 a feeling of hunger, the stronger the body's need to "store" energy becomes manifest. On the contrary, if you eat frequently, a smaller amount of substances will be stored.
- Be sure to refuel after exercising; even a light snack is better than nothing.
- Reduce fat and carbohydrates in the diet, but increase protein. Most of them are found 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 responsible for saturating food and water become confused and confuse thirst with hunger. Therefore, it is important to drink enough water, around 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 category "now there is no time to cook, tomorrow I will start eating healthy food" are guaranteed to you.
If the recommendations do not help, and the constant feeling of hunger does not go away after a week or two, you should see 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 test results, it will become clear how to adjust the diet and whether it is necessary to connect drug therapy.
Effective exercises to lose weight.
Based on the principles described above, we have chosen the most effective exercises for weight loss, which provide a high overall load and require significant energy costs.
With cardio, everything is simple: you can run while maintaining an average pace and watch your heart rate. The disadvantage is that in this case the body will receive strong shock loads. Cardio equipment, such as a stepper or ellipsoid, allows you to reduce them, while still being less effective. You can also replace running with dancing, cycling, stepping, and water aerobics.
Finding exercises suitable for strength training is much more difficult. Replicated training programs rarely take into account that someone wants to exercise at home and doesn't have the necessary equipment: dumbbells, barbells, a training bench, and even fitness bands. But there are a number of exercises that can help you get started without preparation or equipment.
No inventory:
- Bench push-ups.Instead of a bench, you can use a stable stool or chair. We stand with our backs to the bench, lean on it with our hands, slightly wider than the shoulders. We support the legs on the ground, straight or bent. We begin to push up and make sure that the body moves vertically up and down, and does not drift 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 with your legs bent, but it is more difficult if you straighten them and put them on a support.
- Lying pelvic liftalso known as a glute bridge. We lie on the floor, with our arms along the body, we bend our legs at the knees. We begin to raise the pelvis, at the highest point we linger and stretch the buttocks, and descend back.
- Hip extension on all fours.The exercise is not very basic, but it consumes a lot of energy, it is good for them to complete the training to pump the buttocks. Get on all fours, resting on your elbows and knees. Raise your right leg up, trying to get your knee (ie knee, not toe) to lift as high as possible. We hold the leg at the highest point and gently lower it, pulling it to the chest. We repeat with the left foot.
With rubber bands:
- Dead weight.One of the basic exercises that mainly loads the buttocks, the lower back and the upper part of the 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 maintain a natural deviation, we do not slouch. We straighten our back and legs, making sure that the gluteal muscles work mainly, and lean back.
- horizontal pull.We sit on the floor, with our legs stretched out. We hold on to a long rubber band by our feet and lean forward. We straighten our shoulders, tighten our back and raise our body straight, while pulling the tape with our hands. We stay in this position and lower ourselves back. Exercise allows you not only to work on relief, but also to stretch your muscles.
With weights (dumbbells, weights):
- squatsWe 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 up straight, with our legs a little wider than our shoulders. We begin to squat and make sure that the back is straight (it is possible to lean forward, but not more than 45 degrees), and the knees do not protrude beyond the socks; Otherwise, it is very easy to injure your knee joints. We squat down until the thigh is parallel to the ground and then return to the starting position. The lower you squat, the more your glutes work.
- lunges.We take dumbbells in our hands, stand on the right foot, take the left one back and put it on the tip. We begin to squat on one leg (of course, you can do lunges, step forward, but there is practically no difference in efficiency). We make sure that the body does not bend and the knee does not protrude beyond the toe. By engaging the thigh muscles, we pull ourselves up backwards. We repeat with the other leg.
In general, a training program aimed at losing weight should be dominated by core exercises and moderate-intensity cardio at a moderate heart rate. To increase muscle tone, you can add high-intensity workouts with light weights.
As you can see, fitness is not just about building muscle or "losing weight for summer", but about a healthy lifestyle, systematic exercise, proper nutrition and wellness. And if you correctly build this system, then the coveted result, expressed as a number on the scales, will not keep you waiting.