Dispelling Two Myths About Exercise for Weight Loss
Exercise for weight loss doesn't have to be hard!
One of the sessions in my weight loss program covers exercise, and the struggle that people expect or experience using exercise to lose weight.
Exercise is one of the three key elements of any program for weight loss but it should be fun and an activity you look forward to rather than dread. Exercising helps keep you at your right size and weight so it’s important.
And so here are some pointers to help keep it that way for you.
The major misconceptions with exercising are its boring and takes too long but it doesn’t have to be that way for you. So let’s see if we can dispel these myths.
Exercise for Weight Loss Doesn’t Have to be Boring:
Okay, so you weren’t a jock at school and find hours at the gym or running on the road boring and not something you get excited about. My first rule for exercising is turning something you enjoy doing into your exercise routine.
If you enjoy walking then this is an excellent form of exercise. The only equipment you need is a good pair of walking shoes. Find a friend to share your walks and keep you motivated. Don’t just walk on the neighborhood pavement but consider driving a few miles to a park or woods and use trails to add variety. Notice the scenery and wildlife and make it a discovery exercise and not just for fitness.
The same can be said for cycling for exercising. Dust off the old 10-speed, pay a few bucks to have it serviced and made roadworthy and get pedaling. Choose rural roads where other traffic is light and it takes you through interesting environments. Plan a route before you leave and make sure you can get back easily if you experience a mechanical failure – even better take your cell phone!
Swimming is another excellent form of exercise for weight loss. If you enjoy the water then look in your local paper for a center with a swimming pool you can join and swim laps. Now if you murmured boring under your breath when I said laps then think outside the box and vary your pace during the laps or swim different strokes. Remember with swimming you don’t have to do as much as other forms of exercise to get the same amount of benefit as it uses lots of muscles.
Going to the gym and using the equipment doesn’t have to be to get the muscles of a bodybuilder. In fact I’d argue you don’t want to do that unless you have reasons for looking that way. If they have a rowing-like equipment learn how to use it properly as like swimming it builds good tone in multiple muscle groups. Spend a few minutes on multiple machines to keep up the interest. Ignore the pundits that tell you to spend 10-minutes on each element as there at the gym for very different reasons you are.
As you can see exercise for weight loss doesn’t have to be boring or prepare you for the next Olympics. It also doesn’t need to be about hours of commitment as you’ll discover below.
Exercise for Weight Loss Should Fit Your Schedule:
Let’s tackle the question of time commitment for the exercise portion of your weight loss program. You’ll be pleased to know you don’t have to spend hours trying to burn off fat at the gym or your chosen exercise activity.
Just 20-minutes three or four times week is all you need to keep fit and trim. There is no need for 45-minutes of jogging on the road or long bike rides or aerobic exercises. Set yourself a target of 12-20-minutes but use the time wisely. The trick to keeping trim within such a short duration is what you do with the time.
When you exercise use interval training instead of slow long duration workouts. For example walk for 2-minutes at normal pace, and then walk next minute at a faster pace. Repeat the process of normal and then faster for 12-20-minutes. As you progress through the intervals try to increase the pace over the previous set, but make sure you slow down and recover between sets.
You can adapt this interval training to any type of exercise activity you chose, such as biking and swimming and even walking on a treadmill – if it doesn’t bore you!
This concept of interval training was used extensively by European track athletes in the first half of the twentieth century. Dr Al. Sears adapted its use for burning fat and noticed people could control their weight easier using the method rather than long aerobic workouts at the gym, and without the damaging impact on their bodies. Dr. Sears calls his program PACE.
You can read more about Dr Al Sears PACE 12-minute Fitness and Exercise for Weight Loss program here.
Whichever program you decide to use for your weight loss then one of the keys to doing the exercise correctly to ensure you get the maximum effect is to use a heart rate monitor. You can find more information about using a HRT and in particular the PACE Heart Rate Monitor here.
I’m hoping this brief article helps you get beyond any apprehension about starting an exercise for weight loss program for yourself and you realize exercise just doesn’t have to be boring or require a huge investment of time, but can be enjoyable and be done in less than 30-minutes a few times a week.
Erika Slater, CH
Free At Last Hypnosis
Erika@smoke-free-at-last.com
http://www.smoke-free-at-last.com
508 529 2490
Filed Under: Weight Loss
