Exercising for Fat Loss

There are several key components for any exercise and weight loss program whether the goal be to lose weight or just stay healthy in general.

The first of the five components is an effective Warm-up and Cool down.

The Warm up is effective for creating a gradual increase in such vital areas as heart rate, blood vessel dialation, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, body heat, and muscle elasticity. Should consist of both a short, graduated aerobic activity and a stretching exercise focusing on the part of the body which is to be worked.

Here are some of the many benefits of an effective Warm-up, provided by the ACE:

• Permits a gradual metabolic adaptation, which enhances cardiorespiratory performance

• Prevents the premature onset of blood lactic acid accumulation and fatigue during higher level aerobic exercise

• Causes a gradual increase in muscle temperature, which decreases the work of contraction and reduces the likelihood of muscle injury

• Facilitates a neural transmission for motor unit recruitment

• Improves coronary blood flow in early stages of the conditioning exercise, lessening the potential for myocardial ischemia

• Allows a gradual redistribution of blood flow to active muscles

• Increases the elasticity of connective tissue and other muscle components

• Provides a screening mechanism for potential musculoskeletal or metabolic problems that may increase at higher intensities

• Provides a psychological warm-up to higher levels of work (e.g. arousal and focus on exercising)

• Prevents postexercise venous blood pooling and too rapid a drop in blood pressure, thereby reducing the likelihood of postexercise lightheadedness or fainting

• Reduces the immediate postexercise tendency for muscle spasm or cramping

• Reduces the concentration of exercise hormones that are at relatively high levels immediately after vigorous aerobic exercise. This reduction will lower the probability of postexercise disturbances in cardiac rhythm

What are Primary Cardiorespiratory Exercise Criteria? They refer to the necessary characteristics of a cardiovascular program to make it most effective, and include mode, frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise.

The mode of exercise used is based off of several factors: personal interest, time schedule, goals, and available facilities and equipment. There are 3 classifications of cardiorespiratory endurance activities listed by the American College of Sports Medicine:

• Group 1: Physical activities in which exercise intensity is easily maintained at a constant level, and interindividual variation in energy expenditure is relatively low.

  These exercises are recommended when it is absolutely necessary to control the intensity of the exercise, such as may be prescribed or outlined in a reputable weight loss program or some other guide to get you into better shape or help you to lose weight.

• Group 2: Physical activities in which energy expenditure is related to skill, but for a given individual can provide a constant intensity: aerobic dance, aerobic step exercise, slide exercise, swimming, skating, and cross-country skiing.

  Exercises in this group are recommended due to the many benefits of participating in a group.

  Advantages such as instruction, variety and the breaking of boredom, and being pushed and challenged by the instructor and/or group may be beneficial to both who are on weight loss programs, who may be informally out to lose weight without a structured program, or who may just enjoy the advantages of this exercise group.

• Group 3: Physical activities that are quite variable in both skill and intensity: soccer, baskeball, and racquet sports.

  This group has many of the same advantages as Group 2, but should be avoided by high-risk individuals due to their personal physical limitations, low level of conditioning, or unique health concerns (e.g. extreme asthma).

After the mode of exercise has been selected. The next criteria to be considered is exercise intensity.

Intensity specifically refers to either the workload or speed (or both) of a given exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends an intensity range of 55% to 90% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), calculated with the following formula:

There are 4 generally accepted methods for monitoring and keeping track of cardiovascular intensity:

1. Your Heart Rate
2. Your Level of "Perceived Exertion"
3. The "Talk Test" Method
4. METs

In the YourBestbodyNOW! Lifestyle Manual, there is a very detailed explanation of the how to both measure and determine the heart rate that you should maintain in order to effectively lose weight with the weight loss program.

When using the Percentage of Maximal Heart Rate Method discussed earlier (the "220 method"), the training heart rate, or THR that is recommended is figured as follows:

A second method common in use is the Percentage of Heart-Rate Reserve (Karvomen Formula) Method. It is figured as follows:

The 3rd method is the Rating of Perceived Exertion Method, where a numerical value from 0 to 10 using the Category Ration Scale as shown below (abbreviated sample):

The fourth Method of Monitoring intensity is the Talk-test Method.

The downsize of this method is that it is completely subjective. However, the upside is that it can be very useful in finding out the boundaries to your "comfort zone" level of aerobic intensity.

The basis of this method lies in measuring one's ability to comfortably breathe and even talk during any mode of exercise or aerobic activity.

The final method is the Intensity Measured by METs. A MET is a unit of exertion measurement equal to a person's at-rest oxygen uptake. This figure is approx. 3.5ml of oxygen per kg of bodyweight per minute.

The following chart illustrates measuring intensity based on METs according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE):

The 3rd component of Aerobic Weight Loss is the Frequency of exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that for most aerobic workout programs, 3 to 5 days per week is enough to do an adequate job.

Whether you will be closer to the 3 days or closer to 5 days will depend largely on your schedule and current level of fitness.

Three days per week may be the best solution for someone who has an extremely busy schedule.

Although, for those who would like to exercise 5 days per week but don't have a lot of time, it is suggested that they utitlize the days during the weekend so that they will not be responsible for working out every day during the work week.

Your current level of fitness should be the #1 determiner of your exercise frequency. It is suggest that beginners allow a bare minimum of 36 to 48 hour between each workout to allow their body and joints to properly recover from the stress of exercise and reduce their risk of injury.

For best results in an effort to lose weight, aerobic activity should take place at least 5 days per week as a part of an individual's weight loss and diet program.

Of course, beginners may need to slowly ramp up to this number.

The 4th component of Aerobic Weight Loss is the Duration of exercise.

The total conditioning respponse to any given workout results from a combination of the duration along with the intensity of the exercise session.

As one or both of these factors increases, so does the overall conditioning response.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recommends that beginners start off with exercise sessions lasting no longer than 10 to 20 minutes, and increase the duration over time as they become more capable of taking more overload on the heart and body for longer periods of time.

If your goal is to lose weight, it is recommended that your workout be at least 20-30 minutes of continuous exercise.

Beginners will of course need to start out at the low end of this range to allow their bodies to get acclimated to the exercise.