| All rights reserved. |
National Senior Sports Network.com
Fitness
News and Links
News and Links
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Weight Lifting For Weight Loss By Linda Tremer In order to lose weight you must reduce your caloric intake. But this causes a major problem. As you cut your calories your metabolic rate goes down. The metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories. The higher your metabolic rate the more calories you burn even at rest. But there is good news the more muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate. Ever wondered why younger people can eat many more calories than older people without gaining weight? Younger people generally have more muscle mass than older people and thus have a higher metabolic rate. As we age, eating the same number of calories causes us to gain weight. Weight lifting increases your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat. If we lose muscle instead of fat when dieting, we decrease our metabolic rate. When our metabolic rate decreases we plateau and cannot lose any more weight. That's why it's best to lose weight gradually to prevent a significant decrease in our metabolic rate. Weight lifting while dieting will keep your metabolic rate at a high level. Use strength training to build muscle instead of losing it. For every one pound of muscle your body will burn 50 calories. And this happens without dieting or any more exercise. You can even lose weight while sleeping. Muscle keeps your metabolic rate higher longer. A pound of fat will not burn any calories, a pound of muscle will. Keep muscle rather that fat and you will look better too. It's a no-brainer put on some muscle. Be sure to work your major muscle groups. Try for 30 minutes of weight bearing exercise every other day. Since muscle weighs more than fat you might see an increase in your weight at first. Don't let this bother you. If you are lifting weights and cutting calories the extra weight is muscle not fat. In addition to the above benefits strength training is effective in improving glucose tolerance. It also helps to prevent osteoporosis. To achieve results it is not necessary to lift excessive amounts of weight. Develop a strength training program that fits your needs. Unfortunately, as we age we lose muscle and gain fat. We lose about 20% of our muscle mass after 30 years of age. The only way to retain our muscle mass is with weight lifting. When you increase your muscle mass you burn more calories. And that means you can eat more without gaining weight. Your metabolic rate will remain elevated longer and you will burn more calories without any effort. Weight lifting will help you lose weight faster. When you combine cardiovascular workouts with weight training you will lose fat faster and more efficiently. So opt for the weight training along with the aerobics. It will keep you leaner and more muscular. Linda Tremer has studied nutrition, weight loss and fitness for over 30 years. She is the owner of the website The Center For Weight Loss. Her site is dedicated to helping you lose weight. Many weight loss programs and healthy diet plans are reviewed on her site. Article Source :Linda Tremer on ezinearticles.com |
Links
Mixing It Up with Cross Training
If you workout or exercise regularly, you should change up your activities
every now and then to avoid injury and to reach new levels of fitness.
Cross training combines two or more types of exercise into your
physical activity routine. Repeating the same movements over and over
can make you very good at a sport, improve endurance and build
muscle. But it also can keep you from moving beyond a certain level of
fitness. It can also cause injury from overworking the same muscles.
According to Laurie Tucker, MS, CHES, ACE Certified Personal Trainer,
"Regardless of your age, you should incorporate activities which help
you reach and sustain the four building blocks of fitness: cardiovascular
endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. It is important to alternate
the types of cardiovascular exercise you participate in each day."
Benefits of Cross Training
Besides relieving boredom and giving you a more balanced workout,
cross training can help you:
Become a more well-rounded athlete
Learn new and different skills
Have more flexibility with your workouts (For example, if the pool is
closed, you can cycle or walk.)
Continue being active even if you are sore or have a minor injury, by
doing an activity such as swimming or walking which will not aggravate
the injury
Take a mental break from the stress of single-sport training or
competition
Improve your overall athletic performance
Here are some activities in each of the four major fitness categories
that you can use to create some fun, new workouts:
Endurance
Swimming
Running/jogging/brisk walking
Dancing
Cycling
Rope jumping
Rowing
Cross-country skiing
Stair climbing
Court or team sports (volleyball, tennis, racquetball)
Strength
Free weights
Weight machines/circuit training
Bands and tubes
Boot camp/calisthenics (performing as many exercises such as
pushups, pull ups, or jumping jacks as you can until you feel fatigued)
Water workouts (aquatics)
Pilates
Martial arts
Flexibility
Yoga
Pilates
Martial arts
Balance
Yoga
Pilates
Tai Chi
Dance (Tango and other types that require good posture and an
awareness of the body's movements)
Another way to cross train is to prepare for a triathlon or other sports
event. For a triathlon, your training alternates swimming, biking, and
running or walking workouts. Training for a sports event is also a great
fitness motivator that can be lots of fun, especially if you train with
others.
You also could add more than one kind of exercise into a single
workout session. For instance, rather than one hour of step aerobics
only do 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of strength training and 15
minutes of stretching. To avoid injury, strength training should be done
2-3 times a week per muscle group.
So what are you waiting for? Design a cross-training program today,
Regardless of the exercises you choose, remember to start a new
activity slowly and gradually build on your routine. Allow enough time at
the beginning and end of your workout to warm up and cool down. And
consult your doctor before starting a new routine if you have specific
health concerns.
Source: AARP Resources
If you workout or exercise regularly, you should change up your activities
every now and then to avoid injury and to reach new levels of fitness.
Cross training combines two or more types of exercise into your
physical activity routine. Repeating the same movements over and over
can make you very good at a sport, improve endurance and build
muscle. But it also can keep you from moving beyond a certain level of
fitness. It can also cause injury from overworking the same muscles.
According to Laurie Tucker, MS, CHES, ACE Certified Personal Trainer,
"Regardless of your age, you should incorporate activities which help
you reach and sustain the four building blocks of fitness: cardiovascular
endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. It is important to alternate
the types of cardiovascular exercise you participate in each day."
Benefits of Cross Training
Besides relieving boredom and giving you a more balanced workout,
cross training can help you:
Become a more well-rounded athlete
Learn new and different skills
Have more flexibility with your workouts (For example, if the pool is
closed, you can cycle or walk.)
Continue being active even if you are sore or have a minor injury, by
doing an activity such as swimming or walking which will not aggravate
the injury
Take a mental break from the stress of single-sport training or
competition
Improve your overall athletic performance
Here are some activities in each of the four major fitness categories
that you can use to create some fun, new workouts:
Endurance
Swimming
Running/jogging/brisk walking
Dancing
Cycling
Rope jumping
Rowing
Cross-country skiing
Stair climbing
Court or team sports (volleyball, tennis, racquetball)
Strength
Free weights
Weight machines/circuit training
Bands and tubes
Boot camp/calisthenics (performing as many exercises such as
pushups, pull ups, or jumping jacks as you can until you feel fatigued)
Water workouts (aquatics)
Pilates
Martial arts
Flexibility
Yoga
Pilates
Martial arts
Balance
Yoga
Pilates
Tai Chi
Dance (Tango and other types that require good posture and an
awareness of the body's movements)
Another way to cross train is to prepare for a triathlon or other sports
event. For a triathlon, your training alternates swimming, biking, and
running or walking workouts. Training for a sports event is also a great
fitness motivator that can be lots of fun, especially if you train with
others.
You also could add more than one kind of exercise into a single
workout session. For instance, rather than one hour of step aerobics
only do 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of strength training and 15
minutes of stretching. To avoid injury, strength training should be done
2-3 times a week per muscle group.
So what are you waiting for? Design a cross-training program today,
Regardless of the exercises you choose, remember to start a new
activity slowly and gradually build on your routine. Allow enough time at
the beginning and end of your workout to warm up and cool down. And
consult your doctor before starting a new routine if you have specific
health concerns.
Source: AARP Resources