Are you exercising hard enough? Part 2

In the last post, I wrote about how important it is to monitor heart rate during exercise to determine how strenuous we are working. In this post, I will focus on how much exercise we really need to maintain our fitness, increase our cardiovascular endurance/strength, to increase lean muscle and tone, and to lose body fat. There are a lot of different theories out there, some true and some false, and hopefully this article will sift through some of the confusion out there.

1. How often do I need to exercise to lose weight?
You might not want to hear this (for those out there that despise exercise or think they don't have time), but for weight loss goals, you really need to do 5 days/week for an hour to see maximum benefits and results. Ideally, moderate to intense exercise (heart rate between 65-85% max) to burn the most amount of calories as well. Combine this with a good diet, and you should be on your way to losing 1-2 lbs/week (which is the safest and best rate. More 1-2 lbs/week, you're most likely not just losing fat, you're losing water and muscle mass.)

2. What kind of exercise is best for losing weight?
Ideally, 3 of the 5 days/week should be strictly cardiovascular such as jogging, cycling, swimming, some kind of cardio machine (just watch the heart rate). To really see results and challenge your body, you should do intervals in those workouts. That will change it up, keep you heart rate up, and keep the muscles second guessing which is always more efficient when it comes to burning calories. The other 2 days/week you should do some kind of strength training workout that focuses on the TOTAL body, combining muscles together in exercises to make it more efficient and keep the heart rate up (i.e. lunges with dumbbell curls or shoulder presses). I strongly believe the best strength training workouts for burning fat are circuit workouts (no breaks), high reps, and as stated above, as many muscle groups together/exercise as possible. These type of workouts will yield a high calorie expenditure, even after you're done working out. Also, change up your routine every week to keep the body working hard. You will see MAJOR results from doing a combination of these two things (cardio and strength training) and on track to hitting your goals.

3. What about yoga and pilates? Are these workouts good for losing weight?
Yoga and pilates are GREAT exercises for strengthening the core and promoting lean muscle mass, improving balance and range of motion, and for the mind-body benefits. The only problem with these kind of workouts is that they are not the most efficient at burning the maximum amount of calories. If you only have an hour/day to exercise, I wouldn't choose these types of workouts ALONE to do if weight loss is your primary goal. Yoga and pilates are best when doing it in conjuction with the cardio and strength training. Again, keep in mind that I'm specifically talking about WEIGHT LOSS here. Don't think they aren't great workouts, because they are, just remember that you won't burn as many calories doing them, and at the end of day, it's all about calories in vs. calories out.

4. How much rest do I need in between strength training workouts?
The answer is simple-1 to 2 days. For example, strength train Monday and then again Wednesday or Thursday. You really don't need a third day if you're working out hard and efficiently (which is where a Personal Trainer comes in handy for most).

5. How often do I need to workout to maintain my weight or fitness level?
Most people can get away with 3 days/week of an hour/day, but it's always good to get some kind of exercise even if it's taking a light walk with your kids to keep moving.

Hopefully this has dispelled some of the fiction out there, nowadays you'll see commercials for "5 min a Day" and let me tell you, that is never enough! I know you wish it was, but seriously, do you really think that 5 min/day is enough to lose weight, tone your muscles, let alone, improve your general fitness level? Hard work yields results. Plain and simple.