Cardio or strength, a lot or a little, dangerous or not, but will I become like this sportsman in the gym? Such 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 to let go, but also not to overdo it 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 aerobic training that works the lungs and heart intensely, and the heart rate exceeds 120 beats per minute. During this, fats are the main source of energy, they are oxidized by oxygen. Alas, these are not the fats that we think of first when we want to lose weight. Initially intramuscular fats are consumed and only the next stage is subcutaneous and visceral. Accordingly, to achieve the result, you should consistently do medium-intensity cardio lasting 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 looks like you can stop there and go for cardio. But no. 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 must be alternated: for example, in a week or a session (combined training).
More basic
From newcomers to a gym, you may hear the phrase "I want to lose weight in my belly" or "I just need to get the fat off my thighs. "Alas, the fat burning process does not work that way. Systematically pumping the press, you will, of course, form a beautiful relief, but it will be well hidden under a layer of fatty tissue.
Any isolated exercise aimed at training a muscle or muscle group does not require a large amount of energy. And to burn fat effectively, you need to spend more, and basic exercises will help you with that.
Basic exercises are called exercises in which several muscle groups and more than one joint are involved at once: squats, deadlifts, lunges, gluteal bridge and others.
Let's take an example. Let's imagine an average woman who weighs 65 kg, is afraid of heavy weights and likes to train on simulators. To "lose weight in the hips", she most often does leg extensions in the simulator, 15 repetitions with a weight of 15 kg. At the same time, it consumes only 32 kcal of energy. However, taking a 40 kg barbell and doing 10 squats, she will already spend 45 kcal.
In general, if we compare the caloric expenditure of a workout that only includes isolation exercises and a workout that includes only compound exercises, the latter uses 50-70% more energy, and therefore it is more efficient.
Calculate your training intensity
Strength training intensity can be simply calculated as the number of repetitions of an exercise per unit 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 rise to 240. Accordingly, the second workout will be more intense.
Fat is burned most efficiently during long, medium-intensity workouts, which can be modified by altering the number of reps and the rest time between sets.
The intensity of cardio training is determined by the pulse. The maximum number of beats per minute is calculated as "220 minus age". So, for a 30-something, 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, or 114-161.
Number of workouts
If for mass gain it is important that the muscles have time to recover after training, then in case of weight loss it is not necessary. Accordingly, the number of workouts can be increased.
The degree of fat oxidation can be increased with just one month of regular exercise three times a week. If you train less, classes will have minimal effect. It is optimal to do fitness 4-5 times a week.
At the same time, it is important to observe the general diet, because physical 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 regime in order to compensate for the lack of water and maintain water-salt metabolism;
- maintain a small calorie deficit (more details below).
Pay attention to food
Diet is an important factor in weight loss. A large amount of carbohydrates in the body inhibits fat oxidation. 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 so in meal planner 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 greater the need for the body to "store" energy. Conversely, if you eat often, less of the substances will go into storage.
- Be sure to fuel up after a workout - even a light snack is better than nothing.
- Reduce fats and carbohydrates in the diet, but increase protein. Most of them are in meat, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese.
Active physical activities, such as cleaning or walking, can help reduce the desire to snack. It happens that the areas of the brain responsible for the saturation of food and water get confused and confuse thirst and hunger. Therefore, it is important to drink enough water - about 30-40 g of water per 1 kg of body weight per day. And, of course, plan meals, otherwise chaotic snacking and excuses from the "now there's no time to cook, tomorrow I'll start eating healthy foods" category are guaranteed to you.
If the recommendations do not help, and the constant feeling of hunger does not subside after a week or two, you should consult a doctor. This condition may be due to hypothyroidism, excess prolactin or 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 treatment.
Effective exercises to lose weight
Based on the principles described above, we selected the most effective exercises for losing weight, which provide a high overall load and require significant energy expenditure.
With cardio, everything is simple, you can run while maintaining an average pace and monitoring your heart rate. The disadvantage is that in this case the body will receive severe shock loads. Cardio equipment, such as a stepper or an ellipsoid, can reduce them, while still being no less effective. You can also replace running with dancing, cycling, stepping and water aerobics.
Finding adequate exercises for strength training is much more difficult. Replicated training programs rarely take into account that someone wants to train at home and does not have the necessary equipment: dumbbells, dumbbells, a training bench and even fitness bands. But there are a number of exercises that can get you started without any preparation or equipment.
Without 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 our shoulders. We put our legs on the ground, straight or bent. We start pushing upwards and make sure that the body moves vertically up and down and does not deviate forwards or backwards. The big advantage of this exercise is that it is easy to adapt to any level of training. It's easier to do push-ups on bent legs, but it's harder if you straighten them and put them on a stand.
- Lying pelvic liftaka gluteal bridge. We lie on the floor, arms along the body, bend our legs at the knees. We begin to raise the pelvis, at the highest point we linger and strain the buttocks, and descend again.
- Extension of the hips on all fours. The exercise is not quite basic, but it uses 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 the right leg, trying to raise the knee (i. e. the knee, not the toe) 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:
- Raised from the ground.One of the basic exercises that mainly loads the buttocks, lower back and upper thigh. We take a long ring strip, folded in half, and step on it in the middle. We hold the curls at the ends with our hands. The legs are slightly bent, in the lower back we maintain a natural deviation, we do not stoop. We straighten the back and legs, making sure that the gluteal muscles work mainly, and we lean back.
- Horizontal pull.We sit on the floor, legs straight. We cling to a long rubber band by the feet and lean forward. We straighten our shoulders, tense our back and raise the body straight, while pulling the tape with our hands. We linger in this position and lower back. The exercise allows not only to work the relief, but also to stretch the muscles.
With weights (dumbbells, weights):
- Squats.We 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 straight, legs slightly wider than the shoulders. We start squatting and making sure that the back is straight (it is possible to bend forward, but not more than 45 degrees) and that the knees do not protrude from the socks - otherwise it is very easy to hurtthe knee joints. We squat until the thigh is parallel to the floor, then return to the starting position. The lower you squat, the harder your glutes work.
- Slots.We take dumbbells in our hands, stand on the right foot, take the left back and put it on the toe. We begin to squat on one leg (you can, of course, do lunges, move forward, but there is practically no difference in efficiency). We make sure that the body does not bend and that the knee does not exceed the toe. Engaging the thigh muscles, we come back up. We repeat with the other leg.
In general, a workout program aimed at weight loss 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 before summer", but about a healthy lifestyle, systematic exercises, good nutritionand well-being. And if you build this system correctly, the coveted result, expressed in numbers on the scale, will not keep you waiting.