Cardio or strength, a lot or a little, dangerous or not, but will I become like that athlete in the gym? Such questions arise in your head when you want to lose weight and do not know where to start. I want to be slim and tight, not to relax, but also not to overdo the training. We share five universal weight loss rules for women and men that will help you correctly calculate the load and keep yourself in shape.
Combine exercises
The question that needs to be answered first and foremost is what types of training should be included in the weight loss program, cardio or strength?
Cardio training is aerobic training that puts an intense load on the lungs and heart, and the heart rate rises above 120 beats per minute. In its course, fats are the main source of energy, they are oxidized by oxygen. Alas, it's not the fat that first comes to mind when we want to lose weight. Initially, intramuscular fat is consumed, and only the next stage is subcutaneous and visceral. Accordingly, to get a result, you should systematically do cardio of medium intensity lasting 40-60 minutes.
Strength training is anaerobic, where energy is produced without the participation of oxygen, meaning the body does not use fat. Looks like you can get over that and go for cardio. But not. Thanks to strength exercises, the volume of muscle mass increases and, as a result, the basic metabolism. Calories are used more efficiently and the body no longer has to "store" them for future use in the form of body fat.
To lose weight, strength and cardio exercises should be alternated: for example, within a week or one session (combined training).
More base
From newcomers to a sports club, you can hear the phrase "I want to lose weight in my stomach" or "I just need to get rid of fat from my thighs. "Alas, the fat burning process does not work that way. By systematically pumping up the press, you will, of course, form a beautiful relief, but it will be reliably hidden under a layer of fatty tissue.
Any isolated exercise aimed at training one muscle or muscle group does not require a large amount of energy. And for effective fat burning, you need to spend more, and basic exercises will help with this.
Basic exercises are called exercises in which several muscle groups and more than one joint are involved at the same time: squats, deadlifts, lunges, gluteal bridge and others.
Let's look at 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, she consumes only 32 kcal of energy. However, taking a barbell weighing 40 kg and doing 10 squats, she will already spend 45 kcal.
In general, if we compare the caloric expenditure of a workout that includes only isolation exercises and a workout that consists of only compound exercises, the latter uses 50-70% more energy and is therefore more efficient.
Calculate the intensity of your workout
Strength training intensity can simply be calculated as the number of repetitions of an exercise per unit of 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 training will be more intense.
Fat is burned most efficiently with long, moderate-intensity workouts that can be modified by varying the number of repetitions and rest time between sets.
The intensity of cardio training is determined by heart rate. The maximum number of beats per minute is calculated as "220 minus the age". So, for a thirty-year-old, 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, that is, 114-161.
Number of training sessions
If for mass gain it is important that the muscles have time to recover after training, then in the case of weight loss this is not necessary. Accordingly, the number of training sessions can be increased.
The rate of fat oxidation can be increased in just one month of regular exercise three times a week. If you train less, then the classes will have a minimal effect. It is optimal to do fitness 4-5 times a week.
At the same time, it is important to follow the general regime, since fitness is not only exercise, but also a healthy lifestyle:
- sleep at least 8 hours, otherwise stress tolerance decreases and motivation is lost;
- observe a strict drinking regime to compensate for the lack of water and maintain the water-salt metabolism;
- maintain a small calorie deficit (more on this below).
Pay attention to the food
Diet is an important factor in losing weight. The large amount of carbohydrates in the body inhibits the oxidation of fats. For example, if you eat sweets right before training, the suppression of fat burning can reach 35%.
The main principles of nutrition for weight loss:
- Eat 20% fewer calories than you expend. Yes, you need to count calories, and it's most convenient to do so in meal planning apps. Popular products are listed there (some even have specific brands and manufacturers) with the KBJU already calculated.
- Eat often in small portions. The longer we experience a feeling of hunger, the stronger the body's need to "store" energy. Conversely, if you eat often, a smaller amount of substances will go into the reserves.
- Don't forget to re-energize after a workout - even a light snack is better than nothing.
- Reduce fat 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 snacking cravings. It happens that the areas of the brain responsible for satiety with food and water get confused and take the craving for 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 snacks and excuses from the category "now there is no time to cook, tomorrow I will start eating healthy food" are guaranteed.
If the recommendations do not help and the constant feeling of hunger does not disappear after a week or two, you should consult a doctor. This condition can be caused by 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 therapy.
Effective exercises for weight loss
Based on the principles described above, we have selected the most effective weight loss exercises that provide a high total load and require serious energy expenditure.
With cardio, everything is simple - you can run, maintaining an average pace and monitoring your heart rate. The disadvantage is that in this case the body will receive serious shock loads. Cardio equipment, such as a stepper or elliptical, allows you to reduce them, while being no less effective. You can also replace running with dancing, cycling, step and aqua aerobics.
Finding adequate strength training exercises is much more difficult. Circulated training programs rarely take into account that someone wants to train at home and does not have the necessary equipment: dumbbells, barbells, a training bench and even fitness bands. But there are a number of exercises that can help you get started without any training or equipment.
Without inventory:
- Push-ups from a bench.Instead of a bench, you can use a stool or a stable chair. We stand with our backs to the bench, lean on it with our hands slightly wider than our shoulders. We place our legs on the floor, straight or bent. We begin to push up and make sure that the body moves vertically up and down and does not deviate forward or backward. The great advantage of this exercise is that it is easily adapted to any level of training. It is easiest to do push-ups with bent legs, but it is more difficult if you straighten them and put them in a stand.
- Raise the pelvis in the supine positionalso known as the gluteal bridge. We lie on the floor, hands along the body, bend our legs at the knees. We begin to lift the pelvis, at the highest point we hold and strain the buttocks and lower back.
- Hip extension on all fours. The exercise is not quite basic, but it uses a lot of energy, it is good to finish the workout for pumping up the buttocks. Stand on all fours, supporting yourself on elbows and knees. Lift the right leg up, trying to get the knee (the knee, not the toes) as high as possible. We hold the leg at the highest point and slightly lower it down, pulling it to the chest. We repeat with the left leg.
With rubber bands:
- Dead lift.One of the basic exercises that mainly loads the buttocks, lower back and upper thigh. We take a long loop of tape, folded in half and step on it in the middle. We hold the loops at the ends with our hands. The legs are slightly bent, in the lower back we maintain a natural deformation, we do not slouch. We straighten the back and legs, making sure that the gluteal muscles work mainly, and lean back.
- Horizontal pull.We sit on the floor, legs straight. We stick to a long rubber band by the legs and bend forward. We straighten our shoulders, tense the back and raise the body upright while pulling the band with our hands. We stay in this position and lower ourselves back. The exercise allows you not only to work on 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 shoulders. We begin to squat and make sure that the back is straight (it is possible to bend forward, but not more than 45 degrees), and the knees do not stick out of the socks - otherwise it is very easy to injure the knee joints. We squat until the thigh becomes parallel to the floor, after which we return to the starting position. The lower you squat, the more your glutes work.
- Assaults.We take dumbbells in our hands, stand on the right leg and bring the left one back and put it on the toe. We start squatting on one leg (you can, of course, do lunges, stepping forward, but there is practically no difference in effectiveness). We make sure that the body does not bend and the knee does not protrude beyond the toe. Including the muscles of the thighs, we rise back. We repeat with the other leg.
In general, a weight loss training program should be dominated by core exercises and moderate-intensity cardio at a moderate heart rate. To increase muscle tone, you can add high-intensity training with light weights.
As you can see, fitness is not only about building muscles or "losing weight until the summer", but also about a healthy lifestyle, systematic exercise, proper nutrition and well-being. And if you correctly build this system, then the desired result, expressed as a number on the scales, won't keep you waiting.