Paradoxically, any physical activity will help you lose weight. It is enough to follow a simple, but far from easy to implement rule: the number of calories consumed should be less than the number consumed. If you are overweight, even regular walking combined with proper nutrition will help you lose pounds.
Cardio exercises help you lose enough weight - from running to popular group aerobic classes in a fitness club. Such training strengthens the cardiovascular system and prevents a number of related diseases. However, with the help of such loads, it is necessary to monitor your pulse and follow a diet. In addition, some types of intense aerobic exercise can cause joint problems.
By doing exclusively cardio training, you may find that your weight has dropped, but your figure has not acquired the desired shape.
Pilates, yoga, callanetics, and pole-dance can help make your body more flexible and sculpted. But still, if the initial body weight was too large, even a combination of several types of activities will bring too slow results. Proper strength training will help you lose weight the fastest, strengthen your muscles and musculoskeletal system, and achieve beautiful body contours.
If aerobic training is not done correctly, you risk losing muscle mass, not fat. As a result, the weight will come back as soon as you stop exercising.
Benefits of Strength Training for Weight Loss
WITH strength training There are a lot of stereotypes associated with it. For example, skeptics claim that it is impossible to achieve results in “” without chemical additives, and such activities are generally contraindicated for women, since this will only lead to over-pumped muscles. It is these misconceptions that prevent the fair sex from losing weight in the shortest possible time, making the body strong and sculpted, and also receiving many “additional bonuses” - from lowering cholesterol and sugar to getting rid of stress.
To pump muscles, you need to carry out gym for several hours almost every day, working with very heavy weights. While the average person needs to train 3-4 times a week for 40 minutes, doing 2-3 approaches for each exercise with optimal weight in order to gain new beautiful body within 2-3 months.
For those involved in strength training, almost nothing is impossible. Flat, flabby buttocks turn into round and elastic, and in place of the belly, “hanging like a bag”, perfectly drawn abs appear.
A serious load on the muscles has an amazing effect: if you do everything right, fat begins to burn more intensely on days off from sports.
One of the advantages of this type of activity is the rejection of all kinds of diets and fasting. Of course, you will have to forget about baked goods, fried foods, fatty foods and sweets. Nutrition should be correct and balanced, and portions should be moderate. As a rule, a trainer helps you choose a menu depending on the load. And thanks to the constant presence of the right fats and large quantity protein, your skin remains elastic, your hair is shiny and thick, and your nails and teeth are strong.
Today's world is ruled by the cult of the athletic body. How to get the shape of your dreams? There are a lot of hopes placed on sports. But the abundance of different techniques in combination with poorly trained instructors does not lead to the acquisition of ideal proportions, but to physical exhaustion, injuries and dislike for sports for the rest of your life. Today we will help you figure out how to correctly implement training and proper nutrition into your life, and which sport for weight loss gives the best results.
Why didn't you manage to lose weight?
Everyone who has failed to lose weight through exercise makes the same mistakes:
The key to success in losing weight is gradually changing your habits at a comfortable pace. Training and nutrition regimen for each type physical activity his own is being built. We will look at the most effective of them in terms of weight loss.
Cardio training
Cardio training is a classic for losing weight. Running, walking, cycling, aerobics and other types of active, heart-accelerating exercise will allow you to spend maximum calories with minimal time. Other benefits of cardio training include:
- healing effect on the cardiovascular system;
- fresh air, which involves most cardio exercise;
- accessibility, since you can practice independently and without additional equipment.
But if your goal is to lose weight, and not just train your heart and tighten your muscles a little, you need to do cardio taking into account many nuances.
Now let's talk directly about the types of cardio exercises.
Running or walking
With the help of running, you can quickly get in shape, since in one 40-minute workout at an average pace, about 500-600 kcal are spent, which for a person losing weight is almost a third of the daily diet.
But if the weight is too heavy, it is better to start with walking at a fast pace. This will eliminate excessive stress on the heart and joints, and it will also be difficult for a novice runner to continue training for the recommended 40-50 minutes. Calorie consumption during brisk walking is approximately 200 kcal per hour. But this figure can be increased by 45% using the Nordic walking technique using ski or specialized poles.
Intensive group classes
Fitness in groups is divided into many types - aerobics, shaping, tai-bo, bodyflex, etc. What they have in common is that all exercises are done with your own weight or light dumbbells (up to 3 kg). Classes in a group under the supervision of an instructor will not allow you to feel sorry for yourself and relax ahead of time, therefore, with regularity and parallel adjustments in nutrition, they provide a guaranteed result in losing weight. However, such training places a large impact on the joints, so it is not useful for everyone.
Yoga and Pilates
Static stretching exercises will increase your flexibility, develop a little strength, teach you to relax, but this is not The best way lose weight. Calorie consumption in such activities is minimal, and they do not have a stimulating effect on metabolism.
Dancing
Dance is the most exciting form of cardio exercise. You can choose any genre to your taste, but the most conducive to weight loss are:
- Flamenco. A passionate Spanish dance that uses all muscle groups.
- Belly dance. Perfectly pumps up the abs and helps remove fat from the hips.
- Irish step. In terms of energy consumption, it is not inferior to jumping rope or step aerobics.
Another plus is that you can go to couples dances with your spouse, combining sports with family time.
Power training
In the gym you can not only build muscle mass, but also get rid of fat. It's all about the training scheme. To burn fat, you need to do each exercise for 3-4 approaches with a maximum number of repetitions in each (20-25). Accordingly, the weight of the equipment must be selected so that you can lift it at least 20 times.
Another important condition is minimal rest between approaches, no more than 1 minute. With such a training scheme, a girl need not be afraid to gain muscle, since this approach is aimed exclusively at burning fat and drawing muscle definition.
Exercises at home
If you are short of time or Money You can play sports to lose weight at home. Moreover, this is practically the only real opportunity get into shape for a woman on maternity leave. You can study completely free of charge, guided by video lessons from the Internet. Or you can spend a little money and buy small dumbbells (2-3 kg) or weights that will make your home workouts more intense and varied.
You need to train at least 3 times a week for 40-60 minutes. Each session should include both cardio and strength components. In the absence of exercise equipment, cardio exercise can be achieved by skipping rope or running in place, and if the house is multi-story, running up the stairs will help burn calories. Strength exercises should be as diverse as possible, aimed at different groups muscles.
You don't need to spend hours doing abs or bending over to get rid of your belly and sides. There is no local fat burning; this process occurs evenly on all parts of the body.
Whatever sport you choose to lose weight, the main thing is to enjoy the process itself, since you won’t last long on willpower alone. Guaranteed and long-term results can be obtained with moderate but regular training, and only if you change your eating habits.
What is the best sport for weight loss? I think many people have thought about this more than once. You can fight excess fat deposits different ways In addition to various diets, sports can also be effective. I know everything. Physical activity will help you get rid of unnecessary kilograms, if, of course, you exercise regularly. Let's find out which one is the best efficient look sports for weight loss?
Aerobic training
This is the best method in the fight against extra pounds. Due to this method, the body is enriched with oxygen. And you can only get enough oxygen by intensely exercising. Thanks to these exercises, the cardiovascular system is trained and fat deposits disappear. The more often you train, the faster you will get positive results.
Aerobic exercise includes such types of training as: long-distance running at an average pace, playing tennis, aerobics, and brisk walking.
Benefits of aerobic exercise:
Strengthening the heart muscle;
Strengthening all muscles of the body;
Decline blood pressure and improvement of blood microcirculation;
Raising the psycho-emotional background;
Reducing the risk of developing many diseases.
Aerobic exercise should be performed three times a week, for approximately 45 minutes. Around the 20th minute of intense exercise, the process of fat breakdown begins, calories are lost, and energy is actively released from fat cells.
Accordingly, the longer you exercise, passing the 20-minute mark, the more fat you will burn. Until the beginning of the 20th minute, when the body just begins to warm up, carbohydrates are broken down, and only then fats begin to be burned.
Let's consider the following sport, which also plays a significant role in losing weight and strengthening the body as a whole.
Swimming
This sport is loved by many. It is one of the gentle types of endurance training. During classes, all muscle groups are loaded simultaneously. Calories begin to be lost from about 20 minutes, so if you want to lose weight by swimming, then training in water for less than 20 minutes will not suit you; swimming for 40-45 minutes is optimal.
All skeletal muscles are worked out, which has a strengthening effect on the body as a whole, the muscles become firm and elastic. You probably remember the figures of swimmers; on their body you can distinguish the outline of, one might say, every muscle. By swimming 3-4 times a week, it is quite possible to lose up to 7 kilograms of excess weight.
Walking
This sport is no less useful and effective than the others. But don’t think that you will have to walk slowly, at a walking pace. The movements should be active, rhythmic, you should literally feel how your muscles work, tense and warm up.
It is best to practice walking in a park area, where there is no gas pollution, because you will have to breathe frequently and deeply, so walking along the road is excluded. Walking for an hour is considered optimal.
A ride on the bicycle.
Cycling training will help you lose weight overweight, if you practice for about an hour, with maximum load on the body. Classes should be carried out three times a week, increasing the intensity of the load.
To lose weight, you need to ride on flat roads, at a pace of medium intensity, throughout the entire workout. If you want to strengthen your leg muscles, you need to ride on uneven surfaces.
Cycling training strengthens the muscles of the legs, buttocks, pelvic muscles and abdomen. There is an alternative to cycling - exercise bikes in fitness centers.
Fitness for weight loss
The fitness instructor will select for you special program for weight loss, which you will perform under his careful supervision. These classes are very effective.
Football
By playing football, you can lose weight even faster than by doing fitness or running. A study in which one hundred women over the age of 45 took part showed that during the period while they played football and left fitness for a while, the extra pounds came off faster. Therefore, kicking a ball is an effective procedure that burns calories well.
Roller skating
This sport has recently become very relevant and in demand. The body's endurance increases, fitness improves, kilograms are lost, and, of course, roller skating brings great pleasure.
Skis
Skiing, or more precisely cross-country skiing, is a very popular sport for those who want to lose weight. At the same time, the activity of the cardiovascular system improves, coordination of movements develops, and muscles are strengthened.
Dancing for weight loss
Probably, dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to lose weight. You can achieve a slim figure with almost any type of dancing. At the same time, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems are trained, and positive emotions appear.
Ballroom dancing develops amazing flexibility and royal posture. Belly dancing and samba give health to the pelvic organs, which is extremely important for women. Extra pounds disappear from the stomach.
Hip-hop requires a lot of energy, so it is considered the shortest way to losing weight.
Latin American dances give a slim figure, develop coordination of movements and plasticity.
It’s impossible to list all the dances, but they all contribute to the development of a graceful and slender figure.
Drawing a conclusion, I would like to say that no matter what the best sport for losing weight in your opinion, you choose, it will definitely have a positive effect on your figure. And which sport is best for you is up to you to decide, and until you try for yourself whether you like doing it or not, you will not get an answer. After all, whether you like it or not depends on many factors - what kind of temperament you have, what kind of people will train with you, the amount of payment, the time of training, trust in the coach, etc. But this is not the main thing, the main thing is that physical activity increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood. The walls of the blood vessels dilate - blood flows better, your health improves, your metabolism improves, it returns to normal, over time you want to eat less, you begin to lose weight.
Many women are familiar with the situation when it seems like everything has already been tried (gym, diet), but the extra pounds still don’t go away.
The thing is that, out of ignorance, the basic rules of playing sports are very often violated.
Sports Facts
Here are the most Interesting Facts about proper exercise:
1. Don't skip breakfast before morning classes.
Some women are inclined to believe that exercising on an empty stomach is much more effective than after a hearty breakfast. In fact, this opinion is wrong. If you haven’t eaten before the gym, then during exercise, calories will be burned not from the fat layer, but from muscle tissue, which in no way contributes to quick and safe weight loss. Thus, you will simply ruin your stomach and get gastritis.
To achieve maximum effect, you need to have a full breakfast. This does not mean that you can eat everything, including confectionery and flour products; preference should be given mainly to protein foods, for example, cottage cheese, meat products, eggs, cheese. Nothing bad will happen if you allow yourself to eat some sandwich.
2. Don't neglect proper diet nutrition and full body workout
Practice shows that if a woman works hard on a problem area in the gym, but at home completely forgets about her diligence, then she will never achieve the desired weight loss. The fact is that it is useless to train a problem area, for example, the buttocks, using only physical activity. If a woman wants to get rid of cellulite, she needs to first reduce the amount of fat in this area. And this is achieved either through diet or through full body training. In this case, cardio exercise will help you lose fat. You can sign up for step aerobics or dancing. If you train only the problem area, the fat layer will not go anywhere, you will only “pump” it into an even greater volume.
3. Do not delude yourself that walking helps you lose weight.
Actually during hiking within 30 minutes, only 122 calories are burned in the body, which does not in any way contribute to rapid weight loss. In fact, walking is very beneficial before starting a workout. To warm up your muscles, you can walk on a treadmill for 5-10 minutes. However, walking is great for maintaining cardiovascular tone and can reduce cholesterol in the body.
4. Resist the urge to eat after training.
After intense physical activity, as a rule, there is an irresistible desire to eat, and the more, the better. This will reduce all your efforts to zero. After training, it is useful not to eat for an hour. However, if you really want it, then nothing bad will happen if you eat protein food: boiled chicken, a piece of meat, low-fat cottage cheese. This will not affect your weight in any way. On the contrary, this way your body can quickly restore the energy spent, but not the calories.
5. Drink more water.
For fast weight loss You should drink at least 2 liters of fluid per day. In the morning on an empty stomach you need to drink a large glass of warm water. This procedure starts your metabolic process, thanks to which the calories acquired during the day are effectively burned.
I have nothing against diets and sports. However, it is worth remembering that even the most magical diet will not make you slim and healthy if, in general, you lead the wrong lifestyle. Even the most effective exercise will not give you abs on your stomach and if you spend the rest of your time on the couch. No, in order to really and irreversibly bring yourself back to normal, you will need something more. You will have to change your lifestyle and acquire new healthy habits.
- Always start your meal with a glass of water. This will help maintain water-salt balance. And due to the fact that water will take up space in the stomach, the feeling of fullness will arise a little earlier than usual.
- Change products. Try replacing familiar foods with their lower-calorie counterparts. There is no need for extremism, do it gradually. Many of our eating habits are just habits, nothing more. Believe me, you can easily give up products that seem vital to you today without any harm to your health. You will find some ideas on this matter in the articles.
- Don't deny yourself chocolate. It is quite difficult to completely eliminate sweets from your diet, and it is not necessary. Simply replace pies, cookies and brownies with a few squares of dark chocolate. It will turn out tasty, sweet and even...
- Eat slowly. A simple tip to help you learn to eat less. The fact is that usually the signal of satiety reaches the brain late, so we, by inertia, eat a little more than we should. Just take your time and listen to your feelings.
- Define optimal size portions by using . Remember that you need to do this before the food reaches your plate, not after. It is much easier to pour yourself the right amount of food right away than to persuade yourself to leave extra later.
- Don't drink your calories. It’s quite a shame if you severely limit yourself in food, but do not lose weight due to your passion for soda and sweet juices, which contain a lot of sugar.
- Don't fast for too long. If you spend the whole day running errands, and closer to night you have a blast, completely emptying your refrigerator, then this will not lead to anything good. With long breaks between meals, increased appetite develops, which ultimately leads to excess weight.
- Avoid store-bought snacks. Even if you're really hungry, you still shouldn't buy all those chips, crackers, and exotic-flavored popcorn. They will not satisfy your hunger, but will ruin your stomach. It’s better to prepare it for yourself in advance, which will help you quickly fill up and be good for your health.
- Have dinner early. Try to keep dinner not too rich - no more than a quarter of your daily intake - and not too late. Failure to comply with these two simple rules causes digestive disorders, obesity and sleep problems.
- Get more sleep. can cause a chain reaction in the body that provokes increased appetite. As a result, a person begins to eat a chronic lack of sleep with various tasty high-calorie foods, which are stored in the form of extra pounds.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated, quite accessible and understandable advice. Once you start following them, you will immediately notice that you are gradually losing extra pounds.
In conclusion, I would like to note once again that when writing this article, I did not have the goal of questioning the usefulness of sports or popular diets. No, I just wanted to emphasize that the fight against overweight requires a varied and systematic struggle on all fronts. Only in this case will there be a turning point, and soon victory!