Get Started - Your Health
Get Started - Your Health
Results start when you do!
Increase lean muscle to increase your metabolism. A 1 lb increase in lean muscle will burn approximately 50 calories per day at rest.
Start with a 5 minute warm up. Do 30 minutes of strength training three times per week. And do 30 minutes of cardio training three times per week. Do abdominal or core training everyday. And watch/record the food you eat.
Your food/nutrition is very important. There are many web sites to help. MyFitnessPal lets you identify the parameters required in all the foods. You don't have to write down all those labels. You should have a scale or some measuring cups to gauge how much you are eating of a given item. You will soon see what to avoid. You should have 4-6 small meals per day. Keep your carbs down, minimize fat, and keep your proteins up. You don't need that much protein, but you do need it often. And drink lots of water. Black eyed peas, chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna, tomatoes, salads without dressing, small amount of cereal, some fruit, lots of vegatables, and minimize carbs/pasta/breads/crackers/pizza/snacks and dairy products. No soft drinks. Reduce your meat intake.
For strength training, I divide my muscles into groups. I do pushing exercises on day 1. I do tricep arm exercises and legs on day 2. I then do pulling exercises on day 3. And on day 4 I do shoulder exercises. Everyday, you should do abdominal workouts, just mix up what you do. On day 5, 6, and 7 I don't do any strength training. I like to use 3 sets of 12 repetitions. When you start out don't be afraid of using small amounts of weight. It's important to get range of motion working and doing the exercise properly.
For cardiovascular training, the treadmill, the stationary bike, the stair climber, or the eliptical machines are all great ways of doing cardio work. You can even just go out and walk in your neighborhood. We have many hills and you can wear a backpack with magazines or water bottles to increase the workout. Walking up inclines really increases the calorie burned.
Before starting on this adventure, you need to know something about yourself. What is your target heart rate. 220 minus your age is the 100% maximum heart rate. For weight management, you should be working at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. Check with your doctor. If you are physically fit, then you could train at a higher heart rate, but it would not be optimum for weight management.
I've been doing this for two years and recently I tried pushing the limits. Start at the maximum slope on the treadmill (15), set the speed to 3 so I'm not running and pounding my knees, and go for it. At about 20 to 30 minutes, my heart rate is over 90%. I would then back down but keep it over 80%. I experimented with adding more time and got it out to 95 minutes and about 1200 calories and felt fine when I finished. I did bring the heart rate down as the exercise progressed. I could start with a heart rate of 87 and end with a heart rate of 112, yet peak in the 140's. I had good recovery. If I was keeping my diet to 2000-2400 calories, that workout alone was very significant. Big argument for not doing this is you are burning up muscle after about 30 to 45 minutes of work. I would take a protein drink at the end of the workout to minimize the muscle loss. When I did this I was averaging a pound a day of weight loss. I had to be sure and take my vitamins.
I am now down to a 30 minute cardio workout and keep my heart rate in the 65 to 75% range.
During the first year of doing the basic cardio and strength training I lost about a pound a week. I kept setting short term goals for each month. Success with short term goals really helps keep you motivated. If I could do that last month, I can do the same in the next month. I strongly recommend getting a trainer to help you develop the exercises and to ensure you are doing them correctly. And share what you are doing with others.
Results start when you do!