Home > Zest > Exercise
Zest: Exercise
Even though I am an addicted gym rat I don't want to delve to deeply into this subject, this is after all cooking 4 chumps and not exercise 4 chumps! However for those seriously looking to gain control of their weight and fat loss I need to shed a little light into this subject as it directly compliments your diet....

Exercise is a must for weight loss.
It raises your body's demand for calories (an excellent way to create a calorie deficit), speeds up your metabolic rate and also builds and maintains your muscle mass. (Muscle has a higher resting metabolic rate and can boost your metabolism by as much as 5 -15%)

There are several types of exercise suitable for weight loss and fat control:

Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise that increases your need for oxygen and requires your heart and lungs to work harder. This type of exercise is often referred to as 'cardio' as it increases your body's demand for a strong cardiovascular system. (Meaning that with perseverance and time your lungs get stronger and delivers blood to your muscles with greater efficiency.)
Examples of aerobic exercise are:
Running
Swimming
Skipping
Boxing

Anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercise means working out with such intensity that the body cannot deliver the required levels of oxygen to the working muscles.
Examples of anaerobic exercise are:
Sprinting
Plyometrics
Weightlifting

The main difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is aerobic exercise uses oxygen as a means of creating fuel, anaerobic on the other hand uses the body's own sources as a means of fuel.

As someone aiming to control your fat levels or lose weight you should aim to do a mixture of the two types of exercise. Aerobic and anaerobic exercises combined will reap you the greatest of rewards.

Which exercises?
Any exercise is good so long as you perform it with intensity. Taking it easy won't do much for you in the way of weight loss. 60 minutes of easy jogging will settle your conscience but will do little for your metabolism, try 20 minutes of intense exercise to really send your metabolic rate soaring.

Your body will benefit from a range of exercises, as with your diet, balance and variety is key. Do aerobic exercises to stimulate your cardiovascular systems but also be sure to do weight or resistance training as well. Maintaining muscle mass is vital, the act of weight training uses calories but so does the actual repair and growth of muscle fibres that occurs after the exercise. (Unlike aerobic exercise, weight training increases your demand for calories during and after training.) Furthermore the more muscle you have on your body the higher your metabolic rate. (If two people of the same weight were studied side-by-side one with a high muscle percentage and one with a high fat percentage, the one with greater muscle mass would burn more energy even at rest.)

When to exercise?
Aim to exercise a minimum of three times a week, however for those determined to take control of their weight loss, five times a week would be better.

Either perform aerobic exercise 2 times a week and anaerobic 3 times a week or vice versa. (For those looking to shape their body as well as lose excess weight I would advise doing weights or resistance training at least 3 times a week.)

Aim to exercise before eating, preferably before breakfast which will increase your metabolic rate for the whole day.

(For those looking to build muscle, yet decrease fat never perform anaerobic exercise on a completely empty stomach as the body will tear down hard earned muscle as a means of energy to substitute for the missing food! Therefore consume a small portion of food 60 minutes prior to exercise)

Further words on weight training
Many people avoid weight training for fear of developing overly pronounced muscles, after all not many people find the look of a professional body builder appealing. However do not be alarmed by the prospect of pushing weights - it takes phenomenal work and huge amounts of nutrition to put on muscle size, for the average person large muscular gains will be beyond their reach (Trust me, bodybuilders do an obscene amount of work and eat mountains of food to ensure they gain size, for the rest of us...relax - that kind of muscle mass is beyond us.) So get to the gym and begin to push the weights, the benefits to your fat loss and health should outweigh any other misgiving.

Plyometrics
Plyometric exercise is the method of suddenly loading and stretching the muscles before quickly contracting them to produce movement. This means of exercise is excellent for pushing the limits of your muscular endurance and strength, because of this plyometrics is an excellent way to push your metabolism to new heights.
If you're fed up with conventional means of exercise try performing plyometrics for one week as a means to break the monotony. (However please avoid doing plyometrics for long periods of time, any longer than one week of this type of exercise, particularly for beginners can be too punishing, causing unnecessary wear and tear upon the muscular system.)
Examples of plyometric exercise:
Jumping
Bounding
Clap-up style of push ups
Gymnastics