Monday, April 19, 2010

Exercise Recommendations For Bodyfat Reduction

Exercise Recommendations
For Bodyfat Reduction

The kind of exercise you need for permanent weight control and fat loss needs to be slow, sustained, and regular. It needs to achieve three goals:
a) Boost your metabolism-the way you convert food into energy;
b) Increase your supply of oxygen to the mitochondria
(the power-ATP-producing structure) of the muscle cells for fat burning; and
c) Shift your Lean Body Mass-to-fat ratio in favor of Muscle.

To attain your goals, you need two kinds of exercise:
Aerobic (such as brisk walking-without interruption) to
stimulate oxygen supply, and Strength Training (also called Resistance Work). A combination - preferably during alternating days - of both these kinds of exercise
will help you burn fat and keep it off for a prolonged period of time.

Keep in mind that Fat is “dead weight”, because as your body’s adipose or fat tissues have very low metabolic activity, they don’t burn calories at all. Only the mitochondria in your muscle cells do this.
The more muscle tissue you have, the better your body burns calories, sheds Fat, and keeps it off. A higher muscle mass also means you can eat more without gaining weight. But you need a lot of oxygen to do this. In fact, the more oxygen your muscles are supplied with via the bloodstream, the more calories and Fat your body can burn.

Aerobic exercise enhances your body’s ability to transport oxygen. I advice you to walk, run, do aerobics, swim, dance, do mini-trampolining, ride your bike or do any other activity that uses the large muscle groups, and where your heart beats steadily and your lungs breathe deeply, for 20 t0 45 minute periods at least three to four times a week. This type of exercise (“Aerobic” which means “with oxygen”) alone can bring about Fat Loss, instead of losing water or body lean tissue.
Of all these aerobic activities, the one that fits best into most people’s lives is simple walking at your own reasonable pace, but without stopping after beginning it. A moderate but uninterrupted long duration walk burns both glycogen (carbohydrates) and fat. Remember that after thirty(30) minutes of brisk sustained walking, your body makes an important shift so that only 50 % of its energy comes from glycogen (carbohydrates) and the rest comes from your Fat stores. Studies in exercise physiology suggest that the minimal time spent in order to shed Fat is from 30 to 45 minutes daily at least 3 to 4 times per week. Doing less than this is wasting your time and efforts.

The important thing to remember about Bodyfat burning (reduction) is to exercise not hard (or extra fast) but long. When walking, begin by taking a 20-minute walk each day, and increase the time as you go along; you’ll see that before you know it, you’ll be reaching your 45-minute mark and even more. Just make it enjoyable, the results will be extremely rewarding.

Happy and Healthy Exercising everybody !!

Dr. Augusto Agostini
Ph. D. in Nutrition

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