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Whether you like it or not, a healthy and balanced lifestyle should most likely include some form of exercise in order to maintain a calorie deficit and strengthen your body. While it may be difficult to find a form of exercise that you genuinely enjoy in order to sustain a healthy weight, there are certain fitness routines that will net better results than others. If you’ve been looking to add some daily activity into your life, skip the trial and error and move right to this health expert approved exercise plan guaranteed to help you achieve total body weight loss with lasting results.
Both cardio and strength training separately have their own merit, so a combination of the two is going to be your best bet for shedding extra pounds while building muscle. Registered dietitian and group exercise instructor Katelyn Brockmiller gives us the breakdown on the individual benefits of both. For her preferred form of cardio she explains, “A study from the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders suggests performing interval training when focusing on cardio exercises. Interval training is defined as periods of high intensive spurts of activity followed with relief periods. An example of this would be jogging for 1 minute, then 30 seconds of sprinting, repeating during your workout about 10-15 times.”
As for weight training, Brockmiller explains, “One myth is that weights will cause women to "bulk" up. This is truly a complete myth. When you are trying to lose weight you want more muscle. Why? The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn!”
When your body consists of more muscle, it begins to burn more calories at rest than before, boosting your metabolism and making it easier to maintain a calorie deficit. “In the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders they found that strength training performed for 2-3 sets with 6-10 reps of each exercise with a 60-90 second rest in between each set has the greatest effect on weight loss. Also, they found that whole body exercises with or without weights can help burn calories to improve weight loss,” she says.
Seeing as cardio, particularly interval training, helps to shed excess fat and burn more calories, combining it with regular weight training will allow your body to metabolize food as fuel more efficiently. With this and a healthier diet, weight loss will become much easier. “The Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders found that exercise alone will not achieve ideal weight loss. Exercise is not effective if you have an unhealthy diet. In order to achieve optimal weight loss, combining a healthy diet and exercise is ideal.” Brockmiller says.
Losing weight can be difficult if you aren’t sure how to approach it, but a healthy diet in combination with cardio and strength training is going to be your best bet for seeing lasting results. It’s important to note that the exercise program you’re most likely to stick to is going to be one you enjoy, so try to find a form of cardio that doesn’t fill you with dread. If you hate running, try out a group fitness class or experiment with YouTube workouts to find a routine that gets you excited. Your healthy lifestyle should be one that fits within your interests!
