GET THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS OUT OF YOUR CARDIO!!!

GET THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS OUT 

OF 

YOUR CARDIO!!!

Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of low to high intensity. "Aerobic" means the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise. Why it is called cardiovascular (CARDIO) is because It trains our heart to pump blood effectively throughout the body, make the cardiac muscles strong and use carbohydrates (in the initial phase) and turn the body to fat burning mode in the later phase (when continued for more than 15-20 minutes). It shall help you to lose weight and get leaner and has a positive impact on bone health.



PLEASE DON'T MAKE YOUR CARDIO SESSIONS BORING BY DOING THE SAME ACTIVITY! IT IS BECAUSE OF THIS REASON PEOPLE OFTEN LEAVE ON CARDIO AND ARE UNABLE TO GET THE SHREDDED LOOK THEY ASPIRE .

WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN IT COMES TO CARDIO 

• Elliptical trainer- What makes an elliptical trainer a unique equipment is the combined upper and lower body workout it provides altogether. There is primarily less fitness equipment that simultaneously works that many muscle groups. With an elliptical trainer, you get a workout that utilizes the hamstrings, glutes, triceps, chest, quadriceps, back and biceps.

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• Running at a moderate pace (between brisk walking and sprinting)/Treadmills - As one of the most vigorous exercises out there, running is an extremely efficient activity for weight loss. Many runners drop pounds and can maintain their weight. Running incorporates the entire body to work and burns a lot of calories.

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• Stair drills / stair master - Every step on the stair-climber engages your calves, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, so it's a good way to target and tone your lower body. The key, however, is to ensure you keep your back upright and core engaged, so your lower half takes the force. Basically, you should not hunch over if you want to see the best results.

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• Kettle-bell drills – They are designed to develop muscular endurance rather than pure strength. It involves using the entire body, including the core, legs, shoulders, back muscles and glutes.

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· Jumping rope - Improves Coordination, Decreases Foot and Ankle Injuries, Burns Major Calories, Completely Portable and Fun, Improves Bone Density, Improves Cardiovascular Health, Improved Breathing Efficiency. Makes You Smarter.

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• Cycling - Cycling is a good way to control or reduce weight. It raises your metabolic rate, builds muscle and burns body fat. If you’re trying to lose weight, you must combine cycling with a healthy diet. Cycling is a comfortable form of exercise and you can change the time and intensity – it can be built up slowly and varied to suit you.

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• Swimming

1. Increases your heart rate and the water takes some of the impact stress off your body.
2. Helps to maintain a healthy weight, respiratory and cardiovascular system.
3. Tones the muscles and helps to build strength.
4. Provides an all-over body workout, as almost all your muscles are used during swimming.
5. Builds muscular endurance, muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance.

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• Zumba - Working up a sweat in the 60-minute Zumba classes burns an average of 369 calories, more than cardio kickboxing or step aerobics. You’ll get a great cardio workout that melts fat, strengthens your core, and improves flexibility.

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• Rowing - Rowing provides upper body conditioning and gives the upper and lower back and the shoulder muscles an excellent workout. Every stroke requires the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abs, obliques, pecs, biceps, triceps, deltoids, upper back, and lats to participate in the motion.

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• HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training - this type of interval exercise is all about getting the highest amount of intensity in the shortest span of time. You follow through quick bursts of exercises followed by very short rest periods (often recommended to intermediate level individuals). It not always safe for a sedentary person to start with this type of training as it’s more advanced.

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• Circuit training - It’s about moving from one exercise to another. You can do just cardio moves like jumping rope, followed by jumping jacks, then box step – ups or box squats or set up a weight- training circuit with exercises like jumping jacks, dumbbell squats, skipping rope, push-ups, step-ups etc.

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• Kickboxing - Kickboxing has been shown to improve fitness, power, flexibility and agility, according to a study of healthy individuals in their twenties who trained three days a week for five weeks. The people in the study improved their upper and lower body power by about 7%. Cardio kickboxing classes burn more than eight calories per minute—about the same amount you’d burn while swimming.

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• Whatever increases your heart rate by 60% more than your resting heart rate and continued for a duration longer than 15 minutes comes under aerobic exercises.

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WATER RETENTION AND HOW TO GET RID OF IT !

 GET RID OF WATER RETENTION TO LOOK SHREDDED

One of the important steps in your weight loss program should be the elimination of that extra fluid in your body. A considerable percentage of the excess weight that you are carrying around is actually caused by excessive water retention. Reducing water retention will not only lead to weight loss, but will also show up those veins popping out if you are lean enough already. 

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Causes of excessive Water retention

1. NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER

The idea of drinking water to lose water may seem funny, but it actually works. Not getting enough fluids will make you hold water. When you’re dehydrated your body gets into survival mode and stores more water in case you need it later. You eliminate less water trough urination and sweating at that time. So the answer is to drink more water. By drinking more water, your body quits this survival mode and excretes more water out of it’s system along with the of-course "not so friendly toxins".

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2. NOT ENOUGH SWEATING

Sweating is a mechanism that serves to regulate the body temperature and maintain the metabolism. If you work out hard or often you are already eliminating this cause of water retention.So KUDOS !.  Always carry a bottle of drinking water while you work out, so that the lost fluids can be replenished. This way you keep the needed fluids and flush out the excessive sodium from your body.

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3. EXCESSIVE SODIUM

You saw that coming, too much salt will cause your body to hold water. Fast food chains are at the top of the list of those who abuse salt. For the sake of making foods tastier and increasing their shelf life , companies decorate their foods with sodium. High sodium intake is a major contributor to obesity as well as various health problems, such as high blood pressure and heart problems. A healthy person needs about 2.0 grams of sodium a day, while this dose is equal to 1.5 grams for people with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney problems.Keep a good check on that salt if you aspire to be shredded.

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4. CONSUMING LESS FIBER  

Besides keeping your colon healthy and happy, fiber also helps in the digestion of protein and excretion of excess water from the body. The best way to increase fiber intake is to add some non starchy vegetables, green leafy vegetables, fruits, and whole fiber grains to your diet.

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5. MEDICATIONS

Some medications have salts which can cause water retention. Since many people consume prescribed and even non- prescribed medications ( such as the one for headache or sore throat), it’s worth checking to see if any of them are attributed with water retention and water- weight gain.

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6. TRY A NATURAL DIURETIC

    Be it synthetic or natural, diuretics increase urination to force more water from our bodies. For a healthy individual , diuretics of any kind is unnecessary, though, if needed these methods mentioned above, one or more, of the natural diuretics may induce final-stage water loss to ensure a shredded physique.

7.  SUPPLEMENTS 

        Supplements such as Creatine which has water attraction and retention properties) have been used by people who workout on an advanced level . Its quantities consumed should be checked to reduce water retention .Serious competitors on the other hand often use natural herbs such as dandelion root for  their diuretics properties. Simple foods like lettuce, spinach, asparagus, beets and pumpkin, coffee and tea work just as well. PS:Use of diuretics many cause dehydration so be sure to consume 5-6 ltr of water per day while using them.

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8.  CARBOHYDRATES 

    Reduce the amount of carbohydrates such as starches and sugars that you consume. Carbohydrates attract water and makes us feel thirsty more often. Carbs depletion will cause you to excrete more water and keep less water in your muscles.

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INTERMITTENT FASTING AND WEIGHT LOSS

INTERMITTENT FASTING AND WEIGHT LOSS

WHAT IS THIS?

Fasting has been a practice throughout human evolution. Ancient humans who were predominantly hunters and nomads didn't have the privileges of supermarkets, refrigerators or food availability throughout the year. Sometimes they couldn't find anything to eat and had to sleep empty stomach as well. As a result, humans evolved to be able to function without food for extended periods of time. Using their own body fat and muscle glycogen as source of energy whenever required.

Inspired by our ancient human practices, intermittent fasting in this respect is not a diet in the conventional sense but more accurately described as an eating pattern. Commonly it involves the subject (that’s brutal), I mean the person needs to do daily 12-16 hour fasts or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week (ouch!).

In fact, fasting from time to time is more natural than always eating 3-4 (or more) meals per day.

 

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WHAT DO WE DO IN IT?

Intermittent fasting is thankfully not of only one type but has a few variations to keep us going with it for a considerable period (until of course you get for what you began doing it!). Some of them are as follows: -

·        The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week but eat normally the other 5 days. So, you split your 7-day week in this way.

·        The 16/8 method: Also called the Lean gains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. In this way you fast for 16 hours in between. You can reduce this time to 12 hours fasting when you begin with it.

·        Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

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BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING

• Weight loss: If I have not mentioned it then here it is why you are here, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat, without having to consciously restrict calories.
• Insulin resistance: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar by 3–6% and fasting insulin levels by 20–31%, which should protect against type 2 diabetes.
• Inflammation: Some studies show reduction in inflammation, which can be usually seen in some chronic diseases.
• Heart health: Intermittent fasting helps to reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, blood sugar and insulin resistance, all of them being risk factors for heart disease.
• Cancer: Animal studies suggest that intermittent fasting may prevent cancer by reducing free radicals and getting them flushed out of the body with water during the fasting hours detoxification procedure.
• Brain health: Intermittent fasting increases the brain hormone BDNF and may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

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Should Women try Intermittent Fasting?

There is some evidence that intermittent fasting may not be as beneficial for women as it is for men. One study showed that its improved insulin sensitivity in men, but worsened blood sugar control in women.

Though human studies on this topic are unavailable, studies on rats have found that intermittent fasting can make female rats emaciated, infertile and cause them to miss their cycles.

There are numbers of anecdotal reports of women whose menstrual period stopped when they started doing IF and went back to normal when they resumed their previous eating patterns.

For the foresaid reason’s women should be careful with intermittent fasting.

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4 ways to use this information for better health

·        Avoid sugars and processed refined grains such as sooji(semolina), Maida (flour). Instead, eat fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. They will keep you full for a long duration of time and prevent hunger pangs.

·        Please allow your body to burn fat between the meals. Don’t snack. Be active throughout your day.

·        Begin with a simple form of intermittent fasting. Limit the hours of the day when you eat, as per your schedule you can chose the hours. Between 7 am to 3 pm, or even 10 am to 6 pm, but not in the evening before bed).

·        Avoid snacking or eating at nighttime, all the time.

·        Water is vital when you're intermittent fasting, because "all that junk and free radicals has to be flushed out." Your intermittent fasting regimen might have you refraining from food, but water should always be there with you at hand, especially since you're missing out on the hydration you often get from foods like fruits and veggies.

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TAKE CARE OF SOME STUFF

·         Remember that it takes time to adjust to any new regime, so start things gradually. If you go too fast, your body will produce the stress hormone 'cortisol’, which will slow down the rate of weight loss. As well as that, cortisol can impair your immune system, making you prone to infections.

·         The biggest reason most diets fail is because they are such an extreme departure from our normal, natural ways of eating. If you're the kind of person who's used to eating every other second and needs to eat first thing in the morning, you will need to give your body time to adapt to the to the new schedule. 

·         Allowing time to get used to this new eating protocol is optimal to your success." So how do you do this? "Start with a simple 12-hour fast where you stop eating at 8 p.m. and start eating at 8 a.m. the next day.

·         And if you have ever had or suspect that you may have an eating disorder, I do not suggest intermittent fasting.

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BODYBUILDING DILEMMA - TO DO MORE REPS OR LIFT MORE WEIGHTS?

Bodybuilding Dilemma – To do More REPS or LIFT More WEIGHTS?

In the gym you can easily spot some women  curling 5 pound dumbbells for 25 reps in an effort to “tone” their arms,make them look lean and tight. While some guys will bench a whole lot of weight for a few  limited reps in an effort to put on muscle and increase strength.

Less repetitions with heavy weight increases strength, whereas high repetitions with light weight increases endurance. According to the concept, as repetitions increase it causes a gradual transition from strength to endurance.

Strength is represented by the 1 repetition maximum (1 RM), which is the maximum weight that can be lifted for one rep only.

On the other hand  endurance is the ability to exert a limited amount of force for a particular period of time repeatedly.

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LOW RANGE, MID RANGE AND HIGH RANGE REPS

• Low reps range from 1 to about 6.

• Mid-range reps are generally 8 to 12. 

• High range reps are more than 12 reps.  

1) Heavy Weight/Low Reps (1-6 Reps/set)

This is the type of strength training that we use to  get stronger and is usually the focus of athletes whose goal is lifting heavy weights such as Power-lifters and Olympic Weightlifters. Lifting heavy weight for low repetitions will increase the weight that you can lift for one time (i.e. your 1 rep max or 1RM).Since the body size provides an advantage in lifting heavy weights, you might get bigger (especially if you support your lifting with a power packed diet.

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2)Moderate to Heavy Weight/Mid-range Reps     (8-12 reps/set)

Women often fear that lifting this way will make them too big.  In truth, that’s unlikely, especially if you’re watching your diet.  Most women have to lift (and eat) a lot to really build lean muscle.

With this type of strength training you can build visible muscle.  For that reason, it’s typically used by Bodybuilders,be it alone or in combination with the Heavy Weight/Low Reps approach.Whether your goal is toning or building lean muscle, this type of strength training gives you the maximum and most visible results by promoting muscles,hypertrophy.

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 3)Low Weight and High Reps (more than 12 reps)

For the gym newbies who are new to lifting, lifting lower weights for longer is not only less scary but it will also build lean muscle and improve their performance and muscular endurance through the time. This technique also helps prevent injuries and prepare to lift more.... 

Low weights (also body weight) and higher repetitions is an approach which is not as easy as you think. When performed seriously and at an appropriate speed, lower weights can be a good short break from lifting heavier.  This “reduction in load" lets your muscles recover from a period of heavier lifting and helps to recruit more muscle fibers while building endurance that will help you in your heavy lifting.

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So if getting buffed up and big is your goal, why isn't doing more reps with less weight always better?A strong muscle is a big and dense muscle.The more muscle mass you have, the more weight you should be able to move.

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Are you Hitting a plateau (your body has stopped responding to the regular workout you do)? 

Try switching things up.

Have you been training heavy for the last few months and just can't further keep increasing weight? 

Start lifting with 60-65% of your one rep max and start bursting out high reps and less sets.

And if you are tired of high reps and you are looking to start putting up big numbers.Switch to a 5-6 rep per set scheme and watch your strength gains go to new peaks.

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