Hard Working
Many of us spend hours and hours in the gym aiming to achieve our perfect bodies. We go way above and beyond the conventional wisdom, which tells us to exercise vigorously for at least half an hour a day, constantly punishing ourselves with tough cardio workouts.
Many gym members become very frustrated as they don’t see gains as quickly as they would like. In some cases, many gym-goers fail to see any improvement at all, despite their commitment to regular cardio workouts. This has inevitably led to people questioning how much exercise they really need, which, when explored, is not a bad line of questioning to take.
Reasons Why
There are many reasons why individuals fail to see gains from gym attendance. Many, and I must confess I fall into this category, work hard in the gym, then reward themselves with a takeaway and a few beers. Clearly, this is not going to work. What you put in at the gym will only pay off if you adapt your eating habits and lifestyle to help meet your goals.
Recent scientific studies, such as a recent BBC “Horizon” program, have highlighted that much of what you achieve from exercise is actually down to an individual’s DNA. In the case of some individuals, constant cardio workouts may not have much of an effect.
Indeed, the program’s presenter saw significant gains in certain areas, such as blood sugar levels and the body’s ability to process increased levels of these, from as little as three minutes of intense exercise each week.
Will It Work For Me?
Taking low levels of exercise at a high intensity may not work for you. However, if you do not particularly enjoy the tough cardio workouts you undertake at the moment, then it may well be an option worth exploring.
Obviously, you need to eat healthily and follow other general lifestyle tips to maintain a good overall fitness level. General tips such as taking the stairs instead of the lift and getting off the bus a stop or two earlier, will in a lot of cases, be equally as effective as tough cardio workouts.
On the other hand, if you are a regular gym attendee and this is something you enjoy, then by all means, continue. You will continue to feel the benefits of the cardio workouts you do daily, which will lead to increased health and wellbeing for you in the long term.
Are 30 Minutes of Exercise Really Enough?
Many people say that it usually takes forty-five minutes of exercise to start burning fat. For the first 30 minutes, it only starts to burn sugar and water.
Aerobic exercise will initially use more or less fat, but the first half an hour uses fat to provide very little energy.
To lose weight, calorie intake should be less than consumption. If what you eat in a day is less than what you consume, you will lose weight no matter how many minutes of exercise you take.
Do you agree with this?
How Long Should I Exercise Every Day To Lose Weight?
Exercise for 30 minutes a day to lose weight is the best because fat starts to burn after 30 minutes. However, the exercise time should not be too long. If the time is too long, the body will adjust to high-intensity exercises, such as feeling hungry and increasing diet, so exercise is wasted.
Exercise 30 minutes a day to lose weight
How long can I lose weight by jogging? First, run very relaxed for 5 minutes, treating it as a warm-up activity. Then speed up and run for 30 seconds, then use another 30 seconds to slow down, and finally run fast for another 60 seconds.
The final 60-second speed needs to be faster than the 30-second acceleration speed, but it does not reach the sprint speed. It should be gradually accelerated and run as fast as possible. The 30 seconds in between are not jogging but slow down and “buffer” for the next stage of fast running.
Find a ring road where no motor vehicle passes, and run the entire course effortlessly in 3 to 5 minutes. After finishing the warm-up exercises, the circular speed run begins, and it is time to record the time.
You should complete the second lap 5 to 10 seconds less than the first lap when running the second lap. Then take a walk or jog for 1 minute to rest and relax.
After that, start the third lap, using 5-10 seconds less speed than the second lap. Do 3 to 5 sets of these exercises, and each set takes 5-10 seconds less time than the previous set. Finally, let your body calm down, and the exercise is complete.
Jogging for more than 30 minutes a day is the most conducive to weight loss, but vigorous exercise should not exceed 30 minutes. Otherwise, it will cause hunger.
Excessive Exercise Time is Not Conducive to Weight Loss
The University of Copenhagen in Denmark recently experimented and found that a small amount of exercise is better for weight loss than a large amount of exercise.
Participants were divided into three groups.
The first group did not need to exercise every day. The second group did 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, such as jogging, cycling, etc. The third group did one hour of high-intensity exercise every day.
The amount of exercise for the second group of participants is equivalent to consuming 300 calories per day. The amount of exercise for the third group is equivalent to consuming 600 calories.
The researchers asked the participants to go with the flow without deliberately controlling their diet regarding calorie intake.
After 13 weeks, the participants’ weight in the first group basically did not change, which is normal. The weight changes of the participants in the second and third groups were unexpected by the researchers.
Participants in both groups lost weight, but those who exercised for only half an hour a day lost an average of about 3.18 kg, and those who exercised for 1 hour a day lost an average of about 2.27 kg.
Why does less exercise result in more weight loss?
There may be three reasons for this. First of all, we know that weight loss is because the calorie intake is less than the calorie consumption. The third group of participants may have intentionally or unintentionally ingested more calorie food because they felt excessive physical exertion.
Participants in the second group did not feel particularly hungry because of their moderate amount of exercise, so their calorie intake did not increase significantly. In this way, although the third group of participants consumes more calories, they also intake more calories. The daily “net” consumption of calories is less than the second group of participants, and of course, the weight loss is slower.
Second, in addition to sports such as running, cycling, or swimming, we also consume calories in our daily lives.
The researchers found that the third group of participants often felt very tired because they had 1 hour of intense exercise a day, reducing the amount of activity in their daily lives.
As a result, during the day, except for the 1 hour of exercise, almost all of them sat motionlessly. Participants in the second group felt that their energy had improved because they only performed moderate amounts of exercise every day and increased their activities in daily life.
For example, in the past, they would wait for the elevator to go to the office, but after half an hour of exercise every day, they would take the initiative to climb the stairs.
In this way, if you count the amount of activity throughout the day, in fact, the second group of participants consumes more calories than the third group of participants.
Finally, the researchers also found that, in addition to the difference in the degree of weight loss, the muscle mass of the third group of participants increased, while the second group did not.
In other words, after the participants in the third group lost fat, they gained muscle, and the participants in the second group only lost fat, so that the participants in the second group lost more “net weight.”
But the researchers reminded that the increase in muscle mass is good for weight control in the long run because it will make the body’s metabolism speed up. If you want to develop beautiful muscles, you can choose a slightly longer exercise time. If you want to lose fat quickly and boost your energy, half an hour a day of moderate exercise is enough.
Tips:
Choose your favorite sport
When starting a new exercise, some people will ask, “Which is the best exercise for weight loss?” In fact, these people are more likely to give up exercise halfway. In the exercise process, enjoying exercise must be the priority to last until the perfect effect of weight loss is achieved.
Perform aerobic and anaerobic exercise at the same time
Aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise are not opposite exercises. The two exercises have different weight loss effects, but they must be carried out simultaneously to achieve the best weight loss effect. Aerobic exercise burns fat fast, and anaerobic muscle endurance exercise can maintain your weight loss results and make your muscles and skin more elastic.
It would be best if you did stretching before and after exercise.
Stretching before exercise can warm up and prevent injuries. Stretching after exercise will sort out the fatigue substances accumulated around the muscles and stimulate the muscles that are not used frequently.
The effect will only appear after 3 months of exercise
If you want to achieve weight loss through exercise, you must continue to exercise for at least 3 months. The body’s physiological process of absorbing new skills is cyclical.