Walking, lifting weights, doing chores – it’s all good. no matter what you are doing , regular exercise and physical activity is that the path to health and well-being. Exercise burns fat, builds muscle, lowers cholesterol, eases stress and anxiety, lets us sleep restfully. during this guide, we match resources to your exercise needs -- at every fitness level.
Exercise and Weight Loss
It's a fact: You have to burn more calories than you eat and drink to lose weight.
For weight loss, it really matters that you cut back on the calories that you eat and drink. That matters most for taking the pounds off, according to the CDC.
Exercise pays off in the long run by keeping those pounds off. Research shows that regular physical activity will increase your chances of maintaining weight loss.
How Much Exercise Should I Do?
Start with just a few minutes of exercise at a time. Any exercise is better than none, and that helps your body slowly get used to being active.
Your goal is to work up to at least a half an hour most days of the week to get the full benefits from exercise.
If it's more convenient, you can do short spurts -- 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there. Each action by itself may not seem like much, but they add up.
Once you’re in better shape, you can gradually exercise for longer periods of time and do more strenuous activities.
When you’re up for it, you can ramp up the intensity and get the same benefits in half the time. For example, jogging for 30 minutes provides health benefits similar to walking for 60 minutes.
What Kind of Exercise Should I Do?
You can do anything that makes your heart and lungs work harder, such as walking, biking, jogging, swimming, fitness classes, or cross-country skiing. Mowing your lawn, going out dancing, playing with your kids -- it all counts, if it revs your heart.
If you don’t exercise and you’re a man over 45, a woman over 55, or have a medical condition, ask your doctor if you should avoid any types of activities.
Start with something like walking or swimming that’s easy on your body. Work at a slow, comfortable pace so you start to get fit without straining your body.
At least two or three times a week, do strength training. You can use resistance bands, weights, or your own body weight.
Stretch all your muscles at least twice a week after you exercise. That helps keep you flexible and prevent injury.
How to Boost Your Metabolism With Exercise
Your next workout could set you up for a speedier metabolism.
Your metabolism includes all the things your body does to turn food into energy and keep you going. Some people have a faster metabolism than others.
Some things that affect whether your metabolism is speedy or sluggish include things you don't control, like your age, sex, and genes. Sometimes a sluggish thyroid could decrease your metabolism. But once you find out that it is normal, speeding it up is up to you. Focus on what really does make a difference: exercise.
Muscle cells need a lot of energy, which means they burn a lot of calories. In fact, they burn more calories than fat cells, even when you're not exercising. So the time you spend working out reaps benefits long after you stop sweating.
Exercise becomes even more important as you get older. You naturally lose muscle mass with age, which slows down your metabolism. Working out can stop that slide.
It's simple. You need to challenge your muscles often in these two ways:
1. Amp up your workout. Any kind of aerobic exercise, whether you're running or doing Zumba, burns calories. Make it more intense, and your body will burn more calories.
Try intervals. You can do them with any type of cardio. The basic idea is to switch back and forth between higher and lower intensity. You make it really challenging, and then back down your pace, and repeat.
For example, do as many jumping jacks as you can for 1 minute, and then walk in place for 2 minutes. Repeat for 15 minutes.
2. Lift weights. Because muscle uses more calories than fat, strengthening your muscles will make you into a more efficient calorie-burning machine, even when you're at rest.
Twice a week, do one or two sets of 12 to 15 repetitions on each major muscle group (abs, biceps, glutes, quads).
You'll be doing more than just helping your metabolism. Your heart, bones, and even your mood will benefit. It's a win all around.
Your Personal Fitness Schedule
Want to work more fitness into your busy life? Print this simple chart to help you get a sense of your current fitness level. Aerobic exercise is designed to improve the heart and lungs of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Muscle strengthening is important, especially as we age, to prevent loss of muscle bulk and strength, and overall fitness.
The chart records both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercises. Both are crucial for good health. Aerobic activity can help control weight and can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and many other conditions. Muscle-strengthening exercises are important for the same reasons but will also boost your metabolism.
Every day, jot down the number of minutes you spent doing aerobic exercise along with any muscle-building activities you did. With strengthening exercise, it’s important to write down the number of repetitions you completed also to show progress. However, the number of repetitions is not as important as the ability to perform the exercise correctly and safely without pain. At the end of the week, see how your totals compare to what’s recommended by the CDC for a healthy adult.
Exercise routines, like all routines, can be modified for variety to keep it interesting as you build this healthy habit.
Simple Fitness How-Tos
Want to try out yoga but don’t know the first thing about tree pose? Ready to start lifting weights, or turn that walk around the park into a jog? Use these easy how-to's.
Bicep Curl
Grab weights with palms facing forward, feet under hips. Bending arms, lift weights toward shoulders. Straighten elbows and lower weights back down.
Perfect Plank
Lie on your belly. Rest upper body on forearms flat against the floor. Contract abs and butt. Slowly lift torso off the ground. Hold 5 seconds, then lower.
Tree Pose
Stand straight, shifting body weight to right foot with left knee to chest. Turn knee to side, press sole of foot to calf. Put palms together over your head. Hold 5-10 breaths.
Squats
Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear as if sitting down in a chair, keeping knees over ankles.
The Pilates Hundred
Sit on the floor, feet flat, holding the backs of your thighs. Keep the belly in and curl down to the floor. Now curl the head and shoulders up slightly. Pump the arms up and down at your sides. Breathe in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds until you hit 50 pumps. Sit up and repeat for a total of 100.
Pilates Roll-Up
Lie on your back with legs straight, feet flexed, arms reaching overhead on the floor. Press your low back into the floor. Exhale and, keeping your navel in, slowly roll up one vertebra at a time until you're sitting up. Slowly roll back down. Repeat 3 to 5 times.
Side Plank
Lie on your side with a bent elbow directly under your shoulder and use your torso muscles to lift your hips up into a side plank.
Sculpt a Better Butt
Like a speed skater, with your feet under your hips, hop sideways to the left on left foot and touch right hand to the floor. Alternate sides. Do 3 sets of 20.
Tone Your Hamstrings
Do deadlifts: Holding free weights, stand with feet hip-width apart. Fold at your hips, keeping your back straight. Move the hips backward as you lower your upper body until it's parallel to the floor and the weights are just below your knees. Slowly return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.
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