More info on exercise and calories

The best cardio exercise is simply the one you will do day in and day out consistently. Choose one which you enjoy doing and don't be afraid to mix the exercises up. Interval cardio work consists of moving from one exercise to another in set time intervals. For example, you could do the elliptical trainer for 15 minutes, then switch to the stationary bike for another 15 minutes and finish off on the treadmill for the last 15 minutes. Interval training is a great way to keep everything fresh!

There are two schools of though when it comes to cardio training. The "slow & steady" group and the "high intensity" group. These two groups breakdown like this:

Slow & Steady Cardio

* Long duration (45min - 1 hour)
* Low intensity
* Burn fat and not carbs
* Preserve joints

High Intensity Cardio

* Short duration (20min - 30min)
* High intensity (interval training)
* Burn tons of calories & rev up your metabolism throughout the day
* Treat cardio like weights - explosive movements (sprinting, etc)

Our advice is to try both for at least 6 weeks and make sure to monitor your progress with a journal and take weekly photos of yourself to see if you're truly losing body fat.

Which Cardio Exercise Burns the Most Calories?
Below are the top 10 cardio exercises which burn the most calories in 30 minutes.

1. Step Aerobics - one of the most favorite cardio exercises preferred by women. Step Aerobics mainly target your legs, hips and glutes, and can burn approx. 400 calories in 30 minutes.

2. Bicycling - stationary or outdoors is a great cardio exercises, depending on resistance and speed can but 250 to 500 calories in 30 minutes.

3. Swimming - like cross-country skiing is an excellent cardio exercises as it is a full body exercises. Swimming is a great cross-training for other cardio activities. Doing the breast stroke can burn approx. 400 calories in 30 minutes.

4. Racquetball - side to side sprinting makes racquetball and excellent cardio exercises. A 145-lb person burns over 400 calories in 30 minutes.

5. Rock Climbing - is not only a cardio exercises, but also uses arm and leg strength and power. Rock Climbing can burn up to 380 calories in 30 minutes.

6. Cross-Country Skiing - whether on a machine or outdoors on snow, is an incredible cardio exercises as it involves both upper and lower body. A 145 lb person can burn approx 330 calories in 30 minutes.

7. Running - Running is an excellent cardio exercises because all you need is a pair of quality running shoes. Running burns serious calories. A 145 LB person can easily burn 300 calories in 30 minutes.

8. Elliptical Trainer - is an excellent cardio exercises and a great way to build endurance. A 145 LB person can burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes.

9. Rowing - is both a cardio exercises as well as giving your arms an incredible workout. 145 LB person can burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes.

10. Walking - Brisk walking is a less strenuous form of cardio exercises. Walking can burn up to 180 calories in 30 minutes. Sprinting, adding hills or an incline can increase amount of calories burned.

For the real high intensity cardio people out there who love the H.I.I.T training (High Intensity Interval Training), below are the top three cardio exercise which will provide amazing results!

1. Jumping Rope - This is one of the simplest, yet most effective exercises one can do. In just 15 to 20 minutes, jumping rope will give you an unparalleled total body workout. Jumping rope is ideal for cardiovascular endurance and enhances performance in virtually any sport - tennis, basketball, football, skiing, volleyball and more. This simple exercise is also great for eye-hand coordination, lateral movement, foot and hand speed and agility.

2. Sprinting - Sprinting not only burns HUGE amounts of calories while sprinting, it also keeps your metabolism flying for days after. Sprinting combined with running / jogging can bring amazing results

3. Spinning - These high-intensity workouts to music simulate a challenging bike ride, complete with hills, valleys and varying speeds, all dictated by the group instructor.

Diet Myths

Taken from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/2020/story?id=512095&page=1

Myth : Eating Late at Night Makes You Fat

Four out of 10 Americans work evenings, nights or on shifts, and that means a lot of us are eating later. But won't eating late-night meals pack on extra pounds because we can't burn off the calories when we sleep?

"That is a myth," said dietitian Erica Blacksburg. "Eating late at night won't make you fat unless you go over your calorie load for that day."

But beware. People can gain weight eating late at night depending on what they eat. "A lot of people save their treats for the end of the day," said Blacksburg. "They feel like they deserve something special … They'll have ice cream, they'll have chips."

Myth : Muscle Turns to Fat When You Don't Exercise

For those who spend three or four days a week sweating through cardio and strength training, what happens to the muscle when you stop working out? Does it turn to fat?

Fitness guru Donna Richardson Joyner explained this can't happen. "Muscle is muscle, fat is fat. And you can't turn one into the other," she said.

It's a source of confusion for many, but there's no comparison deep inside the body. Dr. Walter Thompson, a professor of exercise science at Georgia State University, said muscle is much denser then fat and is more compact.

He said that when you stop working out the muscle becomes a bit flabby and "non-functional," but does not turn into fat.

And if you're hoping for the opposite — sorry — exercise does not transform fat into muscle.

"You have to get rid of fat by doing cardio, said Lara Szymanski at The Sports Club/ LA. "You have to build lean muscle. And that's what you do by strength training."

Myth : Diet and Exercise Are All You Need to Lose Weight

Need to lose a little weight? If you think counting calories and exercising are all it takes to melt those pounds, you could be mistaken. You might be missing out on another key weight-loss component — sleep.

"Americans sleep the least of modern countries. And they also, as you know, are the most overweight and obese," said Dr. Eve Van Cauter, a sleep researcher at the University of Chicago. "Perhaps it is worth thinking about the possibility that we don't sleep enough and therefore our appetites are disregulated."

She and Dr. Esra Tasali, another University of Chicago sleep researcher, tested sleep-deprived individuals and found that getting as little as one hour less sleep than is needed can create a hormonal imbalance. Analysis of the sleep-deprived subjects' blood showed lower levels of the hormone leptin, which tells us we're full, and higher levels of the hormone ghrelin, which tells us we're hungry.

"I think sleep should be included in any intervention for weight loss," said Van Cauter.

I Happen to know the first one is a myth, I eat more at night time myself so reserve my calories for then so I dont feel all deprived. I still however do eat plenty of breaky and other food also :)

Weight loss forum and support

So I stumbled accross this weight loss forum yesterday. Its truly fantastic. Everyone seems supportive of each other, lots of hints and tips, they have an area where you can enter your details and kind of compare with others. You can see whos doing what diet and which ones are more effective.
There are some fantasticly insperational stories from some people that will just get you up and going.

I can see myself becomming a fairly active forum whore for the first time in my life :)

Lifting weights and Fat Loss

Taken from here

Getting Started

If you want to lose fat or change your body, one of the most important things you can do is lift weights. Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights can:

• Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long.
• Strengthen bones, especially important for women
• Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
• Help you avoid injuries
• Increase your confidence and self-esteem
• Improve coordination and balance

Getting started with strength training can be confusing--what exercises should you do? How many sets and reps? How much weight? The routine you choose will be based on your fitness goals as well as the equipment you have available and the time you have for workouts.

The Basics

If you're setting up your own program, you'll need to know some basic strength training principles. These principles will teach you how to make sure you're using enough weight, determine your sets and reps and insure you're always progressing in your workouts.

1. Overload: If you want to get stronger, you need to use more resistance than your muscles are used to. This is important because the more you do, the more your body is capable of doing, so you should increase your workload to avoid adaptation. In plain language, this means you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. You should be able to finish your last rep with difficulty but also with good form.
2. Progression. In order to avoid plateaus (or adaptation), you need to increase your intensity. With strength training, you can do this by increasing the amount of weight lifted, increasing the sets/reps, increasing or changing the exercises you're doing and/or change the rest intervals between sets. You can also change the order of your exercises. This means increasing your intensity every week.
3. Specificity. This principle states that the way your body adapts to exercise depends on the type of exercise you're doing. That means, if you want to increase your strength, your program should be designed around that goal. To gain strength and mass, you want to train with heavier weights closer to your 1 RM (1 rep max). If you want to build endurance and strength, you'll want to stick with lighter weights and a rep range of 8-12.
4. Rest and Recovery. Rest days are just as important as workout days. It is during these rest periods that your muscles grow and change, so make sure you're not working the same muscle groups 2 days in a row.

Before you get started on setting up your routine, keep a few key points in mind:

1. Always warm up before you start lifting weights. This helps get your muscles warm and prevent injury. You can warm up with light cardio or by doing a light set of each exercise before going to heavier weights.
2. Lift and lower your weights slowly. Don't use momentum to lift the weight. If you have to swing to get the weight up, chances are you're using too much weight.
3. Breathe. Don't hold your breath and make sure you're using full range of motion throughout the movement.
4. Stand up straight! If your mother could see you now, she'd probably slap a book on your head. Pay attention to your posture and keep everything straight. Engage your abs in every movement you're doing to keep your balance and protect your spine.

Choosing Exercises, Sequence & Weight

Your first step in setting up a routine is to choose exercises to target all of your muscle groups. One way to make sure you're doing this right is to work with a personal trainer who can help you set up the right program for you and educate you on proper form. If that's not an option, consider renting or buying a workout video. Strength training videos can give you visual instruction without the cost of a personal trainer. The only limitation is that, once you adjust to that workout you might have to get another video! One more option is to hire an online personal trainer. It's cheaper than hiring a trainer at the gym and, at My Fitness Expert, you get the same kind of personal treatment as you would at a gym or at home.

For beginners, choose at least one exercise per muscle group.

The list below offers some examples:

• Chest: bench press, chest press machine, pushups, pec deck machine
• Back: one-armed row, seated row machine, back extensions, lat pulldowns
• Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
• Biceps: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
• Triceps: tricep extensions, dips, kickbacks
• Quadriceps: Squats, lunges, leg extension and leg press machines
• Hamstrings: deadlifts, lunges, leg curl machine
• Abs: crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists, pelvic tilts

Check out the strength training and cardio workouts available at Workout Central

Sequence of Exercises

• Make sure you choose at least one exercise for each major muscle group.
• The muscles to work include: Chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominals.
• If you leave any muscle group out, this could cause an imbalance in your muscles and possibly lead to injuries.

Most experts recommend starting with your larger muscle groups and then proceeding to the smaller muscle groups. The most demanding exercises are those performed by your large muscle groups and you will need your smaller muscles to get the most out of these exercises. For example, in a bench press your shoulders and triceps are involved in stabilizing your arms, so you want them to be strong so you don't drop the weight on your chest. The bonus? By the time you get to your shoulder and triceps exercises, your muscles will be warmed up and ready to go. However, this isn't written in blood so do what works for you. In addition, you don't necessarily need to do as many sets with your smaller muscle groups since they're used so much in other exercises.

How Much Weight To Use

The easiest way to determine how much weight you should use on each lift is to guess (not very scientific, huh?):

1. Pick up a light weight and do a warm up set of the exercise of your choice, aiming for about 10 to 16 repetitions.
2. For set 2, increase your weight by 5 or more pounds and perform your goal number of repetitions. If you can do more than your desired number of reps, heavy up again for your 3rd set.
3. In general, you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY do the desired reps. You should be struggling by the last rep, but still able to finish it with good form.
4. It may take awhile to find the right amount of weight for each exercise.
5. In general, you can use heavier weights with larger muscle groups such as chest, back and legs. You'll need smaller weights for the shoulders and arms.

Choosing Repetitions and Sets

How Many Reps/Sets To Do

You've figured out how much weight to use for your chosen exercises...what about the number of sets and repetitions? Your decision should be based on your goals. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 8-12 reps for muscular strength and 10-15 reps for muscular endurance. They also recommend at least 1 set of each exercise to fatigue although you'll find that most people perform about 3 sets of each exercise. In general:

• For fat loss: Do 10-12 reps using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired reps and 1-3 sets (1 for beginners, 2-3 for intermediate and advanced exercisers). Rest about 30 seconds-1 minute between sets and at least one day between workout sessions
• For muscle gain: Do 6-8 reps enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired reps and 3 or more sets, resting for 1-2 minutes between sets and 3 or more days between sessions.

• For beginners, give yourself several weeks of conditioning before going to this level. You may need a spotter for many exercises.
• For health and muscular endurance: Do 12-16 reps using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired reps and 1-3 sets, resting 20-30 seconds between sets and at least one day between workout sessions.

How Long To Rest Between Exercises/Workout Sessions

Again, this will depend on your goal. Higher intensity (i.e., when lifting heavy) exercise requires a longer rest. When lifting to fatigue, it takes an average of 3 to 5 minutes for your muscles to rest for the next set. When using lighter weight and more repetitions, it takes between 30 seconds and 1 minute for your muscles to rest.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends training each muscle group 2 to 3 times a week. But, the number of times you lift each week will depend on your training method. In order for muscles to repair and grow, you'll need about 48 hours of rest between workout sessions. If you're training at a high intensity, take a longer rest.

Where to Workout

You don't have to join a gym to get a great strength training workout. A gym is nice because you'll have access to both machines and free weights, so you have plenty of variety. If you do join a gym, it's a good idea to incorporate both types of equipment into your workout routine for variety. What's the difference? This article explains all.

If you decide to workout at home, here are a few items you might want to consider buying:

• Resistance bands are around $6 to $15. They're small, light, travel well and you get get a full body workout with it.
• Dumbbells. They're cheap and you can do a variety of exercise with them. Find them at your local Target or Walmart. Other options include a barbell set, an exercise ball and/or a weight bench.
• A step is more expensive (a good one goes for around $85 or so) but you can use for everything from step aerobics to weight bench to plant-holder (although I don't recommend it for that).
• For tips on setting up your home gym, check out this in-depth article.
• For more, see Best Strength Training Equipment

Another opinion on slow lifting

Is it true that the best way to build muscle is by doing really slow repetitions?

IB, Southampton

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Several years ago, a study suggested that lifting weights slowly -14 seconds per repetition - increases strength faster than lifting at normal speeds.

But there was a flaw.

The slow lifters gained more strength in slow lifts than the others gained in normal speed lifts.

They never compared the two groups in absolute strength.

"There's no one size fits all way to build muscle, you have to look at your training regime, your diet, even your genetic make up," says Ceri Hannan, national fitness manager at Fitness First.

He suggests that to boost muscle fibre, you alternate between slow and medium speed repetitions to 'shock' your muscles.

"Generally, however, it's better to push slower because it makes you concentrate on your technique and control more, which is the biggest problem," adds Hannan.

As a rule, count to four lowering a weight, and to two pushing or pulling it up.

But don't ignore speed completely.

A study from George Washington University in the US looked at slow versus normal lifting, comparing how much could be lifted for one repetition before and after a ten week training programme.

Those lifting weights at the normal speed gained 24% more strength than the tortoise trainers.

"Vary your workout speed as much as possible and, more than anything, don't push weights above your station," Hannan advises.

Metabolism and Exercise

Here are some factors that do influence the number of calories a person expends in general:

Genetics

Some people are born with high metabolisms (the rate at which one's body uses calories) and others are born with low metabolisms. The main culprit of these phenomena is the thyroid gland. Some individuals produce more thyroxin (the hormone that is secreted from the thyroid) than others. Thyroxin is responsible for metabolism, so if a person's body produces a high-normal amount of thyroxin, s/he will utilize calories more quickly. If a person's body produces a low-normal amount of thyroxin, s/he will utilize calories more slowly. NOTE: if thyroxin is out of normal range in either direction, it is dangerous and needs medical attention.

Gender

Typically, men have greater muscle mass than women. Since muscle requires more calories to maintain, men tend to have 10 - 15 percent faster metabolisms than women. Similarly, men have a lower body fat percentage than women.

Age

Metabolic rate is higher in childhood than in adulthood. Children are growing and need more calories to fulfill their bodies' requirements. After the age of 20 years, metabolism drops 2 percent per decade.

Brain Power

The brain is only 2 percent of the body's weight, but accounts for more than 20 percent of total calories used. Also, the length of time per day spent awake affects the amount of calories utilized. We expend more calories when we are awake than when we are asleep.

Fever

For every increase of 0.5°C (32.9°F) in body temperature, BMR increases by approximately 7 percent. For example, if someone has a fever of 42°C (107.6°F), s/he would have an increase in metabolic rate of 50 percent. The reason for this is that chemical reactions in the body occur more quickly at higher temperatures.

Medications

Some medications, such as anti-depressants, can slow down metabolic processes and lead to weight gain.

During exercise, the following factors influence calorie expenditure:

Cardiovascular Exercise Intensity

The intensity of aerobic exercise has the greatest impact on calorie usage during exercise. As exercise intensity increases, the greater the caloric expenditure during and after exercise. Intensity refers to the rate of exertion during exercise, which can be measured by VO₂ max (oxygen consumption), heart rate, or perceived exertion. Here's an example of cardiovascular exercise intensity: running on a treadmill at 6.5 mph is more intense than running at 5.5 mph, so increasing speed can impact intensity. However, two people can be running at 5.5 mph, but if one runs on an incline, that activity would be more intense.

Cardiovascular Exercise Duration

The length of time per exercise session not only impacts the number of calories utilized during exercise, but also the number of calories to be utilized after exercise. The longer the bout of physical activity, the more calories will be expended right after it is over, a.k.a. the 'after-burn.'

Intermittent vs. Single Bouts of Exercise

Several studies have concluded that intermittent aerobic exercise expends more calories overall than continuous exercise. People used more calories during two, 25-minute sessions when compared to a continuous 50-minute bout of the same exercise. This occurs for two reasons: first, the body has to work harder at rest to move from an anaerobic state, using glucose and other simple and complex carbohydrates during the first few minutes of exercise, to an aerobic state, which relies on fat as its main energy source during more sustained activity. This will happen twice in intermittent exercise bouts versus once in a continuous bout. Also, there is more 'after-burn' of calories in intermittent exercise sessions versus one continuous session.

Resistance Training

The intensity of weight training also influences calories utilized. Heavier lifting (3 sets, 8 exercises, 3 - 8 reps at 80 - 90 percent of 1RM) will use more calories during and right after than lighter weight lifting (4 sets, 8 exercises, 15 reps at 50 percent of 1RM). 1RM refers to the weight of one repetition at maximal strength. For example, if a person's 1RM of a squat is 100 pounds, then heavy lifting would be doing 3 sets of 3 - 8 reps of squats at 80 - 90 lbs. Lighter weight lifting would be squatting 50 lbs for 4 sets of 15 reps.

Fitness Level

People who are more fit expend fewer calories during and right after exercise than people who are less fit. This occurs because people who have been exercising more consistently have faster recovery time in breathing and heart rate, and repair muscle more quickly

Slow Weight Lifting vs Faster Reps

When lifting weights try and go slower and more controlled with lighter weights for more muscle mass.
With slower repetition speed you effectively increase intensity of the lifting (concentric) phase while decreasing momentum. While momentum may allow you to lift bigger weights, it basically reduces target muscle stimulation and intensity while also increasing your chances for injury. Researchers in Massachusetts, USA and in collaboration with the YMCA, looked at this phenomenon on middle-aged men and women (mean age 53). They divided these previously untrained people into two groups, all performing 2-3 days per week training in this 8-10 week program.

One group was performing weight training at normal repetition speed (7 seconds) while the other was performing it at slow speed or 14 seconds. To ensure that muscle time under tension was constant, the normal speed group performed 8-10 reps while the slow speed group performed 4-6 repetitions. They conducted two studied and in both, the slow speed group increased strength significantly more than their faster speed counterparts. In study one, the slow speed group showed a mean strength increase of 12 kg while the normal speed group showed an only 8 kg improvement. In the second study, the slow speed showed a 10.9 kg increase while the normal speed showed an increase of 7.1 kg.

This study shows the importance of repetition speed when performing resistance training and further cements the idea that weight must be lifted in a fully controlled manner. This holds especially true when training for strength increases in older adults.