Exercise To Lose Weight

Posts Tagged ‘Treadmill’

Anytime you exercise, your brain releases chemicals known as endorphins that produce a feeling of euphoria, which is known as “runners high”, which is also very easy to become chemically addicted to.

Without this rush, you’ll feel irritable and out of it until you exercise again. Therefore, you’ll go on exercising and not listen to what your body is actually telling you – which is to stop.

The main reason addicts will continue to push themselves lies in what will happen when they don’t work out. Normally when they are unable to exercise, they will display signs of depression, anxiety, confusion, and be less happy with themselves.

Aches and pains Over exercising doesn’t only affect the mind, but the body as well. Exercise will initially do what it is intended to do, give you a fit body but once you cross the line however, it can drastic. Muscle damage, osteoarthritis, and heart problems will all be waiting in the wings if you continue to overdo it. The body has limits and if you push beyond that limit, you’ll do nothing but harm yourself.

Obsessive exercise tends to happen among those who are new to exercise. Therefore, if you are keen to reap the benefits of getting fit, you’ll tend to overstep the limits.

The initial signs of over exercise are exhaustion, which can lead to a build up of fatigue. Keep in mind, it isn’t only the muscles that are at risk, but the bones as well. Many people who exercise push themselves to the point of injuries such as shin splints or even stress fractures, then refuse to rest, which causes greater and sometimes even permanent damage.

Even a brisk walk in the morning doesn’t come without risk, as walking too much can lead to osteoarthritis. When you walk, you are working against gravity. Even though you are exercising your muscles, you are also harming your knee joints as well.

Many people who walk up to an hour or more everyday end up with complaints of aches in the knees. The fact is, jogging also harms the knees, and too many sit ups can hurt as well. As with any type of exercise, moderation is the key.

You should always start off gradually, and combine several different types of workouts, which is one thing that obsessive exercisers forget to do. One of the biggest complication factors of people who get addicted to exercise is that they will tend to perform the same workout each and every day, which further increases the risk of permanent damage.

Think right You should never work out to the point where you feel completely exhausted once you have finished. Your limit with exercise should be 45 minutes to an hour, four or five days a week. When you are finished, your workout should leave you feeling fresh and energetic. Every week should make it a point to take a day’s break – as your body will need to relax and rejuvenate.

The key to achieving this completely lies in your attitude, as exercising is the way to a healthy life. If you do it only to please yourself, you’ll defeat the entire purpose when you stand there on the weighing machine.

If you take things one day at a time and don’t over do it, you’ll be well on your way to a healthy body. Exercising can be a lot of fun and a way to relax, if you don’t rush it. Start off slow and gradually work your way up. Before you know it, you’ll know how to prevent injuries before they happen and you’ll know exactly what you need to do to remain healthy.

The type of exercise you do all depends on you and what you like to do. What you hate doing, paying membership fees, and whether or not to buy equipment are all things you need to consider as well as answer.

If you choose something that you don’t like to do, you aren’t going to keep doing it for a long period of time. Give it some thought – if you don’t like jogging, you aren’t going to get up at 6 AM and go running. If you can’t find something you like to do, choose something you hate the least, which will normally be walking.

Walking is great exercise, as it suits all levels of fitness. Anyone can start a walking program at any time, it’s normally the intensity and duration that differs. Walking is also a social exercise, as it isn’t difficult to find a training partner to chat with while you exercise. Walking with a partner will also make time go by faster.

No matter what exercise you choose, you should start at a low level of intensity and build it up over a period of weeks, which is essential to the longevity of your exercise program. If you start off too hard, you could end up with an injury which will require time off to get over.

If you are really in bad shape, you should start off by walking for 10 minutes each day. Then, increase it by 5 minutes every 2 weeks. To make things more interesting, you should try walking a different course every few days. You can also roster a different friend to walk with you each day of the week.

If walking isn’t your thing, then you may want to try a fitness center. They have loads of variety and normally have trainers on hand to answer any questions you may have. When you choose a fitness center, make sure that they give good service.

If they aren’t willing to treat you well before you join, then they certainly won’t after you join. You should also make sure that the equipment they use is well taken care of. It’s easy to find out, as all you have to do is listen to the machines. If they squeak a lot or make noise, then chances are they aren’t being taken care of.

If you still aren’t sure what you should do, then you should look into golf or tennis. Both are good social activities in most areas, and you can even meet new friends. Tennis is great for fitness although it isn’t for someone who is just starting out. If you haven’t exercised in a long time, then golf may be the best activity for you.

The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. Far more significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. If a man’s fatty tissue is bigger than 14% up to 15% of his body mass, or if a woman’s is more than 20% to 22%, he or she is overweight, or more precisely, overfat.

A small amount of fat is needed for padding the internal organs and as insulation under the skin. Excess fat leads to such diseases as diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder problems. There are very few, very fat persons. The reason is that the fittest, not the fattest survive.

The problem now is focused on how to resolve the problem. The problem with most people who want to lose weight is that they have the propensity to concentrate more on getting those numbers lower than what they are seeing now. What happens next is that they strive harder to achieve a lower weight, according to the “ever reliable” result of the weighing scale.

It would be more important to think of the human body as a heat-exchange engine that works on the basic principles of energy physics. The caloric balance equals the total calorie intake minus the total calorie expenditure.

Some of the calories people ingest are used for basal metabolism. As people get old, their bodies require fewer calories for this basic upkeep. Some calories are excreted as waste products. Some go into “work metabolism,” the energy expenditure required for any physical activity.

Hence, if people take in more calories than are used by these functions, there is a definite caloric excess. By the laws of physics, energy is transformed rather than destroyed. In this case, each excess of 3,500 calories is changed into a pound of fat. If people want to reverse this process, they have to burn up 3,500 calories to lose a single pound.

Winning the War Against Fat

When you think of fighting fat with exercise, you probably think of hours of hard, sweaty exertion. If this is the case, then, you will not get any farther. This is because people who are so much into losing more by exerting more effort tend to get bored easily.

Why? Because experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they are capable of doing creates a tendency to develop weariness and ennui. Hence, they give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up sulking in the corner with a bag of chips that seems to have all the bad calories in this world.

Now, you might ask, “What should be done instead?” The answer: cross training.

After some intensive studies and experimentations, health experts were able to come up with the concept of incorporating cross training in order to overcome or break the monotony or dullness in an exercise program.

Cross training refers to the integration of diverse movements or activities into a person’s conventional exercise routine. The main purpose of incorporating cross training into an exercise program is to avoid overdoing excess muscle damages and to put a stop to an imminent boredom.

Three of the most commonly used activities whenever a person decides to engage into cross training are swimming, running, and cycling.

In cross training, distance is one way to extend your activity as your condition improves. For this reason, you need to traverse a measured distance.

If possible, swim the course and measure the distance. If you will be using a running track, such courses usually are a quarter-mile per lap for a complete circuit.

Cross training offers a variety of benefits for fitness and fatloss. It builds up the strength and endurance of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It has also some tranquilizing effect on the nerves, and it burns up calories as much as it makes your “losing weight” more bearable.

Cross training has three basic components:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to induce relaxation. These begin with a careful planned walking and jogging regimen, depending on fitness level.

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good posture. These include some activities that are selected to encourage some people who are already burnt out with a particular routine.

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and effective for most of the people who wish to try to lose some fat.

Indeed, cross training is a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities. In fact, the idea of exercising is to like what you are doing, hence, if you engage into cross training, you will be aware of it that you have already achieve your desired weight.

Boiled down, cross training is, certainly, one way of having fun.

Exercise treadmill is a home exercise equipment but used also by cardiologists. It is also well known in the medical circles by many alternative names such as exercise ECG, Stress test – exercise treadmill, EKG – exercise treadmill etc. But before we get onto see the medical relevance of this wonderful simple exercise equipment, let us see what it does to our everyday life and how.

You are hard pressed for time, but you are aware that you are slightly going out of shape. And, your physician has advised you to reduce weight and get back into shape. It is here that the exercise treadmill comes to your rescue. One strong supporting point in its favor is treadmill is amongst the top calorie burning equipment.

What Does a Treadmill Do To You?
Basically, an exercise treadmill is used for general screening of heart to find out how good its general is and how it responds to stress or exercise. When you walk on the treadmill, physicians collect data like your cardio electrical activity on ECG while monitoring the blood pressure. These data can be interpreted later to find out whether the heart asks for additional oxygen as a reaction.

Stress test on treadmill helps doctors in determining the heart’s ability to withstand exercise. This in turn helps in determining the appropriate level of exercise so that an exercise regime is developed for persons in need. Apart from this, there are various other reasons, such as determine the causes of chest pain, for your doctor to go for stress test.

That apart, a survey conducted by Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association tells that people spend more on treadmills than other exercise/fitness equipments. The basic realities that go in support of exercise treadmill are the unbeatable workout on cardiovascular muscles and high rate of calorie burning. In a joint study, VA Medical Center in Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin put the calories burnt on treadmill on top of the list of calories burnt by other exercise machines. After a 60 minutes’ workout treadmill burns an average of 865-705 calories.

Benefits of Exercise Treadmill
1. Treadmill lets you exercise indoors avoiding bad weather
2. Adjustable speeds accommodates both running and walking
3. Little or no impact on heels, knee ankles, back and as a result fewer injuries. As a result you can run for years
4. High end treadmills allow adjusting of speeds and inclines so than running or walking uphill/downhill is simulated. They allow preprogramming exercise preferences like speed variations and inclines

Buying an Exercise Treadmill
1. Decide on long time exercise goals. There are different models to suit individual preferences
2. Consider the space availability/constraint at home to choose an apt size
3. Go for a continuous and heavy duty motor which lasts longer than others if the cost difference doesn’t bother you
4. Decide what dimensions of walking track is comfortable for you. Normally 4′x1.5′ suits most. Running may call for longer track than this
5. Check for deck thickness which must be 3/4″ to 1″ to support both running and walking Shock absorbers, smoother decks, instrument console warrantee, price and brand can’t be left out while making a decision.

It seems to me that most of the 97 million or so, overweight Americans have been somehow convinced that they cannot begin to get in shape and lose weight, until they spend a lot of money on home gyms, exercise and fitness equipment or even worse diet pills.  How can I make such an assumption you ask?

Well someone is paying for all of those expensive TV commercials that run 24/7 advertising their particular home gym or piece of exercise equipment.  You know, the ones with the extremely fit good looking man, or the sexy toned lady working away, smiling all the while.  People are buying this equipment otherwise the commercials would cease to run.   

By the way, instead of the fit toned athletes, why don’t they show overweight people huffing away & sweating on those treadmills and home gyms.  It’s all advertising psychology my friend, and yes it does work.  You see, in order to get you to buy their home gym, treadmill or piece of equipment, they must convince you that either you can’t get in shape without their piece of equipment, or that their home gym equipment will make it much easier for you to accomplish your fitness goals.

Here is where I think a lot of people turn this into an impulse purchase.  With a desire to get into shape and lose weight, they buy the piece of fitness equipment as seen in the commercial, with the hope, idea, or thought that it is going to make it easier for them to lose the weight and reach their fitness goals. 

Please allow me to prove my point.  The floor before your feet is absolutely free, and push-ups are an awesome complex (multiple muscles) exercise.  Push-ups involve your pectorals, triceps, abdominals, lower back muscles, glutes, quadriceps and even lats to some extent, (many of these muscles work to stabilize the body in the push-up position, but they are nonetheless being used.)  Now, you can drop down to that free floor under your feet, and do push-ups anytime of the morning, noon, or night, at a moments notice.  So how many have you done today?  And how many did you do yesterday, last week and the week before? 

If you haven’t performed any repetitions of these awesome fat burning, free, exercises, then what makes you think that buying a shiny new home gym is going to suddenly cause you to start working out?  Contracting muscles, building muscles, burning fat, and burning calories is going to take hard work, whether you use a fancy home gym or a more simple basic approach.  Oh, and ladies you need to be doing those push-ups too!

The one thing that doesn’t come with your new exercise equipment is a habit.  And, it is the habit, not a piece of exercise & fitness equipment that is going to determine whether you have a fit lean muscular body, or an overweight out of shape body 5 years from now.  Awesome, now go for it!

The availability of a 24hr fitness gym gives you absolute control over your muscle fitness routine. Home exercise machines equal 24hr workout access. Oh, the joys of no body-hugging fitness apparel, no travel time to health clubs like Fitness XSport, no parking hassles, no sweaty equipment, no demented, yapping dogs, and no weather woes! With 24hr fitness equipment such as a treadmill or elliptical machine at your disposal, you can be up and running in less time than it takes to say gym bag.

Anyone who exercises fitness choices on a daily basis, no matter what form these take, will experience an enhanced quality of life, a greater sense of vitality and wellbeing, and natural weight loss without excessively restrictive diets. Making a workout in your own 24hr fitness center part of your daily routine, also improves coping skills as far as stress is concerned.

That is, provided that you can find the inspiration to be consistent and disciplined about sweat equity without a Fitness XSport or similar gym membership. Perhaps you will need to have the glorious physique of a Muscle And Fitness Mag cover photograph on the refrigerator door, serving as a constant reminder of your 24hr fitness plans!

1. 24HR Fitness Center – Home-Based Proform Treadmill Daily Exercises Fitness

An exercise treadmill is one of the most popular 24hr fitness gym partners to have at home. With a home treadmill like Proform, there is no serious learning curve. If you can walk, you can use a treadmill. And if you are concerned about muscle fitness, daily exercises are a must.

The main advantages of using an exercise treadmill are that you walk or run in ‘one place’ in the comfort of your own 24hr fitness center, and that the treadmill’s treadbelt offers you superb joint-cushioning features. The best treadmill ratings promise up to 20% less joint-jarring than road running.

Studies have shown that a session on a 24hr fitness treadmill may allow you to burn up to 40% more calories, compared to a similar period on a stationary exercise bicycle or recumbent bike. The benefit of weight-bearing exercise as far as the prevention of osteoporosis is concerned, is common knowledge. With ever-ready 24hr fitness equipment in the form of a home treadmill at hand, you can build bone density daily, throughout the year.

What is great about having a 24hr fitness trainer at home, is that you can be in a constant dialogue with your muscle mentor. State-of-the-art consoles ply you with feedback at such a frenetic pace, that you can plan your workout down to the last drop of sweat. Some treadmills are even able to supplement your low-carb diet, by giving you details of the number of carbs you crushed in your last workout. This function makes it easy to combine exercise with a natural weight loss program.

You will also be able to keep track of speed, time, distance, heart rate, and other valuable data. The adjustable elevation ranges most treadmills sport, promote muscle strength, and constantly test your mettle. Some 24hr fitness machines, such as the equipment in the Proform Treadmill range and the Nordic Track Treadmill collection, are as close to a health and entertainment center as you can find. The flagship models come with built-in television screens, water bottle holders, cd players, and a number of other features designed to make the workout in your 24hr fitness center as enjoyable as possible. Talk about multi-tasking motivation!

2. 24HR Fitness Elliptical Trainer – Low-Impact Exercise For Joint Protection

If you have all sorts of aches and pains, such as knee pain, or arthritis in the knee, or just want to prevent joint injuries, an elliptical trainer may be your perfect personal 24hr fitness club partner. Jilt the joint-jarring of ordinary running and walking action, with the smooth motion of an elliptical machine. Your feet are firmly and comfortably secured in footplates or footpads, and the ‘walking’ motion keeps everything body part perfectly aligned. You still get the benefit of weight-bearing exercise, but the only impact you will experience while on this 24hr fitness trainer, will be that of improved cardio conditioning, aerobic capacity, and muscle fitness. Apart from your lower legs, your quadriceps and glutes will soon feel and show the effect of a workout on the elliptical trainer. Apparently the elliptical trainer is even more effective at burning calories than a treadmill!.

3. 24HR Fitness – A Handle On Muscle Fitness With An Elliptical Cross Trainer

Enhance the effect of an elliptical machine as a 24hr fitness trainer, by choosing a machine that also features handlebars for a very effective total body workout. The elliptical cross trainer option has the same ‘walking’ action as an ordinary elliptical trainer, but also works your arms, shoulders and chest. The added variety these programs offer, not only make this a very effective total-body form of exercise, but also adds interest that is likely to keep boredom at bay. Whether climbing or using the machine as an elliptical glider, you will get a great workout with quick, visible results. An elliptical trainer session is also a terrific warmup for strength training with weights. The elliptical movement is a combination of a biking and skiing motion, and combined with the arm action, is the most effective of the three 24hr fitness options mentioned here.

Muscle fitness and cardio conditioning is no sweat with your own 24hr fitness center at home.