Many of us added ‘losing weight’, ‘getting healthy’, or ‘getting in shape’ as a New Year’s Resolution. Let’s face it, many of us add that resolution each and every year. So now that you’ve bought that gym membership, how do you get the most out of it?
To get the most for you money when you exercise at the gym you should engage in intense exercise. I know, I know, we all have days where we just want to do the elliptical on level one or take a leisurely walk on the treadmill, and that’s fine; at least you’re getting up and moving. But, what if you heard that you could lose one pound after just 5 intense exercise workouts? Well, it’s possible; you just have to sweat a lot.
Researchers have found that men who bike intensely for 45 minutes burned an extra 190 calories over the next 14 hours after their workout. That’s in addition to the 519 calories they burned while working out. Do the math and that means they are burning 709 more calories on exercise days when compared to rest days. Assuming they don’t eat any more food on exercise days versus non-exercise days, after just five days of these high-intensity workouts and they will have lost a full pound of body fat.
You too can achieve these kinds of results. In order to achieve this kind of benefit, you need to be sweating during your workout, have an increased body temperature and an increased heart rate. Think “just barely being about to talk while working out” kind of exertion and you’ll have it. Unfortunately, low to moderate intensity activities, such as walking or leisurely biking, have not been found to produce the increased calorie-burn post-workout. However, jogging, sprinting, swimming, high-intensity aerobics and cycling all count.
If you aren’t able to do a full 45 minutes of intense activity, try working up to that level with intervals. Start out at moderate pace to warm up, then increase the intensity so that you are sweating and have an increased heart rate. Continue at that pace for as long as you’re comfortable then slow back down to your moderate/easy pace to catch your breath and regain your rhythm. Keep increasing and decreasing your intensity for the duration of your workout.
If you want hard numbers, a good 45 minute interval workout could look something like this: 10 minute warm up, gradually increasing intensity (either speed or difficulty) followed by 5-10 intervals consisting of 30-180 seconds of high intensity followed by 30-180 seconds of lower intensity exercise, finishing with a 5 minute cool down.
Of course any exercise is good for you and it’s important to “use it or lose it” in regards to your body. However, if weight loss is your goal, interval training or high-intensity exertion will give you the biggest bang for your workout buck.