Burning Calories to Stay Healthy and Fit

It is a well known and time tested fat that exercises helps to burn calories and stay fit. Exercise works in two different ways in helping to burn calories and lose weight. Firstly, exercise causes the body muscles to strain harder and do work. Secondly, exercise causes the muscle tissues in the body to enlarge and thus raises the metabolic rate which helps to burn calories while resting. The calories burnt during exercise continue to expend even after the workout session has been through.

Exercise as a form of physical activity helps in the burning of calories during a particular workout and more importantly also helps to continue burning added calories even after the exercise session is through. The best form of exercise to burn calories and stay fit is aerobics training or cardiovascular workouts. Such type of physical activity is helpful in raising the metabolic rate. A combination of resistance training or weightlifting helps in toning the muscles after the cardiovascular activity.

Aerobic exercises such as jogging, cycling, swimming, brisk walking etc. are highly effective in burning calories. Weight training on the other hand helps to build muscle and reduce fat in the body. With the help of weight training the individual burns more calories and tones up the body muscles. Other forms of exercises then help in burning calories are squats, pushups, jumping squats etc. It is important to take the advice of a fitness instructor in order to effectively burn calories and stay fit. Above all a healthy diet, in combination with regular fitness is a perfect way to stay fit and stay in shape. A spinning workout is also an ideal physical activity that causes faster burning of calories. It is a high intensity physical workout that involves the simulation of a challenging bicycle ride, replete with varying degrees and speeds.

Exercise and Weight Reduction

Daily physical activity that is done consistently and regularly burns calories faster and more effectively. Other forms of physical activity that you can alternate between regular workouts include step aerobics, rock climbing, rowing, spinning and sprinting. These forms of cardiovascular workouts not only help in burning calories but also utilize the arms and legs for strength and power. Thus apart from burning excess fat, such activities also help in building strength in the body. Almost all forms of cardiovascular workout involved the use of the lower body and the upper body, thus making a perfect workout for the entire body. For example, step aerobics make use of the legs, the hips and the glutes in order to burn calories. Similarly activities such as bicycling and swimming is also helpful in burning calories and tone overall body muscles.

Our body burns calories all the time. Even when we are resting we burn between 50 to 85 calories. So when we are involved in activities we burn more calories. When you walk you breathe more oxygen, which is used to produce energy. This burns fat and you have a trimmer, leaner body.

How Far Do You Have To Walk?

If you are driving or going by bus to work, park or get off the bus a few blocks away from your work place and walk that short distance. During lunch break you can take a half hour walk outside. Using the stairs instead of the elevator is also beneficial. Few people are under the wrong impression that being active at home or office all day gets enough exercise, which is untrue.

You should walk at a comfortable pace, between 2.5 and 3.5 miles per hour, so that it does not leave you breathless. This is an aerobic exercise because you are burning up the Oxygen as fast as you are taking it in. The motions of the legs, feet and arms during the phases of walking are called gait, over-stride or under-stride will disrupt the natural walking gait. Your arms should swing naturally from the shoulders when you walk.

Submitted on January 16, 2014