subject: Incorporating Fat-burning Intensity And Variety To Exercise For Permanent Weight Loss Success [print this page] When it comes to exercise and movement, it seems there are two main reasons to do so.
First, since we're human beings, we require it! A wide variety of motion stimulates and maximizes our brain function, and therefore every other function of the body and mind. Stimulation via motion is critical for learning and cognition, memory, attention, focus, mood regulation, hormonal balance, and immune function, and a sense of well being, to name a few of the major functions associated with movement neurology.
These are fairly significant reasons to move! Clearly, movement isn't optional if we want optimal function.
The good news here is, in the case of movement as a requirement for optimal health and function, our brains aren't overly picky! This movement can come from just about any type of activity. Activities that involve: endurance, speed, power, strength, balance, agility, flexibility, posture, proprioception, and so on.
The second reason that many people actually choose to exercise, on the other hand, is for weight loss or some other reason associated with our external appearance. In this case, we view exercise as a means to an end. Fair enough! After all, there are certainly worse things we could do in an effort to lose weight.
When it comes to exercise that brings results in the form of calorie burning, fat burning and lean muscle building, there are two critically important concepts for your success:
1)intensity, and
2)variety
Intensity simply means accomplishing more work (typically in a shorter period of time). The higher the intensity, followed by appropriate recovery periods, the more fat you'll burn in the long run.
Keep in mind that balance is key. You don't need to do high intensity work outs on a daily basis. In fact, this could sabotage your efforts to burn fat effectively for the long haul. A few times per week is plenty.
Many sports naturally incorporate these bursts of high intensity followed by short recovery times. Consider playing sports like soccer, tennis, racquetball, squash, basketball, hockey, football, skiing and boarding, and so on. Whether you play recreationally or competitively is not the point here. Just play!
Variety is fairly self-explanatory. Mix it up! Shake things up on a regular basis. Do several different types of exercise in any given week or month. Do some of the aforementioned high-intensity type work outs each week, but also add some other forms of movement, too.
Simple ideas for adding variety to your exercise are: change your work out routine frequently; change where you work out; change the length of your work out; change the speed, tempo or rhythm of your exercise; change the number of sets or repetitions you're doing; change the type of equipment or tools you're using, or the amount of weight you're lifting; change the order of your exercises, and so on.
An intentional focus on adding variety to your exercise will prevent you from hitting plateaus, both mentally and physiologically.
Intensity and variety are two critically important keys to achieving your optimal body composition. If I could add a third, I'd say "consistency". It's great to incorporate intensity and variety for a few work outs, but the results happen when we stay consistent with this approach over time.
