subject: Getting The Most Out Of Exercise For Natural Weight Loss - Three Pointers [print this page] You know your focus is losing weight, and you realize exercise to lose weight naturally is very important. You've got your goals down on paper, and you're ready to get started on your journey to natural weight loss. Good for you!
But you're not sure how you're going to fit the exercised to lose weight into your schedule, and you're not sure how to go about exercising to ensure you burn the most fat in order to lose the weight. This isn't uncommon, so below are 3 pointers to help you out as you begin your exercise for weight loss program.
Start with cardio for natural weight loss. Most are aware that cardio is the best fat burning exercise you can do. And what's great about it is you can do it anywhere because you have a lot of options. Even something as simple as jumping up and down for a while gets your heart rate going and would be considered cardio exercise to lose weight, for example. Of course, the more common choices of cardio exercise for weight loss are running, swimming and jogging.
Fit exercise into your daily schedule. Often, we don't think outside the box to realize there are several ways to fit exercise into our daily routines without trying too hard. For one, you can opt to take the stairs instead of the elevator, or choose to park a ways away so you can walk further to get some extra steps in during the day. Plus, you can break your total exercise time down to smaller increments. In fact, fitness.gov states that 30 to 60 minutes of activity broken down into smaller segments of 10 or 15 minutes throughout the day has significant health benefits. So go for a walk at lunch, go out and dance a little one evening with a friend, or go for a swim before dinner. But you don't need to stress about doing it and fitting it into your schedule if you just take a moment to sit back, look at your calendar, and naturally add the exercise into your daily routine. You'll be losing weight naturally and having fun doing it in no time!
Know your target heart rate to get the most out of exercise for weight loss. Finally, it's good to be aware of your target heart rate. Many think if you work out hard and sweat a lot, you're burning the most fat possible. However, if you're working out too hard, and you're body is in stress mode, where your heart rate is racing, then you're not burning fat. In fact, in this case, you're body could go into flight or fight mode and begin to store fat, so you want your heart rate to remain within your target heart rate so your body will respond by burning the most fat calories possible. To determine your target heart rate to help you lose weight naturally, the Karvonen formula is widely used and accepted:
220 - Your age = Your Max Heart Rate
Your Max Heart Rate - Your Resting Heart Rate = Your Heart Rate Reserve
Your Heart Rate Reserve * 65% = Your Minimum Target Heart Rate
Your Heart Rate Reserve * 85% = Your Maximum Target Heart Rate
You would want your heart rate to stay between the minimum and maximum target heart rate using this formula while exercising to lose weight most efficiently.
By keeping these three tips in mind, you'll be well on your way to staying focused on losing weight naturally with a successful exercise program.