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Weight Resistance Exercises• Weight resistance exercises are the best exercises for losing weight because as you know from the preceding page when you lose weight you lose water, fat and muscle. So you want to build or at least maintain muscle as you lose weight. Otherwise you will have a higher proportion of fat and a lower proportion of muscle making your body a less efficient fat burner. So check with your MD before you begin an exercise program. If you follow this program and the Healthy Eating Guidelines you can get to this.
Excellent Program - 30 Minutes a Day; 4 Times a WeekLet’s look at the basics of a program of free weight resistance exercises: • make it a program you will stick to – about 30 or 40 minutes a day • you’ll find illustrations of these exercises in a number of books • the free weight training exercises concentrate on one part of the body each day for 4 days • you need 3 levels of weights – and use them in this order: Medium (12 repetitions), Heavy (8 reps) and Light (20 reps) • the actual weight at each level is relative to your current strength – as you gain strength you will graduate to heavier weights: your Medium weights will become your Light weights; your Heavy weights will become your Medium Weights; you will get new Heavy weights and sell or loan your original Light weights to someone starting out • These basic weight lifting exercises are really going to help you build muscle to burn fat. • the other 3 days of the week you do aerobic-based exercises that you like – vigorous walking, cycling, roller blading (in-line skating), ice skating, serious hiking – but remember
• Light aerobic exercises to warm up your chest and back • Back Extensions (3 sets) alternating each with a set of Push Ups • Dumbell Row 3 sets alternating each set with a set of Seated Chest Lifts • Working the Lower Abs (lower portion of abdominal muscle) with reverse crunch curl; reverse crunch;straight leg curl and lower ab combo • Light stretching of muscles used – hold each stretch for 10 seconds – hold steady in the stretch – don’t “bounce” Day 2 Legs • • Lunges alternating legs – a total of 3 sets • Pliés – 3 sets • With ankle weights – 3 sets of Leg Extensions alternating each set with a set of Leg Curls • Working the Abs in Oblique – cross crunches, angle side crunch, full side crunch • Light stretching of muscles used – hold each stretch for 10 seconds – hold steady in the stretch – don’t “bounce” Strong thigh and calve muscles are important especially as you age since age often brings more dizziness. Strong leg muscles allow you to recover quickly, thus avoiding a damaging fall. Are you feeling the effects of these weight resistance exercises yet? OK, on to Day 3. Day 3 Your Choice Day 4 Shoulders • Light aerobic exercises to warm up your shoulders • Standing Laterals 3 sets alternating each set with a set of Standing Upright Row • Seated Overhead Press 3 sets alternating each set with a set of Seated Rear Deltoids • Upper Abs – 4-count crunches, upper fiber crunches • Light stretching of muscles used – hold each stretch for 10 seconds – hold steady in the stretch – don’t “bounce” Day 5Arms • Light aerobic exercises to warm up your arms • Seated Bicep Curl 3 sets alternating each set with a set of Overhead Tricep Press • Seated Twisting Bicep Curl 3 sets alternating each set with a set of Tricep Kickbacks • Combo Abs – combining above Ab exercises into combo sets • Light stretching of muscles used – hold each stretch for 10 seconds – hold steady in the stretch – don’t “bounce” Days 6 and 7 You get to pick something aerobic. Take your spouse (or family) on a hike, go swimming, a family bike ride on safe trails. Imagine active activities and keep moving. Remember we did not evolve as TV watchers, video game players, or computer geeks. We evolved as a species that moved significant distances each day and engaged in physical labour. So use the modern equivalent to manage weight and to maintain muscle - active activities. Remember exercises to lose weight quickly is not the goal. If you work to build muscle you will burn fat. But at some point it is possible that you will still "weigh" the same as when you began. Why is that possible? Muscle weighs more than fat. So you may have decreased your percentage of body fat, which is very good, without losing weight. It really depends on where you started and where you got to. Are your old clothes getting too big around the waist and bum - typically places where we store fat? Has your percentage of body fat gone down? Well, congratulate yourself - you are getting much fitter. And if you keep it up, along with all the hints in Healthy Eating (opens new window) you are on your way to your optimum body composition and weight. When you're there you just use all the principles of Weight Management to maintain that beautiful body that has become the envy of all your friends and relatives. So don't worry about exercises to lose weight quickly. Use these principles instead and lose weight wisely and effectively so that you keep it off. Colgan Institute Power ProgramFor a more sophisticated program involving more than free weight exercises check out the Colgan Institute’s Power Program. Dr. Michael Colgan is one of the gurus of this field of body strengthening. Click here for his book (opens new window). You will see that exercises to lose weight quickly is not the focus of the Power Program. And that’s part of its sophistication. Check it out. So if you want to spend some time and you’re serious about weight management, exercise and strengthening your body you now have some basic information about free weight training exercises, weight resistance exercises, group exercises you have some basics.
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• walking up and down hills is more effective than only up or only down: uphill lowers triglycerides while downhill does not; uphill and downhill both reduce LDL – the bad cholesterol; glucose tolerance is most improved by downhill walking. AHA Scient Sess Abstract 3826 Nov 10 2004
Light aerobic exercises to warm up your legs