In past articles, I have written about high-intensity interval training and its benefits in prolonging the after-burn effect. This is the ability of the body to increase metabolic disturbances hours after your workout sessions. But in this article, I want to take a step back and make exercise recommendations for people that are overweight and can’t handle the stress and anaerobic activity volume that comes with high-intensity metabolic training programs.

Exercise is crucial for long-term healthy weight loss. Regular cardiovascular workouts such as running, walking, and stair climbing burn calories, increase circulation, improve heart health, and increase endurance. Getting even a modest amount of exercise — the equivalent of walking 30 to 45 minutes — prevents weight gain and promotes positive changes in body composition.

The results of a new study support existing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that adults get 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.¹

Regular exercise not only burns calories, but builds lean muscle mass and raises resting metabolic rate, enabling you to burn even more calories.  This is because muscle requires more energy than fat for maintenance. In fact, the most important reason for the high (and still rising) rate of obesity in the United States is because most people are not getting the amount of exercise their body needs.

When a person loses weight by severe calorie restriction, exercise increases energy expenditure and slows the rate of fat-free tissue loss that occurs. Exercise also helps maintain the resting metabolic rate, which contributes significantly to the daily caloric expenditure.

For weight loss, the basic guidelines to follow include calorie reduction, increased physical activity, and personal behavior modification that will improve eating and exercise habits.

For people that need to lose 10% of their body weight, the initial goal should be 1 to 2 lb per week over a 6-month period. A continued physical activity program will help to achieve that goal.  Exercise appears to be the best predictor of long-term weight loss and its subsequent maintenance.

Reference

1. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/everyone/recommendations/index.htm

[Ed. note: Carlo X. Alvarez is a noted authority in the customized fitness and sports performance field. He is recognized for his integrated and systematic approach to training, based on a foundation of safe and proven methodology that has direct and measurable benefits to performance. To learn more, click here.]

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