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Exercise without any doubt plays a crucial role in any weight control
programme; it can help you to lose weight by burning off any excess calories
that you have eaten beyond the recommended daily amount. A good daily
exercise routine not only helps you to remove weight but also can help
to ward off diseases associated with weight gain and improve your immediate
overall health.
Your weight depends entirely on the amount of calories that you consume
each day which aren't burnt off through exercise, as everything we eat
contains calories.
All forms of exercise burns off calories whether it be doing an hours
aerobic exercise or just taking a slow stroll for 15 minutes or so, of
course the more active you are the more calories will be burned.
It is only by balancing the amount of calories you take in with those
you burn can weight loss or diet be successful and by maintaining regular
exercise can you keep the weight you lose off permanently.
How much exercise should I do per day?
Even the smallest amount of exercise is beneficial and even those people
who have been inactive for a while can gain benefit from as little as
30 minutes of physical exercise per day.
However to gain the full benefits from exercise experts have recommended
that at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise be done most days of the
week along with some form of anaerobic exercise consisting of muscle strengthening
and stretching at least three times a week.
Of course if you have been inactive for a while you should always start
off slowly and build up the exercise over months, otherwise you risk injuring
yourself and putting your health in danger by straining your body.
Good forms of exercise for the beginner are walking and swimming at a
pace which you find comfortable, gradually building up to more strenuous
or longer routines as you become fitter and healthier.
What is aerobic exercise?
Aerobic exercise is any form of exercise which involves using the large
muscles and which makes the heart and lungs work harder and faster than
they normally would over an extended period of time.
Aerobic exercise is not only beneficial to those losing weight but it
also a great form of exercise which provides benefits for the cardiovascular
system. Forms of aerobic exercise are walking, biking, jogging, swimming
and cross-country skiing.
What is anaerobic exercise?
Anaerobic exercise is any form of exercise which gives the muscles resistance,
the most popular form of anaerobic exercise is weight training. However
if you have been inactive for a long period then start off with very light
weights and then gradually move up to heavier ones.
Moderately intense activities
These are forms of exercise which you will perform during the day, for
example gardening and housework, this type of exercise can be performed
any time during the day that you can fit it in and for any period of time.
Examples of this type of exercise are:
* A short walk to pick the children up from school
* Raking leaves and grass from the lawn
* Walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator
* Walking the dog for ten minutes or so.
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