Why You Need More Than Daily Aerobic Exercise
You Need More Than Aerobic Exercise
Most people have a very limited amount of time everyday to workout. In fact I was just talking to a friend yesterday that said between work and family responsibilities she only has 30 minutes a day to fit a workout in, so her routine is to go running or hit the treadmill. Although I usually do have more than 30 minutes to workout…. 30 minutes just seems to be the amount of time that a 4 year old can stay focused (and outta mischief) without me. So I tend to do well with a 30-40 minute workout myself. Since I am not a “runner”, I mentioned how I have really been enjoying more strength training workouts.
Most of us know the benefits of aerobic workouts (walking, running, dance routines, etc). When you exercise aerobically you obviously increase your oxygen intake, strengthen your heart muscle as well as your entire cardiovascular system. If that’s all you have time for, than you are better off than doing nothing, but are you really getting the “biggest bang for your workout buck”?
You may not know that many muscle building exercises are also very aerobic as well. You will know this is true if you notice your heart rate rising while doing them. Try a Kettleball workout if you want to know what I mean. ; D – I just tried Kettleballing it for the first time this week and I must admit…. I really liked it.
Muscles building exercises, especially ones using some type of weight or resistance band help your body to maintain the highest level of lean muscle mass while strengthening the bones, tendons and ligaments all at the same time. This will really come in handy later on in life too.
There are two types of muscle building workouts that will either allow you to gain muscle mass or tone your existing muscle. The goal of a low rep, high weight muscle building workout is to increase muscle mass, or plump up the muscle to its greatest volume. Lifting heavy weight causes the muscle fibers to swell and you will notice a significant increase in the mass of muscle under your skin. The goal of high rep, low weight muscle building workouts is to tone the muscle and make it stronger without a significant noticeable change in mass. Women often perform toning workouts in order to sculpt their muscles and make them appear more defined and bodybuilders select programs that allow them to increase mass.
When people begin new muscle building workouts they expect results quickly. This is fine if your body is lean to begin with. But if you have a high ratio of body fat to lean muscle, you will have to also do aerobic cardiovascular exercises to burn off fat in combination with muscle building workouts to build muscle in order to see the desired results. Eating a low sugar and fat diet composed of lean proteins and low carbohydrates is also helpful in building muscle and reducing fat.
One of the benefits of muscle building workouts, aside from larger and more toned muscles, is an increase in your body’s ability to burn fat. Even when you are not exercising, your muscles continue to burn fat more effectively when you perform a regular fitness program that includes muscle building workouts. Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and improves the function of the cardiovascular system which is important in delivering blood to your muscles. But to continuously burn fat you need a combination of both aerobic training and muscle building.
It is a misconception that by working out you are actually building additional muscle tissue. We are born with the highest number of muscle fibers we will ever have and that will never change. What you are trying to change through muscle building workouts is the appearance of the muscle tissue, bulking it up and making the fibers larger and more defined.Muscle building workouts fine tune the body and make it better able to function and burn away fat.
More Thoughts from Mellisa McJunkin – Health and Wellness Advocate
Question: What are you without an immune system?
Answer: You are dead.
As morbid as it may sound, it’s true. When your immune system is weak you will get sick. When your immune system completely fails you will die.
If I could show you a way to boost your Natural Killer Cells by up to 437%, would you be interested in hearing more? Of course you would.
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