Participating in regular exercise can significantly affect your weight loss success. In order to lose body fat, you must burn more calories than you consume from food and drinks. When you're physically active, you burn more calories, which directly contribute to the total amount of burned calories. Both cardiovascular exercise and weight training can help you to reach your weight loss goals.
Function
Cardiovascular exercises, such as when you run or swim, require your body to burn a significant amount of calories in order to fuel your tissues. It's the most effective type of exercise in that it makes the biggest impact on the total calories burned. Depending on the intensity of your activity, calories burned can reach up to 900 per hour of exercise. You don't burn a large amount of calories when you're lifting weights, but the lean muscle mass that you gain from regular weight training increases your resting metabolism, meaning you'll burn more calories at all times, even when you're sleeping. Over time, this makes a significant impact on total calories burned, and thus, weight loss.
Cardiovascular Frequency
The more cardiovascular exercise you're able to complete throughout the week, the more total calories you'll burn. To lose weight, Mayo Clinic.com suggests including at least 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine seven days per week, with longer durations providing even better results. If you prefer to take a day or two off per week, increase your exercise duration during each session to at least 40 minutes.
Weight Training Frequency
To increase lean muscle mass, lift weights twice per week, with at least a day of rest between each session. A common workout schedule is to lift Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you're schedule allows, add a third day to your workout routine, either by adding an additional session on Sunday or working out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Rest
Providing your muscles with adequate rest is necessary in order to see fitness improvements and to maintain a regular routine without over-training or becoming too fatigued. It's okay to give yourself a day of rest from any physical activity. Listen to your body and take breaks as necessary.
Considerations
An aggressive exercise schedule will facilitate your weight loss, but it's important to recognize the impact that your nutritional habits will have on your overall success. Exercise contributes to the total amount of calories burned. It's easy to cancel out the calories you burn through exercise by eating too many calories throughout the day. Make adjustments to your eating habits as necessary to ensure you're setting yourself up for success.
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