Using a combination of resistance training, healthy diet and cardiovascular exercise, you can improve your health and lose unwanted body fat. You can also add lean muscle mass while building strength and power. You do not need fancy routines, just consistent effort and attention to detail. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Resistance Training
Resistance training should be the basis of your program. Lifting weights not only builds strength and muscle, it also improves bone mineral density, which reduces your risk of both injury and osteoporosis. Your program should be built around large, compound lifts that work multiple muscle groups and allow you to get in the most work in the least amount of time. Exercises such as the squat and deadlift work your lower body and core, and the deadlift works your upper back as well. You can use the chin-up, row, bench press and military press to work your entire upper body. Make sure you do as many rows and chin-ups as you do presses for balanced shoulder development and to avoid injury. Train your entire body three times a week, with at least one rest day in between sessions.
Diet
If you are active, you need far more protein than someone who is not exercising, possibly twice as much. You should get your protein from sources such as beef, milk, eggs and chicken. You also need fat in your diet, as a diet too low in fat can limit your hormone production, including testosterone, which helps build muscle as well as helping you recover from exercise and injury. If possible, get the majority of your fats from sources high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and flax. Essential fatty acids are also critical for the production of testosterone.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise can improve the health and function of your heart and lungs as well as burn body fat. You can start a cardio exercise program simply by going for a walk every morning. Start with 30 minutes as your goal, and then you can boost the intensity by speeding up, increasing the duration or doing both. If you walk in the morning and lift in the evening, you will get a significant boost to your metabolism by exercising twice a day. This also helps avoid long training sessions in the gym and is often easier to fit into a busy schedule.
Conditioning Work
You can do other forms of exercise on the evenings you are not lifting. You can perform bodyweight exercises such as jumping jacks or pushups, or you can jump rope. You can participate in a sport or take a dance class. The goal of your off days should be to get some additional exercise while recovering from your training, but above all to enjoy yourself. On days off from work, you can plan nature walks or long bike rides. What you do for fun is up to you, but make it active.
References
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Changes in Bone Mineral Density in Response to 24 Weeks of Resistance Training in College-age Men and Women; Harold C.Almstedt et al., July 2010.
- "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise"; Biomechanics of the Knee During Closed Kinetic Chain and Open Kinetic Chain Exercises; Rafael F. Escamilla et al.; April 1998
- "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise"; Biomechanics of the Knee During Closed Kinetic Chain and Open Kinetic Chain Exercises; Rafael F. Escamilla et al.; A Three-dimensional Biomechanical Analysis of Sumo and Conventional Style Deadlifts; July 2000.
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; "Beyond the Zone: Protein Needs of Active Individuals"; Lemon; 2000
- "Journal of Steroidal Biochemistry"; Decrease of Serum Total and Free Testosterone During a Low-Fat High-Fiber Diet; Enko Hämäläinen et al., July 1983
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation Increases the Rate of Muscle Protein Synthesis in Older Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial; Gary I. Smith et al., Februrary 2011
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