Weight loss comes from two things: reducing calories and increasing activity. It is possible to drop pounds by just focusing on one aspect, but for the most effective results, you need to concentrate on both components. Understanding how much exercise you need and how often you should work out is vital to your success. Talk to your doctor before beginning your fitness plan to ensure you are healthy.
How Exercise Effects Weight Loss
Exercise is an essential aspect to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and part of a complete weight loss plan. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that to lose weight, you must exercise between 45 to 60 minutes a day. The key to successful weight loss is to eat fewer calories than you burn. Exercise increases the calorie burn and helps you achieve that goal. This does not mean you must do all the exercise at one time, however.
Breaking Up Your Workouts
The number of times you work out each day is not that relevant as long the total minutes meets the daily goal of 45 to 60 minutes. This does not have to be consecutive minutes. A workout should last at least 10 minutes. Based on this formula, you could do six 10 minutes or two 30 minute sessions and lose weight. How fast it comes off will depend on the intensity of the exercise.
Intensity
Cardio exercise needs to be intense to be effective for weight loss. The intensity level is more critical that the number of sessions. When you exercise, you promote calorie burning that continues after you stop moving. How long the burn lasts depends on how hard you worked. A light exercise session will amount to a few extra minutes of burn, but intense exercise can last for hours. In this way, breaking up your sessions will help you lose weight faster. The shorter sessions will allow for harder, more intense exercise and better calorie burn.
The Most Effective Plan
Breaking up your sessions will enhance weight loss if done correctly. If you want to do that in two workouts, each should be around 30 minutes long. Shorter, intense sessions might be a more efficient way to exercise. Try to do at least four 10 minutes sessions each day with moderate intensity. You should feel your heart rate increase, but still be able to talk while working out. As you become more fit, increase the intensity and add another five minutes to each session. This will give you an hour a day of vigorous exercise, and you will burn more calories to speed up weight loss.
References
- MedlinePlus; Exercise: Exercise's Effects on Weight; 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise Intensity: Why It Matters, How It's Measured
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: How Much Physical Activity Do Adults Need?
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source: The Benefits of Physical Activity
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