What Do I Need To Do In The Gym To Lose Weight?

The gym is a good place to start losing weight. Your exercise program in the gym must be made up of both aerobic and resistance exercises. Aerobic exercise elevates your heart rate and demands energy causing you to burn calories. Resistance exercise works your muscles and increases your strength and lean body mass. Both of these components, along with the right diet, will result in weight loss.

Aerobic Exercise

The biggest contributor to weight loss when you hit the gym is aerobic exercise. This is sustainable activity that elevates your heart rate and demands energy. When your body produces more energy than it does at rest, you burn more calories, causing weight loss. During aerobic exercise, your body may even call upon fat stores to use for energy production, which can increase your weight loss. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising aerobically for 45 to 60 minutes five to seven days per week at a moderate intensity.

Mode

There are several machines in the gym that work your body aerobically and burn calories. Choosing the right one for you depends on your goals and state of physical fitness. According to Len Kravitz, PhD, of the University of New Mexico, weight-bearing aerobic activity burns the most calories. This would include running and walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical machine or stair climber. However, these activities are hard on your joints. You may be able to better sustain a lengthy exercise session by combining weight-bearing aerobics with non-weight bearing aerobics. This can include some time on the treadmill and elliptical, then switching to the recumbent bicycle or rowing machine.

Resistance Training

Resistance training is using weights to exercise. Though this type of activity does not burn a lot of calories, it does work toward your ultimate weight loss goals. Weight training increases your lean body mass which helps boost your metabolism. This makes it easier for you to lose fat mass. Resistance training also boosts your post-workout oxygen consumption, which means after exercise you will continue to burn more calories than if you did not exercise.

Resistance Exercises

To properly train yourself with weights, focus on your major muscles. This includes your large muscles of your legs, back, arms, abs and chest. Perform eight to 10 exercises that work all of these muscles. Work at a moderate intensity, challenging yourself to perform three sets of 12 repetitions.