The
benefits to exercise are simply countless. The list overflows with benefits that affect overall health and fitness, not only of the body but also of the mind. Regular exercises help keep the body healthy, keeps your mood relaxed, and protects you from chronic diseases. On the whole, exercises can improve your performance in anything you do and, in the long run, actually prolong your life. But one of the reasons that have got majority of exercise buffs dashing to the gym or to other exercise sessions is weight loss.
Exercise is a necessity in all weight loss efforts, regardless of whether you’re just trimming down to look good or you need to shed pounds so as not to aggravate an existing medical condition such as diabetes or obesity. Exercise is one of three key ingredients in losing weight; it works hand in hand with proper diet and proper lifestyle. This is because exercise enables the proper distribution of nutrients and energy to all parts of the body, which means that more fat is burned.
But the most important question of all is, which exercises should you do?
What You Should Know about Top Three Weight Loss Exercises
- Anaerobic Exercises and Gym Workouts
- Aerobic Exercises and Sports
- Flexibility Exercises
1.
Anaerobic Exercises and Gym Workouts
Anaerobic exercises go by many other names: strength training, strength-conditioning, and weight lifting exercises. Anaerobic exercises focus on building, strengthening, and enhancing the size and endurance of muscles. During the process, tendons and ligaments are also strengthened, which in turn also makes motion in the joints more flexible. This is done through weight training, sprinting, sit ups, pull ups, push ups, rowing, and squats.
Anaerobic exercises are extremely effective in weight loss and is considered as most ideal because it can alsp keep excess weight away afterwards. This is because as more lean muscles are built, body fat is then reduced. These exercises also help lower bad blood cholesterol levels.
This is most ideally done in gyms where there are ready exercise equipments to be used, although if you are serious about this, you can also get some equipments for your home. But if you are not overtly overweight and wants simply to shed off a few unwanted fat, you can stick to daily push ups and sit ups in your free time.
2. Aerobic Exercises and Sports
Aerobic exercises, which are also called cardiovascular exercises, aim to raise the heart rate to a specific level so as to improve the flow of oxygen throughout the cells of the body. Aerobic exercises are often the first to be recommended to those trying to lose weight. When aerobic exercises don’t work, or when long term fitness instead of short term fat loss is the objective, anaerobic exercises usually take over.
But for purposes of losing weight to improve appearance, aerobic exercises usually suffice. You can even choose the exercise of your choice. Most of these exercises can also be considered as sports or hobbies, so you won’t have any problems inserting them into your lifestyle and schedule. The most effective include running, jogging, cycling, dancing, swimming, among several others. Some fitness experts say that the best aerobic exercise for you is something that you like or love to do. This way, you won’t run out of motivation.
The ideal aerobic exercise session always begins with a warm up period, then a moderate intensity exercise session going up to an intense level, before cooling down. The moderate to intense exercise level should last for at least 20 minutes so optimal weight reduction benefits can take effect. In total, the entire exercise session should last for 30 minutes.
3. Flexibility Exercises
The third type of exercise is flexibility exercise. Flexibility exercises aim to help the muscles move better and maintains them at tip top shape. Flexibility exercises also improve the supply of blood and nutrients to various tissues in the body and conditions the body to adjust more easily to physical activities. Since physical activity shoud be increased if you want to lose weight, flexibility exercises can help prep your body up for increased activity, although these exercises do not really have direct effects on weight loss. Two good flexibility exercises you can try are pilates and tai chi.
Exercise: The Only Way Towards A Trimmer Body?
Exercise benefits only will not be enough to reduce weight. If you exercise but nevertheless gain back any fat you have burned by eating high-calorie foods, the possible weight loss effects are canceled out. Likewise, if you don’t stop smoking or drinking alcohol, the positive effects promised by exercise can end up useless. But without exercise, the other two proponents of effective natural weight loss will also not be effective. So there is no need to further stress on the importance of exercise in weight reduction, but it should also not be considered as the magic ingredient in weight loss.
Also, another important thing to keep in mind is that the benefits to exercise can be achieved if exercise is done continuously, not only when you feel like it. You probably already know that speeding your way to weight loss won’t do much good, which is why crash dieting is also not recommended. The same applies when it comes to exercise; it should be a continuous effort.
There are also certain problems that hamper the benefits of exercise in losing weight. Some studies observed that exercise makes people hungry, and this in turn leads to them eating more junk foods to fill up after they go to the gym. Some people also tend to reward themselves after a grueling gym session. This is becoming a more popular phenomenon called compensation problem. So you will need to control yourself every time you come home from the gym; eat only the amount and type of food your fitness instructor recommends to get a refill after a tiring exercise session. If not, instead of benefiting you and your body, your exercise efforts might take you down the opposite path.
With the right combination of exercise, good food, and good lifestyle, and with the proper dose of self-control and discipline, you can enjoy threefold benefits to exercise your way towards a trimmer body.
The Samurai Bushido Code (Japanese "way of the warrior", or bushido), was the warrior code of the samurai. 
