Tag: Aerobic Exercise

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Exercise To Lose Weight – The Best Exercise to Lose Weight

When people think of how to exercise to lose weight, they often assume that they will have to buy a gym membership and workout for hours every day. Not true! Not only is it not essential, the image of pumping iron in the gym for hour after hour is a complete red herring, and here’s why…

The basic facts of losing weight are that if you consume less calories, and/or burn more calories, you will lose weight. It really is that simple. So you have a choice. You can either focus on your diet and keep your exercise levels exactly what they are, or exercise a lot more but eat the same (be sure not to eat more!), or try to combine both in some way.

Best Exercise To Lose Weight

Exercise to lose weight is as easy as starting to do aerobic exercise. This means anything that works your heart and makes you breathe faster. Examples might be running, fast walking, cycling, swimming. Even slow walking can make a difference if you have a lot of weight to lose. Of course, you should increase gradually and check with your doctor that whatever you plan to do is suitable for you.

Exercise To Lose Weight The Best Exercise to Lose Weight

Exercise To Lose Weight

If you go to the gym and do a lot of weight lifting, you will burn fat and build muscle at the same time. This will tone your body shape, and the increased muscle will consume more calories, even in a resting state. Muscle can weigh a lot though, so your weight may stay the same or even increase even though your body shape improves. If you plan on doing this type of exercise, it is better to track your process by taking waist and other measurements, rather than relying on the bathroom scale.

If you don’t want to go down that route, you may think of running – but running can cause joint injury. In fact walking can have 75% of the impact that running has. You still need to walk at a pace which leaves you breathing slightly heavier than normal, but you shouldn’t be out of breath. If you do that for 30 minutes, 3 times a week, you will be burning a huge amount of calories compared to when you didn’t walk.

Exercise To Lose Weight at Home

Exercise to lose weight can even be done right there in your chair. Simple exercises can increase muscle usage and aerobic activity, and can be done while sitting in front of the TV. Obviously you should not have a bucket of popcorn on your lap at the same time!

So you can see that when you think of exercise to lose weight, even the simplest of activities can have a big effect, without leaving you in an exhausted heap after a grueling session at the gym.

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Exercise Helps Memory in Fibromyalgia Patients

Fibromyalgia patients who stopped taking medication and then exercised regularly for six weeks reported improved memory function and less pain, according to a small, new study.

While the finding is encouraging, it does not suggest a potential change in clinical care for fibromyalgia patients, the study authors stressed.

Senior author Dr. Brian Walitt, director of the Fibromyalgia Evaluation and Research Center at Georgetown University Medical Center, is scheduled to present the findings Sunday with co-researcher, Manish Khatiwada, at the Society of Neuroscience annual meeting, in Washington, D.C.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a disorder marked by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep and cognitive problems. It has no apparent cause and the pain is real, Walitt said, and likely originates from the central nervous system. It typically affects women more than men.

Exercise has long been recommended to fibromyalgia patients, and some find it improves their sense of well-being. “This is a first look at understanding how exercise alters memory performance,” Walitt said of the study.

Fibromyalgia and Exercise Study

For the trial, nine women received a baseline brain image called a functional MRI test. They were also given tests to assess their working memory and asked about their well-being and pain while on medication. The memory tests involved reading back a sequence of letters at various times after learning them.

Next, the women stopped their medication for a six-week ”washout” period. Then they had a second round of fMRIs and tests. Then they started a six-week supervised aerobic exercise program, consisting of three 30-minute sessions a week.

“When we took people off the medicine, they performed worse on the tests,” Walitt said. But, he added, “As they stayed off the medications for a period of time and exercised, their cognitive performance returned to normal levels [the same as at the start of the study],” he said.

The finding potentially suggests that exercise may lead to improvement in the network of brain areas that are recruited for working memory to function.

“In some ways it is concerning,” Walitt said. “One would have hoped that exercise would have made them better [at the memory test].”

Wallit isn’t sure what the findings might mean for real-life situations. “It may be if you have a more efficient brain, doing real-life tasks will be better.”

While more study is needed, Walitt said that “overall, exercise seems to be a beneficial thing for fibromyalgia patients, in terms of overall well-being. If you can exercise and make it work for you, that’s great.”

However, he noted, some people with the condition can’t tolerate exercise. Working out “is not going to be the answer for everybody and it’s not going to fix anybody,” he said.

More Study Needed in Exercise and Memory Link

Exercise Helps Memory in Fibromyalgia Patients

Exercise helps Memory in Fibromyalgia Patients

While the study has some flaws, it’s basically encouraging for those with the condition, said Dr. I. Jon Russell, a San Antonio fibromyalgia researcher and consultant, and retired professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

He thought the amount of time spent off medication during the study should have been longer before repeat testing. But, he said, “the most encouraging thing about this study is that fibromyalgia is continuing to be investigated.”

“We have many reasons to believe that aerobic exercise is good for our patients. This study gives some support [to that idea],” Russell said. However, “We shouldn’t over-interpret that exercise is the answer.”

If patients can and do exercise, he said, “It’s likely they will experience additional benefits.”

Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary since it has not undergone the scrutiny required of studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Apparent Cause
Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Can Anyone Do Zumba?



Can Anyone Do Zumba? Zumba exercises are being touted as the newest fun way to lose weight, Zumba instructors call it “exercise in disguise”, but this doesn’t mean that Zumba is easy. On the contrary, Zumba will leave you panting and sweating as you get going. So is it suitable for everyone?

Can Anyone Do Zumba?

Can Anyone Do Zumba?

Can Anyone Do Zumba?

Zumba classes are fantastic for bringing people of all shapes, sizes and ages together. The key premise is to have fun, and the workouts are suitable for just about everyone. Kids are even invited to certain Zumba classes! Even if you’re very overweight, you can take it at your own pace until your stamina improves.

If you’re pregnant, Zumba exercises are still a possibility. However, it all depends on your level of activity before you became pregnant. If you’re not used to aerobic exercise then it’s not usually a good idea to start during pregnancy. Always ask your doctor before proceeding.

What About Older Participants?
Zumba Gold classes have been designed specifically with the older generation in mind. It’s the same premise, just slightly altered to suit the fitness levels of the baby boomers. For those who have specific physical issues, it’s a good idea to ask your instructor before you begin. Many are happy to advise you on how to take part in a regular Zumba class at your own pace. Some classes are even designed to be followed from the comfort of a chair, if you need to.

If You Know You’re Out Of Shape…
If you’re out of shape, that is you don’t regularly exercise and find you get tired out quickly, then you should always approach any new form of exercise with caution. Listen to your body, and know your own limits. Yes, you will probably be tired out after a Zumba session, but you’ll notice the improvements week on week. Remember, if you’re in any doubt you should always visit a doctor for advice.

What About Zumba At Home?
There are a variety of Zumba games and DVDs that’ll teach you how to do the Zumba exercises from home. These are generally safe, and are often designed at a more basic level than some Zumba classes. The main risk with an at-home option is that you may not have the motivation to really push yourself to burn those calories! If you do decide to do Zumba at home, the same rules as above still apply: listen to your body, and visit a doctor if you experience any problems.

So they answer to Can Anyone Do Zumba? is in fact yes although you want to be careful of the class that you do take.

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Baby Boomers