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Weight Loss Exercise

Importance of Circuit Training in Men’s Fitness Workouts


Numerous studies show that regular exercise not only improves overall health, it can also add years to your life. One of the best men’s fitness workouts is circuit training, which combines strength training and endurance training. Men who incorporate circuit training into their fitness regimen can benefit significantly from it.

What is Circuit Training?

A circuit training program combines groups of cardio exercises with strength training exercises, performed at a fast pace with little to no rest period before moving on to the next group of exercises. One circuit or group of exercises can consist of anywhere from 6 to 10 exercises. You can tailor the intensity of your workout to suit your fitness level.

Why is Circuit Training Important?

Men often favor one type of exercise over another. For example, some men may focus on bodybuilding or strength training and neglect their cardiovascular health. Circuit training ensures that men’s fitness workouts develop not only their muscles but also their endurance.

Importance of Circuit Training in Mens Fitness Workouts

Benefits of Weight Training Exercises

Here are a few reasons why men should use a circuit training routine:

  • Ideal for beginners: If you are starting an exercise program for the first time, circuit training can help ease you into your fitness regimen. Circuit training conditions the entire body and prepares you for more advanced fitness programs. Keep in mind that you can vary the intensity of your workout.
  • Convenient: Circuit training allows you to get a full workout in a short span of time. You can even design a circuit training session that requires little or no exercise equipment. You can incorporate exercise routines that utilize only dumbbells or your body weight. If you are pressed for time, simply ramp up the intensity of your workout. You’ll get a full exercise in as little as 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Improved fitness level: A circuit training session consists of a mix of exercises that use different muscle groups. Because of this, circuit training can help men develop bigger muscles while improving their endurance and cardiovascular health. Circuit training also aids in weight loss. It can help you burn up to 30% more calories.
  • Eliminates boredom: If you lift weights or work out on a stationary bike day in and day out, it’s very easy to get bored. Circuit training in men’s fitness workouts keeps your exercise sessions fresh all the time. The variety of exercises helps keep you interested and motivated. By changing the exercises with each session, you’ll always be eager to keep working out.

You can also change the intensity level of your training session. By eliminating the possibility of boredom, you’ll be more likely to continue with your fitness regimen in the long run.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Does Lifting Weights Burn Fat?



I always get asked does lifting weights burn fat? People who want to drop extra pounds often turn to cardiovascular exercise in order to burn fat. Many trainers recommend aerobic exercises to burn calories, saying that strength training is only good for building muscles.

Does Lifting Weights Burn Fat?

Does Lifting Weights Burn Fat?

Does Lifting Weights Burn Fat?

However, more and more people these days are becoming aware of the importance of muscle development for long-term fat loss. That is why people are beginning to ask, “Does lifting weights burn fat?”

Combine Cardio and Weight Training

Not too long ago, people who wanted to lose weight performed intense aerobic workouts such as running, jogging, swimming, or exercising on an elliptical trainer. Cardiovascular exercise elevates the metabolism during workout and for a short time after the workout session.

Weight training, on the other hand, develops muscle mass and increases the body’s metabolism long after the exercise session is over. The reason is that muscles require more calories to maintain than fat does. Thus, lifting weights actually burns fat faster.

Does Lifting Weights Burn Fat – Higher Metabolism

Strength training builds more muscles in the body. Because muscles use up more calories, your body turns into a fat-burning furnace. With more lean muscle in your body, your metabolism will increase. Lifting weights actually helps you burn fat even while you rest. After your weight lifting session, your body will continue burning more calories for a longer period than you would after an aerobic session.

Build More Muscles

Many people think that bigger muscles are developed during strength training. Lifting weights actually tears down the muscles. Muscle development and repair take place during the rest period following the weight lifting session. It is while you rest and recuperate that your muscles grow bigger and stronger.

Burn Fat Faster

Cardiovascular exercise provides a calorie-burning workout that melts fat from all over your body. However, if you want to keep the fat off it’s necessary to combine weight lifting with your cardio workout. This will increase your metabolism so your body burns more calories even while you are resting or sleeping. Strength training using resistance methods or by lifting weights helps you burn fat and keep it from coming back. For every 3 pounds of muscles gained, you burn about 120 calories more per day.

Avoid Quick Weight-Loss Diets

You may be tempted to go on a miracle or starvation diet when trying to lose weight quickly. This is bad because it will cause the loss of muscle mass. Any weight lost will be quickly regained. It is best, instead, to work towards a gradual fat loss by combining weight lifting and cardio activities. This will allow you to build up muscle mass and increase your metabolism. Although it may take longer to attain your ideal weight, the results will last longer.

So, does lifting weights burn fat? You know now that it does.


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General Weight Loss Tips

The Best Aerobic Exercises for Achieving Weight Loss

It’s no secret that people these days are getting fatter. The modern world, with all its technological advances and easy access to fast food, has caused waist lines to expand. Most people are aware of this, but not everyone actually does something to stop it. A big reason for this is people are unsure of the type of exercises they should do. The best exercises for weight loss are aerobic. In order to sustain itself during aerobic exercise, your body needs to use massive amounts of energy. It gets this energy from your fat. As long as you do some aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week, you can stop fat gain in its tracks and start on the road to a lean sexy body. Let’s look at the best aerobic exercises for achieving weight loss.

Bike Riding

If you haven’t been on a bicycle since you were a kid, you are missing out on one of the best fat burning exercises out there. The only thing you need to watch out for is the temptation to coast on a flat stretch of road instead of pedaling. You want to make sure you are putting in a constant effort. If you don’t like the idea of riding a bike all over the road or on trails you can also use a stationary bike set up in your home or the gym. These give the exact same benefit of a real bike with the added bonus that it is impossible to coast.

Stair Climbing

As anyone who has had to stop and catch their breath after going up a flight of stairs can tell you, stair climbing can be hard work. But the benefits are amazing. In addition to the calorie burn, you will also help develop your balance and coordination. Stairs also have the added benefit of giving you a built in rest period while still working out: Going up the stairs is tough and going down the stairs gives you time to catch your breath while still moving. If you want to maximize your fat loss with this exercise, you can also try the stair climbing machine at your local gym, which mimics the experience of only going up stairs thereby accelerating the amount of calories burned.

Swimming


There is a reason all the Olympic swimmers you see on TV look so lean and fit. Swimming may not look like a fat burning exercise, but it is a secret fat burning tool that many people never take advantage of. Because you are in the water, you don’t work up a sweat, and therefore don’t feel you have worked as hard. Swimming uses both your arms and legs and, when done consistently, helps them to look lean and toned. One word of caution; swimming may look easy, but if you haven’t learned correct form, you may tire yourself out too soon and therefore not get all the benefits you should. If you have not had any swimming instruction since you were a kid, you should look for a qualified instructor to give you a few lessons and perfect your form before you try working out alone.

Dancing

This is not social or ballroom dancing. This is dancing that uses the whole body and keeps it moving for a sustained period of time. Think hip hop or Latin style. A current trend in many gyms right now is Zumba, which is a specially designed dance program that focuses on weight loss and improving fitness. And above all, dancing is fun.
Running
For the absolute best calorie burn that results in the most fat burned of any aerobic exercise, all you need to do is literally lace up you sneakers and put one foot in front of the other. Running is the oldest of human aerobic activities. It is what we are built to do. There is no special equipment to buy, (except maybe a good pair of comfortable running shoes) and you can literally start seeing results in a few weeks time.
These aerobic exercises are the best they are at what they do. And what they do is burn fat and help keep it off. But the best part is that you don’t have to choose one. Do as many as you like and mix it up. The more options you have the less likely you are to get bored and quit. Put these aerobic exercises to work for you and soon you too will be the proud owner of a lean, healthy body.

Mayo Clinic has a page which lists types of exercises and the amount of calories you can burn off doing each one in your weight class. Check it out Exercise for weight loss: Calories burned in 1 hour .

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