Saturday, May 3, 2014

Workout Exercise Patterns

What defines a good workout? Exercise patterns have been designed in so many forms and structures that it's often difficult to decide what's the best approach to physical training. The following tips are just general guidelines, but they can prove of help to get you started.

The approach to physical training depends on lots of things. First of all, it matters whether you have a specific goal in mind. Do you just aim at lifestyle improvement or do you need to go specific? Is it weight loss, muscle enhancement, stress management or something else that you are after?

Now, to go beyond the goal as such, you need to start at your level. Every workout, exercise pattern and training intensity should be adapted to your difficulty level. This means that you should not over-exercise or under-exercise.

This rule applies for the beginning stage, because gradually you move on to higher effort levels so as to avoid plateau and reach your set-goals.

You need to think about an workout-exercise pattern of at least three 60-minute long sessions per week. For the rest of the days, you should do around 30 minutes of lighter physical activity such as walking, swimming or cycling.

Warming up is an important phase for the body preparation in view of the workout. Exercise patterns that begin abruptly without allowing for the muscles to enter the training mode may cause joint and muscle injuries, making you incapable of physical effort for a certain period of time.

During the workout, exercise difficulty should be changed for a good outcome. This practice is usually specific to interval training, as you alternate very intense cardio with slower anaerobic exercise, thus stimulating the muscles to grow. This usually applies for those of you who train for muscle enhancement.

If you just workout to burn fat, then, regular cardio of an average intensity will be just fine. The important thing to remember is that the whole body needs to be involved in training so that the fat deposits are burned away effectively.

Regardless if you train to burn fat or build muscle, or you are just interested in a workout-exercise pattern  to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you ought to balance your DIET. This is the golden rule of fitness. Without good food and proper hydration, physical effort is counterproductive.

Do a bit of in-depth reading, learn about the ways to balance your diet, and use your fitness plan in accordance with your diet and sleeping pattern.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Several features set a cardiovascular exercise apart from other types of physical workouts. Most of the large muscles in the body get stimulated during cardio or aerobic exercise. As a consequence, the heart pumps more blood through the vessels and the lungs get overstimulated by the superior amount of oxygen. It is because of the impact on the heart and the circulatory system that the name of cardiovascular exercise has been given to this kind of training.

There are lots of health benefits to a cardiovascular exercise. First of all it can lower the blood pressure; secondly it helps to efficiently burning fat deposits. In order to make sure that you reap the benefits of cardio, you have to train at the optimal intensity, otherwise the heart won't get the boost you need. Most of the gym machines designed for cardiovascular exercise allow you to monitor the heart rate. It is really convenient to be able to monitor the heart rate with the machine, it's more effective!

There is a formula to calculate the rough estimate of your maximum heart rate.

For men it's 220 – (minus) your age, and the result is the approximate max. heart rate.

For women it's 226 – your age, and you get the heart rate (HR).

Then you multiply the HR by 0.5 and you get the lower end of the target zone.

For the higher end of the target zone, multiply the HR by 0.85.

A woman that is 30 will have the following estimates:

226-30=196
196x0.5=98
196x0.85=166,6

This means that for a 30-year old woman, the maximum heart rate is 196, but during  cardiovascular activity, the optimal number of heart beats per minute should range between 98 and 166. If the monitor shows you a number in this 'target zone', then the cardio exercise stimulates the heart at the right level.

Scientific research has revealed the possibility to reduce the risk of heart disease by moderate cardiovascular exercise patterns. Walking briskly, for around 30 minutes, three times per week can keep your heart in great condition.

Moreover, such physical activity boosts up the metabolism and improves blood circulation. You will no longer experience cold body extremities or noise in the ears due to improper blood flow.

Last but not least, you should choose that type of cardiovascular exercise that you are comfortable with, that you enjoy. Otherwise, you'll feel stressed, tense and reluctant to train regularly, and you'll eventually give up.

Fitness Excercises Success

Fitness exercises equal salvation when it comes to the fight with the extra pounds. When people finally become aware of what the sedentary lifestyle is doing to them, they inevitably end up in the gym, working hard, sweating and sweating to reduce their weight. However, the 'wonder' does not happen over night, and you can't strip fat away to reveal a slimmer self. You need commitment, dietary changes, a solid training program and support group to actually become fit.

You also have to stay alert to the traps and pitfalls of fitness exercises.

Exercising too much with a poor diet can have serious consequences on your health. Without natural and adequate food, here are the problems that can result from too intense fitness exercises:

-low blood sugar level;
-hypo-tension;
-fatigue;
-poor concentration and memory problems;
-irritability;
-limb shaking etc.

Not all of these are likely to appear, but you may experience one or more weakness symptoms after fitness exercises. That's why food, rest and water are so important for the success of your fitness endeavor.

Another problem that appears as a consequence of starvation is the weight loss plateau. The metabolism adjusts to the low food intake, functioning at a low rate, which means that the fat burning rate decreases dramatically. Once you resume normal eating, the body will try to compensate for the starvation mode and you'll pile up more pounds at an accelerated rate.

That's why experts insist that you support fitness exercises with enough food, so as to have energy and keep the metabolism going.

If you learn the ABC of diet and fitness, you should have no problems converting your weight loss diet into a lifestyle, because this ought to be the normal outcome of any weight loss program.

For people who suffer from advanced obesity, diet and physical exercises may not be enough. The same issue holds true for those who suffer from EMOTIONAL EATING. This means that you eat to compensate for some frustrations that you have: whether you feel depressed or stressed, you're likely to binge.

Psychological support in the form of behavioral therapy and group work will be necessary for such cases, as part of complex weight loss programs that cover diet, fitness, lifestyle and emotional balance. Only when the vicious cycle food-emotion is broken, will you be free to reclaim your body at its best! Without psychological support, chances are that your effort to lose weight will stumble across an obstacle and come to a halt without too much success.