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Sunday 20 July 2014

Want to lose weight fast ? Stop crunching & stop lifting !

There is a saying about weight loss

“It took more than a day to put it on, it'll take more than a day to take it off. Be patient.”

So patience is the key skill but in order to have a potent & successful weight loss regime we must know which kind of exercises are the most effective ones. Weightlifting & crunches are overhyped weight loss solutions… a waste of time, energy & money. The parameters of finding a good weight loss exercise are :

1) Calories burned
2) Muscle toning
3) Skill addition


Exercise
Calories burned/hour
Muscles toned
Cycling
850 - 950
It’s a complete leg workout.
Major muscles worked are thighs (Quadriceps & hamstrings) & calves. Shin muscles assists
Taekwondo
800 - 900
It is all about legs & will give you strong core (abs) & flexibility.
Rope Jumping
750 - 850
From forearms to your toe, skipping works all the muscles & if you do it regularly I guarantee you the best toned calves.
Swimming
700 - 850
No other exercise tones your upper body so well & burns this much calories. Swimming will sculpt your upper back, shoulders & chest.
Jogging/running
700 - 800
The complete leg workout.
Sports(football, basketball, tennis)
600 - 700
Complete body workout. The best legs are of football players, best arms bestowed to tennis players & the strongest upper body is of basketball players.
Zumba/Aerobics
400-500
Complete body workout.

*All the above approximate figures are given for a person weighing 160 pounds/73 kilograms. Calorie burning is directly proportional to body weight & intensity of workout. With every 3500 calories burned you lose 1 pound/0.45 kgs of weight.

Compared to the above exercises a hour of crunches will burn 342 calories (57 calories in 10 minutes on doing 100 sit ups), a hour of weight lifting will only burn 200 - 400(vigorous) calories.

Skill addition is something which we always ignore but it is a very important factor. Crunching 100 times, will it add to any of my skills ? It may help me get better at certain activities but otherwise it’s neither a wholesome workout nor very important unless you want to follow Arnold's footsteps & believe me abs are made in kitchen. Compare the torture of crunches to the refreshing cycling, joy of swimming or the benefits of knowing Taekwondo. All of these strengthen your core & tone your muscles too. The most awesome fact is that they keep your heart strong & healthiest.

The purpose of this article is not to tell you to refrain from crunches or weight lifting but to give you better options. To enable you choose wisely among the exercises & plan your sessions according to your goals. The best weight loss regimes can do without weight lifting & crunches.

Bodybuilding.com has come up with this awesome calorie burning calculator. Check it out & redefine your workouts. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm

Train wise train hard.


Information sources for figures.
Weightloss.allwomenstalk.com
Ainsworth BE, et al. 2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1575.
Bodybuilding.com





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