To achieve my short-term goal to lose 2 pounds per week my workouts consist of strength training and cardiovascular training.

Making time for 3 workouts per week should also be enough time to give you the weekly results that you are looking for.

My workout consists of;

PRE-WORKOUT

Warm-Up; limber/loose muscles will reduce your risk of injury and soreness. Before starting any intensive workout you will need to have a minimum of a 5 minute warm-up. Warm-ups can incorporate cardiovascular exercises like; walking, jogging, cycling, etc.  It is important to do the warm-up before stretching as warm muscles are more flexible.

Stretching; will prepare your muscles for your workout by making you more flexible and having more range of motion (ROM).  Taking part in regular stretching will also improve your posture.

THE WORKOUT

Strength Training; will be focused so that muscle gains are made. This will increase your body’s natural fat burners, as you add lean muscle mass your metabolism will increase causing you to burn more calories to maintain your muscles. In males one pound of muscle can help you burn an extra 50 calories per day. Another benefit with strength training is the after burn effect this means that your body can continue to burn calories up to 4 hours after you stop working out.

Muscle recovery will also help you in burning calories.  As you workout your muscles are not getting bigger but they are being fatigued.  Fatigued muscles will have tiny microscopic tears that will heal when you rest or sleep also resulting in more calories being burnt.

To get the best results adequate rest and sleep are also important as the recovery process works during this time. This is why strength training every day is not effective as the muscles are not given the time they need to heal.

For rest you have a day in between strength training workouts and you also need to ensure that you get sufficient sleep, aim for 7-8 hours per night.

Cardiovascular Workout; is all about blood and air; helping your heart and lungs do their job and do it well!

Cardiovascular fitness is very important for exercising you body’s most important muscle; your heart.

When your heart is strong and pumping oxygen rich blood throughout your body then your lungs and other organs will also benefit.

Other benefits will be more energy and stamina.

One effective way that we can use cardiovascular workouts to help you achieve the results that you are looking for is called ‘interval training’.

When you start with a cardiovascular exercise and keep the same pace after 2-5 minutes your body will be less effective at burning calories. By incorporating the interval training principles into these workouts you can achieve more caloric burning potential.

Interval training is basically frequent changes of pace during aerobic exercise that keeps your body guessing and stops your body settling into a pace that won’t burn maximum calories for you.

POST-WORKOUT

Cool Down; after you have been working out it is also very important to cool down to bring your muscles back to their pre-exercise state.

A cooling down activity can be some walking followed by some light stretching.

To achieve your long-term fat loss goal a consistent and varied workout program could see that fitness level that you always dream of become a reality.

A workout program alone will not be effective if it is not teamed with a well-balanced diet.

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