I went to the mall to buy a dress for the “Saturday get together” that I was attending and got tired of looking at all the beautiful dresses, but in the petite section. I felt desperate that I am never going to fit into one of those. This desperation lead to a determination. I was determined that I would lose all my extra fat in three months and started hitting the gym. I exercised vigorously for three days and then broke down. The fourth day, I couldn’t move. The pains were so much that I had to keep off gym for a week. In the mean time, I started reading on what went wrong with me. And I found the reasons of my failure. Are you in the same footsteps?
If you have determined to lose a few pounds and are enthusiastic about exercising, but not sure how to begin and what to do, please read on.
Any exercise would be painful if proper care is not taken.
- Warming up before the exercise. Most of us make this common mistake. People get on the treadmill and start off at a high speed to maximize the utilization of the allotted time. But this is a big mistake. You might be burning more calories in the particular time, but burning out the muscles. Your body needs to prepare for the exercise regimen ahead. It needs some minutes to prepare. A little stretch of the muscles, some walking up and down and if on the treadmill or elliptical, a few minutes at a slower speed before getting on to a high speed, is the warming up. How does this help? The muscles targeted for the work out are already ready for the increased effort. Blood flow to the area increases. The effort on the adjacent joints is reduced. This aids in reduced soreness after the exercise as well.
- Don’t do intense exercise frequently. Realize that you have put on the pounds over the years, not days and it would take continuous efforts at weight loss to get them off and keep them at bay. You cannot lose 10 pounds in 3 days, if you are taking the proper route. Many people have the impression that if they do more exercise, it would help them lose weight quickly. Though the equation of weight loss is mathematics, increased intensity and frequency would only burn you out. Also lack of motivation happens in these cases and the efforts are dropped.
- Start slowly and increase the intensity gradually. When you start exercising, make gradual changes of intensity. Start with walking, than running. Once you can walk comfortably at a particular pace, increase the speed. Brisk walking eventually leads to jogging and running, but the transition is gradual. This has an additional benefit. When you enjoy walking, you start loving the exercise regimen as well as the feeling of wellness. This would motivate you and you stay on track.
- Fatigue. Overdoing any exercise would lead to fatigue in addition to the soreness. Start with smaller intervals of exercise and increase the time gradually. Also give the body time to rest. If you have exercised at the gym continuously for five days, take the sixth day off from cardio. Time of rest is as important as exercise, as the muscles are repaired at this time. This would prevent the onset of fatigue.
- Hydration before, during and after exercise. Drinking water when you are exercising is very important. The recovery of the muscles is fast when you drink water after exercise. Many people complain of cramping of the muscles post exercise, which might be caused because of the lack of hydration.
If you follow all the above tips, there would be no burn out secondary to exercise. Any regimen would provide results only if followed regularly over time.
If you have any questions please feel free to comment here or shoot a mail to me and i will answer it ASAP.