The Best Way to Cross Train For Fitness and Fat Loss
What you see on the scale is not always the best indication of how fit or fat you are.
Even more important than how much you weigh is your overall body composition, or how much of your body tissue is fat.
If you are a man and your fatty tissue makes up more than 14%-15% of your body mass, you are overweight, or more accurately stated, overfat.
A woman is overfat when her fatty tissue is more than 20% - 22%.
As human beings, we need a small amount of fat in our bodies to protect our internal organs and act as insulation beneath our skin.
Having too much fat, however, leads to diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, gout and even gallbladder problems.
You won't find many extremely fat people, and that is because only the fittest survive, not the fattest.
So now we turn to the question of how to resolve the problem of having too much fat.
Of course the answer is to lose weight, right? The problem with this is that it leads people to focus to much on lowering the numbers they see on the scale.
So you work and work to see a lower outcome on the scale.
This is not the most efficient way to reduce the fat in your body.
Think of your body as a simple heat-exchange engine that functions according to the basic fundamentals of physics.
Your caloric balance is equal to the number of calories you consume minus the number of calories you use.
When we ingest calories, they are used for different purposes within our bodies.
Some calories are needed for basal metabolism, or the minimum required for the basic upkeep of our bodies.
The amount of calories required for basal metabolism decreases as we age.
Some other calories become waste, and still others contribute to "work metabolism," which is the amount of energy we need for any physical activity.
So, if you take in more calories than you use in the above functions, you will have calories left over at the end of the day.
According to the laws of physics, energy is not destroyed, it is transformed.
In our bodies, an excess of 3500 calories turns into one pound of body fat.
In order to reverse this process, burning 3500 calories leads to the loss of one pound.
How to Win the War Against Fat We have all heard that exercise is the best way to fight fat.
This leads us to envision hours of toil at the gym, not a very pleasant circumstance at all.
Focusing too heavily on exercise can easily lead to boredom.
According to the experts, this happens because people tend to grow weary when they put forth more effort than they are naturally capable of.
These negative feelings make us want to give up, so we quit the exercise routine and wind up comforting ourselves on the couch with a bag of chips.
Well, you ask, what is the solution? The solution, my friend, is cross training.
Through years of research and intensive studies, health professionals developed the concept of cross training to help ease the monotony and boredom found in many exercise programs.
Cross training is the practice of merging different physical activities and movements with your regular exercise routine.
The biggest benefits derived from adding cross training to your workout routine are that you protect your muscles from damaging overuse and you are no longer bored with your exercise program.
Three of the most popular cross training activities are cycling, running and swimming.
With cross training, you can increase your activity level as your fitness improves by adding distance.
In order to do this, you have to measure the distance you travel.
If you can, try and measure the course you will be swimming, running or cycling.
If you are running on a track, they commonly measure a quarter-mile per lap.
Cross training is an effective way to get fit and lose weight, because it increases both the strength and endurance of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.
Cross training also has been found to have a calming effect of your nerves.
Besides all that, cross training burns calories and makes your weight loss program much more fun and interesting.
There are three basic components to cross training: 1.
Cross training builds the endurance level and health of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.
It also promotes relaxation.
To start building up your endurance, begin with a routine of walking and jogging based upon your personal fitness level.
2.
Cross training leads to stronger muscles, especially the muscles that enhance good posture.
Muscle strengthening exercises also help to freshen up your workout routine.
3.
Cross training exercises improve the mobility of our joints and help ease or prevent aches and pains.
These exercises are usually a variety of static stretching positions, and they are safe for most people.
As you have seen, cross training is a wonderful way to add some spice to your current workout and give a boost to your weight loss program.
You will be more successful in your quest for weight loss if you are enjoying what you are doing.
As you embark on a cross training program, you will see that the weight comes off before you even realize your working at it.
The bottom line is that cross training improves the effectiveness and pleasure level of any workout program.
Even more important than how much you weigh is your overall body composition, or how much of your body tissue is fat.
If you are a man and your fatty tissue makes up more than 14%-15% of your body mass, you are overweight, or more accurately stated, overfat.
A woman is overfat when her fatty tissue is more than 20% - 22%.
As human beings, we need a small amount of fat in our bodies to protect our internal organs and act as insulation beneath our skin.
Having too much fat, however, leads to diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, gout and even gallbladder problems.
You won't find many extremely fat people, and that is because only the fittest survive, not the fattest.
So now we turn to the question of how to resolve the problem of having too much fat.
Of course the answer is to lose weight, right? The problem with this is that it leads people to focus to much on lowering the numbers they see on the scale.
So you work and work to see a lower outcome on the scale.
This is not the most efficient way to reduce the fat in your body.
Think of your body as a simple heat-exchange engine that functions according to the basic fundamentals of physics.
Your caloric balance is equal to the number of calories you consume minus the number of calories you use.
When we ingest calories, they are used for different purposes within our bodies.
Some calories are needed for basal metabolism, or the minimum required for the basic upkeep of our bodies.
The amount of calories required for basal metabolism decreases as we age.
Some other calories become waste, and still others contribute to "work metabolism," which is the amount of energy we need for any physical activity.
So, if you take in more calories than you use in the above functions, you will have calories left over at the end of the day.
According to the laws of physics, energy is not destroyed, it is transformed.
In our bodies, an excess of 3500 calories turns into one pound of body fat.
In order to reverse this process, burning 3500 calories leads to the loss of one pound.
How to Win the War Against Fat We have all heard that exercise is the best way to fight fat.
This leads us to envision hours of toil at the gym, not a very pleasant circumstance at all.
Focusing too heavily on exercise can easily lead to boredom.
According to the experts, this happens because people tend to grow weary when they put forth more effort than they are naturally capable of.
These negative feelings make us want to give up, so we quit the exercise routine and wind up comforting ourselves on the couch with a bag of chips.
Well, you ask, what is the solution? The solution, my friend, is cross training.
Through years of research and intensive studies, health professionals developed the concept of cross training to help ease the monotony and boredom found in many exercise programs.
Cross training is the practice of merging different physical activities and movements with your regular exercise routine.
The biggest benefits derived from adding cross training to your workout routine are that you protect your muscles from damaging overuse and you are no longer bored with your exercise program.
Three of the most popular cross training activities are cycling, running and swimming.
With cross training, you can increase your activity level as your fitness improves by adding distance.
In order to do this, you have to measure the distance you travel.
If you can, try and measure the course you will be swimming, running or cycling.
If you are running on a track, they commonly measure a quarter-mile per lap.
Cross training is an effective way to get fit and lose weight, because it increases both the strength and endurance of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.
Cross training also has been found to have a calming effect of your nerves.
Besides all that, cross training burns calories and makes your weight loss program much more fun and interesting.
There are three basic components to cross training: 1.
Cross training builds the endurance level and health of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.
It also promotes relaxation.
To start building up your endurance, begin with a routine of walking and jogging based upon your personal fitness level.
2.
Cross training leads to stronger muscles, especially the muscles that enhance good posture.
Muscle strengthening exercises also help to freshen up your workout routine.
3.
Cross training exercises improve the mobility of our joints and help ease or prevent aches and pains.
These exercises are usually a variety of static stretching positions, and they are safe for most people.
As you have seen, cross training is a wonderful way to add some spice to your current workout and give a boost to your weight loss program.
You will be more successful in your quest for weight loss if you are enjoying what you are doing.
As you embark on a cross training program, you will see that the weight comes off before you even realize your working at it.
The bottom line is that cross training improves the effectiveness and pleasure level of any workout program.
