Welcome back to A - Z! today we're talking about exercising and energy.
A healthy lifestyle is supposed to give you more energy, right?
Well, I'm still waiting. As I'm typing this, I'm so worn out by today's Zumba class that all I want to do is taking a nap.
So I guess before benefitting from an energy surge, first you have to invest and catch up on all the exercising you haven't done in all those years.
Even though my lovely fitness instructor swears I'm making remarkable progress, and that I seriously wasn't able to do those push-ups when she first started working with me, I still feel very much out of shape. I haven't been working much on endurance, and I'm feeling it painfully.
Other days though I can tell there has been an increase in energy: I get to actually check off most of the items on my to-do list. The other day I felt super on top of things becasue I managed to get them all done!!
Now as far as exercising goes, I think it should meet the following criteria:
Why?
The majority of weight loss is controlled by your diet. Working out adds only about 20% as I will explain in L is for losing it.
In terms of working out, don't fall into the following traps:
When working out, what is the optimal heart rate to burn fat?
It's all a myth, this article says. What should be considered instead is the distinction between fat calories and glycogen calories (carbs coming from food you ate that travel around in your blood as glucose and carbs that are stored in your muscles and liver, known as glycogen). Ideally you'll want to benefit from the afterburn effect. Which ultimately means, go for the higher heartbeat = work out and sweat harder!
If you want to find out what works best for you personally, I recommend you get yourself one of those fitness trackers. There are so many out there, and I was having a hard time picking one, but I did, and I will talk about it later in this alphabet!
For now I would like to encourage you to go out there and do some activity that you like (or at least don't hate), fill your lungs with oxygen, and let those endorphins kick in! Woods, Elle knows all about it!
A healthy lifestyle is supposed to give you more energy, right?
Well, I'm still waiting. As I'm typing this, I'm so worn out by today's Zumba class that all I want to do is taking a nap.
Even though my lovely fitness instructor swears I'm making remarkable progress, and that I seriously wasn't able to do those push-ups when she first started working with me, I still feel very much out of shape. I haven't been working much on endurance, and I'm feeling it painfully.
Other days though I can tell there has been an increase in energy: I get to actually check off most of the items on my to-do list. The other day I felt super on top of things becasue I managed to get them all done!!
Now as far as exercising goes, I think it should meet the following criteria:
- If you're like me you need something or somebody to hold you accountable: an app or a person or both. Great if that friend becomes your workout buddy!
- Jogging isn't for everybody, neighter is a gym membership. You need to find something that you actually like - otherwise you'll always find a
resaonexcuse to cancel - While we are creatures of habit, we need to avoid to repeat the exact same fitness routine. Once our body figured out what you're doing it will lose its effect. Check out the article about the Repeated Bout Effect
- Don't limit yourself, have several options available, meaning don't skip your outdoor run just because of bad weather. Go swimming instead!
- Schedule your workouts. They're important appointments and therefore belong in your calendar!
Why?
The majority of weight loss is controlled by your diet. Working out adds only about 20% as I will explain in L is for losing it.
In terms of working out, don't fall into the following traps:
- You're so hungry after your run, you could eat a horse!!! I know! Try to stick to the items on your plan, though, otherwise you'll regret it.
- "I've been working out so hard, I deserve a reward!" Compare the time and effort it took to burn let's say 300 calories. Do you really want to neutralise the effect by wolfing down a cheeseburger in a matter of two minutes?
- Slowing down after exercising. I know it happened to me in the beginning. I was feeling so worn out, I just wanted to lie, or at least sit down and relax. Of course you're missing an opportunity to cash in some more activities like taking the stairs instead of the elevator! Come on, you can do it!
When working out, what is the optimal heart rate to burn fat?
It's all a myth, this article says. What should be considered instead is the distinction between fat calories and glycogen calories (carbs coming from food you ate that travel around in your blood as glucose and carbs that are stored in your muscles and liver, known as glycogen). Ideally you'll want to benefit from the afterburn effect. Which ultimately means, go for the higher heartbeat = work out and sweat harder!
If you want to find out what works best for you personally, I recommend you get yourself one of those fitness trackers. There are so many out there, and I was having a hard time picking one, but I did, and I will talk about it later in this alphabet!
For now I would like to encourage you to go out there and do some activity that you like (or at least don't hate), fill your lungs with oxygen, and let those endorphins kick in! Woods, Elle knows all about it!
So tell me, do you exercise? What do you do? On a scale from 1 - 10 where do you feel your energy level is? What could you do to take it up a notch? What projects would you tackle if you had more energy? Let me know down below!
Tomorrow we'll be talking about fats and still have fun! Hope to see you back!
In the meantime, go here for more posts about the letter E!
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