Whether you are a gym veteran or someone who’s new to exercise, it’s possible that there are facts about how exercise works, that you are not aware of. Here are five ideas about exercise that you should know.
Working out won’t cancel out the harm done by a sedentary lifestyle
If you spend hours at a time sitting at your desk at work, you put yourself at risk of diabetes and heart disease. The fact that you work out at a gym an hour or two after work doesn’t erase the harm done by hours of sitting. You need to make an effort to move a little bit at work. A little skipping in place once an hour can help.
Exercise alone won’t help you lose weight
For many people, exercise is their main method to lose weight by. Studies show, however, that exercise can do very little on its own when it isn’t combined with serious changes to the diet. According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, overweight study subjects who went through 12 weeks of cardio workouts lost no significant weight when their diets remained the same. Exercise is good for you, with or without dietary changes; it doesn’t help you lose significant weight on its own, however.
Weight loss can leave you weaker
Workouts aimed solely at weight loss may deliver the results that you want. They may also leave you with little muscular strength. Studies reveal that women today are weaker in general than at any point in history. Their weight loss routines, diets and their attempts at avoiding an athletic, muscular appearance contribute to the loss of strength.
Working out in the evenings is better
Studies indicate that working out in the mornings isn’t as good as people tend to believe. Since the muscles tend to be stiff after hours of sleep, exercise without a thorough warm-up, tends to result in injuries. Most people tend to have a hard time paying enough attention to warming up adequately.
There is another reason why exercise in the evenings is a better idea. Research out of Brunel University in Britain has found that intense morning training tends to harm the immune system, and put people at greater risk of infections.
Couples working out together need to follow different routines
The bodies of men and women tend to respond differently to exercise. Studies indicate that women usually need to work out far more than men, and take greater care minding their diets than men, in order to reap weight loss benefits. For this reason, men and women working out together need to follow in their own routines.
The better you understand how the body responds to exercise, the more effective you are likely to be with your workouts. Knowledge makes all the difference.
