Holistic Weight Management- The Exercise Mantras

Weighty One-Liner
Cousin R’s Wife D- Both R & I got pregnant at the same time. I delivered but R still hasn’t
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Exercising simply put is a way to expend those calories taken and stored.
1. At whichever time you choose to exercise ensure that you have a gap of 2+ hours from your last heavy meal or 1hour from your last snack. Set a time of 1 hour to 1.25 hours for exercises.
2. Gym gear- Comfortable shoes which you have not worn outside, track pants & shirt, sports bra for ladies, face towel, Water bottle- get something funky/ nice which makes you feel good about wearing it everyday for the gym. Also keep a large towel for the post gym shower/ steam/sauna. A spare set of clothes incase you want a change.
3. It is recommended that one alternates between weights/ floor exercises and cardio work out each day
4. Don’t overdo- allow a day’s rest for the muscles to recuperate and relax
5. Obtain the optimal exercise card from your consultant.
6. Pace- the slower you do the weights more the resistance and better the fat burning. For non weights exercise- do it at a fast pace (like aerobics/ dancing/ running/ jogging/walking)
7. Warm up is essential- these are low intensity exercises that mobilizes the joints, prevents injury and allows maximization of the high intensity workout.
8. Stretch in the opposite direction after every exercise to ease the muscles.
9. Follow the order of exercise recommended. It helps in optimizing the exercises.
a. Overall, if you are doing lower body first, finish all exercises in the order recommended related to lower body and then move to upper body exercises.
b. Better to do the exercises involving larger muscle group first than localized muscle group- lower body general first followed by focused thighs/ calf and back first and then biceps/ triceps.
c. Moreover if you lose all the energy doing biceps first, you will be unable to use your arms for the back exercises.
d. A short cardio before the work outs mobilizes the fat burning.
10. Get them to train you on the correct muscles and concentrate on those muscles while working out- visualize them working hard to burn the fat tissues stored and getting you in shape. Only and if only you get the technique right, the correct muscle groups will work and you will feel the strain in the right place.
11. Surprise the body- Prevent Conditioning-change the frequency/ duration/ intensity and type. Start light and increase it as you get conditioned.
a. Are you finding the repetitions too easy? Either you have got conditioned or you are doing it wrong. Check with the instructor to give you a change of exercise or increase the intensity
b. Choose the right fit between number of sets repeated and increase of intensity. The later is mostly recommended.
c. Every month the set of exercises are changed to avoid conditioning
d. The more the number of machines/ type of exercises, the better the body performs- a cardio of 40 minutes is more effective if it is alternated between 2-3 machines instead of just 1 machine
12. Breath in (during relaxation phase) and out (during exertion phase) in rhythm with the weights going down and up- give the muscles oxygen. Failing to breath will built up internal pressure and may cause broken blood vessels/ hernia
13. End with cool down- helps you relax, prevent soreness and release the waste products out of the muscles