What’s with that? Isn’t working out the sure-fire way to lose extra pounds?

Not if you’re making the same exercise mistakes that many do in the gym.

“The lifestyle that is involved with maintaining a healthy body weight involves more than what you put in your mouth,” says James A. Peterson, PhD, FACSM, the author of more than 80 books on health, nutrition, and exercise. “Many people think that if you go into the gym and bump up against a weight machine, you’re going to lose weight.”

Peterson, who oversaw the exercise program at West Point for nearly 20 years, says that misconceptions abound when it comes to maximizing weight loss through working out. One such example is confusing sweating with burning calories.

“Sweating just means you have a hyperactive internal system,” he says. “It doesn’t have a single thing to do with losing weight, or with burning calories, which is how much work you do. Also, sweating is all water weight — which is all replaced once you take in liquid again. It doesn’t mean anything.”

A far bigger problem with weight control, however, is that many people simply don’t know how to exercise properly.

“They don’t know how to use the machines. They don’t know how to design and follow a proper exercise regimen, so they get in there and go through the motions, and don’t achieve a lot,” Peterson says. “Then, when they get discouraged, they go back to the lifestyle factors that caused the weight increase in the first place.”

So what else might you be doing wrong during your workout? Check out these frequent faux pas.

Exercise Mistake #1: Too much socializing, not enough exercising.

“I see a lot of individuals talking with each other in the gym,” says Scott Lucett, director of education for the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a certified personal trainer for more than 15 years. “Next thing they know, an hour has passed and the amount of time they have actually spent exercising is relatively low.” So focus on your workout — and save the chit-chat for the juice bar.

Exercise Mistake #2: Lack of intensity.

Do you see your gym time as the perfect way to catch up on your reading? Are you leaning on the machines? Lots of people are just going through the motions, even though they may look like they’re working out. “They think that as long as they’re moving, they’re going to lose weight,” Lucett says. “But if the intensity is not at the level that it needs to be at, it’s almost a waste of time.”

In addition to increasing your intensity levels, Peterson also recommends working out for longer periods of time, increasing weights and distance, cross-training, working out on an incline, and maximizing your body weight while working out, by using a weighted vest or ankle weights, for example.

Exercise Mistake #3: Always training in the ‘fat burning’ heart rate zone.

You’ve seen those charts on the cardiovascular machines that list “zones.” But in the so-called “fat-burning zone,” your training intensity isn’t very high — usually 65%-70% of your heart rate. Research, however, has shown that the higher the intensity, the more calories you burn — not only while exercising, but after you leave the gym, when your body benefits from an “after-burn” mode.

“It’s as if you turn off your car engine, but the hood is still warm,” Lucett says. “The same thing happens with the body. You need to make sure that your intensity is higher than that chart.” Unable to work out that hard? Work your way up.

Exercise Mistake #4: Overestimating caloric expenditure.

Don’t let the number on the screen of your cardio machine fool you, either. “That’s a very general number and there are a lot of variables that play into that,” Lucett says. “The machine may say that you’ve expended 500 calories, but you could only be burning 250.”

This can be especially true when you do things to “trick” the machine, like leaning on the bars. Unbeknownst to that computer, which relies on speed and revolutions to calculate calories, you’re offsetting your weight, which means you are significantly decreasing the amount of work you’re doing.

Exercise Mistake #5: Not progressing/changing your program.

When you do the same workout over and over again, the body has no reason to change. “You’ll see an initial loss, but eventually you’ll get to a point of diminishing returns,” Lucett says.

Another challenge, Peterson says, is getting away from the machines and routines that you feel most comfortable with.

“You like the feeling of aerobic exercise, so you don’t do what it takes to maintain your muscle mass, which is the body tissue that burns calories — the furnace,” he says. “Or you do only strength training, which maintains muscle mass, but you don’t lose weight.” Those little string-bean guys who run marathons? They often don’t do anything to ensure the success of the process by, say, engaging in strength training. You have to have a mix.

Exercise Mistake #6: Spot reduction training.

Those articles that guarantee you can lose fat from your abs or glutes? Forget ‘em, say the experts. “People need to understand that genetics is the primary factor in determining where that body fat comes from,” Lucett says. “Your body is going to take fat from anywhere it wants.” The answer? Just focus on burning calories through a well-balanced training program. You’ll eventually lose the weight from all areas of your body.

Exercise Mistake #7: Improper exercise technique.

When you don’t know how to use a machine or perform an exercise properly, you can easily confuse mechanical inefficiency with caloric burn, Peterson says. Doing an exercise wrong can also lead to injury. “If you get injured, you can’t work out,” Lucett says. “And, if you can’t work out, you won’t be burning calories in the gym.”

The challenge, of course, is knowing when you’re doing something wrong — especially if you’re relying on techniques from “back in the day.” Exercise science has evolved tremendously in the past few decades, and so have weight machines. So get an experienced gym employee to do the rounds with you, or consider hiring a personal trainer for a session or two (see tip #9).

Exercise Mistake #8:Doing too much too soon.

In addition to injuring yourself, if you jump into an exercise program too soon, you can become overly sore. Being sore isn’t bad; it’s actually your body’s way of telling you that it’s building muscle. But working out too hard, especially early on, can have a detrimental effect on your motivation.

Another symptom of overtraining is fatigue, which will impact the amount of activity you do the rest of the day. “You’re not burning a lot of calories in the gym. Most of your calories are expended throughout the other 23 hours,” he says. “It’s vital to make sure that what you’re doing during that hour translates into increased caloric expenditure the rest of the day.” The solution? Make sure you get a personalized program to help with your workout. Many gyms now have a computer that will do just this. If not, someone on staff will be able to help. Many people don’t realize it, but periodic one-on-one sessions are often included with those membership fees. Be sure to ask.

Exercise Mistake #9: Not working with a professional who is certified by an accredited organization.

A professional will also make sure that you don’t fall prey to any of these traps. “A personal trainer is your insurance policy to make sure you get the maximum efficiency out of your efforts,” Peterson says.

So whether it’s a certified personal trainer or an experienced gym employee, consider working with someone to customize your training regimen. He or she will take the guesswork out of the equation, create a personalized plan tailored to your specific needs, make sure you’re doing your workout correctly and even give you tips on proper diet – an even bigger piece of the weight loss puzzle. If you stick with it, you’ll finally start to see those pounds disappear.
webmd.com

Experts on the moderate-low intensity cardio/aerobic workouts suggest that in these instances the body uses more fat than carbohydrates as a fuel for the workout. This means that these types of cardio workouts will be beneficial to those who want to lose weight fast. Those who are proponents of high intensity cardio workouts suggest that once the body is made to go through such a workout it will have a higher expenditure of energy and as such the weight loss will be greater. This really needs consideration; what type of workout is more effective?

[ad#co-1]To do this best, we can compare various case studies. Let ‘s first consider a man who is between the ages of 30-39 and has a weight of 85Kg. Let ‘s also assume that the man has aerobic capacity in the range of 40ml/kg/minute. In this case study we will compare the two training methods both of which will burn up the same number of calories i.e. 500kCal. For the low intensity cardio workout the rate will be set at 65 percent of the maximum heart rate. This is the rate that has been categorized as optimum for fat loss
. As for the high intensity workout the rate will be set at 85 percent of the maximum heart rate. This is the rate that has been preferred when you want to improve the personal aerobic capacity. The 85% rate mostly makes use of carbohydrates as the fuel source.

Moderate rate of 65%: At this rate the person in question will require 55 minutes to burn up the 500 calories. By using a gas analyzer it has been shown that at this rate the fuel contribution is 37% fat and the carbohydrate use is 63%. One gram of fat yields approximately 9kCal. As such the person will have used 79g carbohydrate and 20g fat.

High intensity of 85%: At this rate the 500 calories are burnt up faster i.e. 42 minutes. When we analyze the fuel contribution using the gas analyzer it is observed that 17% is fat while 83% is carbohydrate. This translates into 104g carbohydrate and 9g fat.

By using this case study we can make some inferences about both types of workout. The moderate workout uses more fat for same amount of calorie burnt, more fats are used in similar time, and that the training is less demanding. On the other hand the training benefits are less significant, it is easy to cancel out the benefits acquired depending on your food intake and the amount of fat used is quite insignificant.

For the high intensity workout more energy is used in the same time limit and the training results in greater benefit. The training is harder to perform and fewer fats are burnt off.

These observations should help you make a choice of the regimen that will suit you. Whatever the choice it is prudent to be active and eat healthy.

About the Author
Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com[ad#co-1]

Why is protein supplements important? Typically, protein supplements have been used by bodybuilders and those who want to build muscle and get bigger. Protein has many good things and your body need adequate protein from a greater number of resources like food and protein. There are so many quality proteins available in the current market that you can be sure that you will be able to find the protein supplement that is right for your specific needs, whether you will use it for bodybuilding or fitness program. You can choose the right protein supplements by taking both the ingredients and the cost into consideration.

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Protein Supplements – Protein Benefits:

By using protein supplements you can enjoy the benefit of protein. One of the most important benefits of protein is a muscle-building benefit. Protein provides the building blocks for muscle development. For example a whey-based protein powders are very important components of any fundamental bodybuilding or fitness nutrition program.

Protein Supplement, Soy, Whey, Or Egg Protein Supplements:

Soy, whey, or egg protein supplements are examples of protein supplements available in the current market. Soy, whey, or egg is a reference to a protein supplement source. This source has been concentrated through high heat drying, acid extraction, or filtration. After the concentration process there is usually 60 – 70 percent protein by dry weight. But when the protein is concentrated other things like lactose and fat are also concentrated with it.

A Note About Protein Supplements:

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Protein supplements can be used for various purposes, but be sure to consult a doctor if a specific protein is right for you. When a specific diet is combined with the use of protein supplements, the value can be much greater and results better. Good exercising program can help too.

Possibly, you have heard the term but do not really understand it. What does your body fat percentage mean? Essentially, it is an estimate of the fraction of the total body mass that is fat mass, or adipose tissue rather than lean body mass such as muscle, bone, organ tissue, blood and all the rest. Lean body mass also goes under the name of fat free mass. Keeping track of your body fat percentage helps you to monitor your progress during a diet. It also serves as a measure of physical fitness for sports like bodybuilding.

As a measure of excess body weight, one’s body fat percentage is far more reliable than one’s body mass index (BMI). This is because body fat percentage makes a distinction between the weight of muscle mass and that of the fat mass. BMI, on the other hand, simply groups all masses and gives a single figure. Despite its accuracy, measurement of body fat percentage is not as widely used as BMI. The reason is that measuring body fat percentage calls for equipment that is not always readily accessible. In addition, there is always a margin of error, even if a qualified person performs the measurement process.

Total body fat percentage comprises of fat essential to the metabolism as well as stored fat. Essential fat is indispensable in terms of maintaining life and reproductive functions of the body. The essential body fat percentage is greater for women than that for men because their bodies have to deal with the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. According to the accepted norms, essential fat is 2-5% for men and 10-13% for women. The minimum total body fat percentage recommended by medical professionals is more than this essential fat percentage. Storage fat refers to the fat accumulation in adipose tissue. Some of the adipose tissue is essential for protecting internal organs in the chest and abdomen and it is slightly higher for women than for men.

There are various methods for measuring body fat percentage. However, the two most poplar methods are the skin-fold method and the height-circumference method. In the skin-fold method, the tester measures a pinch of skin with special calipers at several standardized points on the body. In this way, one can determine the layer thickness of the subcutaneous fat (fat below the skin). The tester then converts these measurements to an estimated body fat percentage with the help of an equation. Depending on the formula employed, the tester may take as few as three measurements or as many as seven.

The accuracy of these estimates depends more on the tested person’s unique body fat distribution rather than on how many sites the tester measures. While using this method of measuring body fat percentage, the tester must ensure that he uses a fixed pressure in very specific locations. The skin-fold method is quite reliable as a measure of body composition changes over a certain period, even though it may not give an accurate reading of actual body fat percentage. In the skin-fold method to estimate body fat percentage, a lot depends on the type of caliper used as well as on the technique. It applies to only subcutaneous adipose tissue.

The formula used in the height and circumference method of measuring body fat percentage takes into account an individual’s weight and girth measurements. There are several variations, one of which is the U.S. Navy Circumference method. This method compares abdomen or waist and hips measurements to neck measurement and height a well as other areas. The tester then converts the findings to the body mass index to estimate the body fat percentage. In the variant used in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army, the tester measures the neck and waist just above the naval in the case of males and the hips, waist, and neck in the case of females. He then compares these measurements with a height/weight chart, factoring in the subject’s age.

This is a preferred method because it is a cheap and convenient means. However, it is subject to possible inaccuracy because the subject can cheat on it by holding in the stomach or flaring out the neck to enlarge these areas.

By Arun Chitnis