How to Spend a Maximum of Calories?

To spend more energy in a day, it is first necessary to be as active as possible. Then, it is important to make the most out of training sessions in order to burn the most possible calories in the shortest time.

Lack of time to exercise is one of the main obstacles mentioned by people who wish to lose weight, but a day lasts 24 hours, and there are plenty of opportunities to move. At work, take a walk during your lunch break. At home, use a podometer, and try to increase your total daily steps. In any event, keep in mind that being physically active outside of your usual training will make all the difference in terms of weight loss.

Regarding actual training, many tips enable us to burn a maximum of calories, and thus, to lose weight more quickly.

1) Interval cardiovascular training;

2) High-intensity cardiovascular training (75-85 % of maximum heart rate);

3) Circuit training.

We have to stress the fact that these three elements stimulate the metabolism for a few hours following exercise, thus creating optimal energy expenditure by the end of the day. As for cardio, I suggest that you integrate medium-intensity exercises despite everything. Why? High-intensity sessions can lead to exhaustion when abused, because they demand great physical and psychological effort. So, to avoid this phenomenon, it is better to combine both types of intensity, that is, medium- and high-intensity. Also, don’t forget to include resistance training to your routine, since it enables us to maintain the metabolism at the right level, as well as strength and muscle mass.

By Mathieu Rousseau

References
LaForgia J et al. (2006). Effects of exercise intensity and duration on the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. J Sports Sci. 24(12):1247-64.
Speakman JR et Selman C. (2003). Physical activity and resting metabolic rate. Proc Nutr Soc. 62(3):621-34.
Osterberg KL et Melby CL (2000). Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate in young women. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 10(1):71-81.

How to Spend a Maximum of Calories? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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