Losing extra pounds the right way

It's three months into the new year. Was your resolution fitness-related? Don't make the same mistakes that everyone else makes during their new years fitness craze. You won't loose weight and keep it off easily by just running on the treadmill all day. Be a good gymbunny and do it right! You also need strength training to meet your cardiovascular training.

If you are trying to burn off those extra pounds without building lean muscle mass underneath that fat you're burning off, the likelihood that you will gain back all the weight you lost will be quite high. Including strength training in your workout routine builds lean body mass, which in turn will raise your resting metabolic rate, or rate at which you burn calories doing normal activity. Stronger muscles mean more calories burned throughout the day, because muscles need energy to move. If all you do in the gym is run, then you are only burning calories and only temporarily raising your resting metabolic rate for about 24 hours. In general only 15 extra calories are burned resting for every 100 calories you burn on the treadmill.

I would recommend that you do a 10-20 minute warm up jog before you lift weights. Some people prefer to jog after lifting because the initial energy used in the warm up jog can be used for an initial burst of energy when lifting weights. But I recommend that anyone does a warm up jog before they lift as it will get oxygen circulating throughout your body which will make your endurance during the strength training persist even longer if you hadn't. I also recommend that you have one day of the week you designate specifically just for cardiovascular activities. Therefore you don't over exhaust yourself and slack on weight training.

So if you don't want to have an average workout routine of someone like Joe the Plumber, make sure you develop a well-rounded workout routine. Get on the treadmill and lift some steel. You might be surprised to find what you are developing underneath your tummy as it gradually shows itself pound my pound the true tone the muscles you have waiting to be shown off! We all have a little gymbunny inside us somewhere. It's just a matter of educating ourselves and sticking to a persistent plan.

Remember, Consistency and Persistency!

Jim