Three Cardiovascular Activities You Can Do For Weight Loss

For the majority of the population weight loss is not easy. Even with the advancement of science, when it comes to losing weight there are no "take a pill and watch your weight melt away" solutions. Contrary to popular belief, weight loss does not have to be difficult either. There are a lot of fun solutions you can implement to help with weight loss. Studies have shown that when someone enjoys the exercises they are doing they stick with it and invariable lose the weight.

Probably the most dreadful of all the weight loss activities are cardiovascular exercises. These are those exercises that really get the heart pumping and the body sweating. A good weight loss regimen includes 3 to 4 days of some type of cardiovascular exercise. Here we cover three of them so you can decide which one is right for you. More importantly, which one you will find fun and that you will stick with.

Walking
This is the most popular of all the cardio routines. You do not need to join a gym, buy fancy sneakers or workout clothes to do it and the best part it is free to walk your neighborhood. Slap on a pair of headphones to listen to your favorite music on your iPod and it will make it that more enjoyable. Keep a faster than strolling pace so you can get your heart rate up there. This gets the blood flowing and the lungs working.

Running/Jogging
This exercise really gets the heart pumping. The downside of this is you need to work your way up to jogging for extended lengths of time. Similar to walking you can jog in your neighborhood for free and listen to music. If you have a friend that can join you it makes it all that much better. A good way to stay motivated with jogging is to challenge yourself and increment the amount of time or distance in which you jog and see if you can beat yourself.

Biking
I love to ride a bike. I have an inexpensive "mountain bike" style bicycle that I ride everywhere. Depending on what kind of bike you want to own it can get fairly expensive. If you'd rather not leave the house, your local sporting goods store sells stationary bikes. Again depending on how many bells and whistles you want the price will reflect that. You can get stationary bikes that monitor your heart rate, tell you how many calories you have burned and so much more. The more expensive models will even allow you to program them to compete against the computer. Again, the more bells and whistles that you add, the higher the price will go.

On a final note, just as an added source of information, when you do cardiovascular activity, wear loose, breathable clothing. Stay away from wearing jeans. Give your body a chance to breathe and to sweat.

If you find yourself losing interest in your cardio routine then switch it up. Alternate between one of the three mentioned exercises above. This will keep things fresh, new and challenging.

About the Author:
Mike writes for Weightloss Nation. An online resource where you can learn tips and tricks on weight loss, fitness, exercise and nutrition.

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Body Mass Index (BMI) - How Accurate?

Body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet Index is a widely-used statistical measure of a person's weight in proportion to height. It was invented over 100 years ago, and is frequently used in assessing the fitness level of individuals or populations. The BMI calculation renders a value called a BMI Index that is used to rate how close a subject is to the "ideal" weight.

For example, surveys that show the increasing levels of obesity in America are usually based on BMI index, as follows:

BMI > 30 = OBESE

BMI 25-30 = OVERWEIGHT

BMI 18-25 = NORMAL

BMI < 18 = UNDERWEIGHT

How does the calculation work?

BMI is calculated as 703 * (weight in pounds / height in inches squared).

So, for a person who is 5'10 and weighs 200 lbs, the BMI would be calculated as follows:

703 * (200 / 4900) = 28.7... This person would be considered OVERWEIGHT, nearly obese.

There are, however, problems with this formula. One of the problems is that there can be a substantial variance in what constitutes "ideal weight" from person to person. For example, the BMI calculation does not take into account persons with dense muscle mass. So, someone who does extensive strength training and has developed muscle mass may in fact have a BMI that indicates he or she is overweight even though the person may be very fit with low body fat.

In fact, we know several extremely fit people with BMIs in the high 20s, but whose body fat is approaching the level of professional athletes! Their body weight is relatively high in proportion to their height because they carry substantial muscular weight.

So, how useful is the BMI indicator?

The BMI index is not a one-size-fits-all wellness indicator. And like any other measure of fitness it needs to be used within context, along with other metrics such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, body fat percentage, and cardiovascular efficiency.

If your BMI is outside the "normal" range, it's a good idea to assess your other fitness metrics when determining whether you are at your ideal weight. But as with any other fitness metric, BMI can be misleading or even useless when evaluated in a vacuum.

Pete Bellisano is a certified personal trainer and owner of Peak Performance Fitness in Berkeley Heights NJ. Peak clients are achieving outstanding results losing weight and improving overall fitness, through our unique approach to Fitness For Real People. Visit our site to see what our clients have to say about their success, and to pick up your free fitness info. http://www.peakperformancenj.com

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