Slimming and Body Shaping Exercises: Basic Understanding of Aerobic Exercise and Exercise Prescription

Chapter Five: Exercises for Slimming and Shaping the Body

Cindy Crawford's philosophy on weight loss and body shaping: "Persistent training is the best way to maintain a good figure." In response to a question from a reporter from American bodybuilding magazine, Cindy Crawford said, "Every day, I kick and bend over dozens, even hundreds of times, to make my waist and legs beautifully shaped and prevent my hips from sagging. I also train my arms and chest one by one to make all the muscles in my body strong and powerful. For me, physical training is as indispensable as eating and sleeping. Therefore, no matter how stressful or busy my work is, I insist on more than an hour of physical training every day, day after day, year after year, even when traveling abroad or attending important events. I often hear people admire my physique, which is not accidental, but the result of my daily persistent exercise. I don't think I'm particularly clever; I just persist in learning and training every day. If I have any bodybuilding secret, it's that small dumbbells + persistence = a fit physique. Remember, beauty lies in movement."

Section 1: Basic Understanding of Aerobic Exercise

For weight loss and body shaping, the most effective exercise is aerobic exercise, especially those that burn a lot of calories, such as jogging, hiking, brisk walking, ball sports, and swimming. Each workout should ideally be completed in one continuous session without interruption, and each session should burn at least 300 kilocalories. This level of exercise will typically cause an increased heart rate and sweating. Exercise increases the body's metabolic rate, but its effects only last for a maximum of two days. Therefore, consistency is key. If you can't exercise every day, you should at least exercise every two days. For an extremely obese person, even walking can be a significant burden. Therefore, when choosing a type of exercise, it's crucial to assess your own capabilities and prioritize what your body can handle, gradually increasing the intensity to avoid overloading your heart and lungs or injuring your muscles and joints.

1. Which exercises are most effective for weight loss?

Here are some examples of exercises that can burn 300 kcal:

Jog for 30-50 minutes.

Cycling for 1 hour to 75 minutes.

It takes 1 to 1.5 hours to walk.

Swim for 30-40 minutes.

Playing tennis for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Jump rope for 30-40 minutes.

2. Prescribe your own treatment plan before exercising.

Want to know which exercises can help you lose excess fat? Which weight loss methods are more effective for women? What exercise intensity is needed to achieve slimming results? And how long should each exercise session last? Here's the answer!

Choosing an exercise program: Women who want to lose weight through exercise must base their choice of method on their age, interests, and hobbies to achieve the best results. Generally, younger women can choose from long-distance running, swimming, martial arts, gymnastics, hula hooping, walking, cycling, and skating; while middle-aged women can consider walking, Tai Chi, Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade), and cycling, with walking being particularly suitable for weight loss. In addition, visiting a weight loss center and practicing aerobics or dance is also an excellent option for women seeking weight loss.

Exercise Intensity: If you choose jogging as a way to lose fat, you must know how to control your speed to avoid wasting your time. The most correct and effective speed should start from 100-110 meters per minute and gradually increase to 120-130 meters per minute. The maximum heart rate for young women is around 180 beats per minute; for middle-aged women, it is around 140 beats per minute; and for elderly women, it is advisable to have a maximum heart rate of less than 120 beats per minute.

Exercise time and frequency: Each session should last about 30-40 minutes before you start burning that pesky fat, and exercising 3-5 times a week is the biggest factor in successful weight loss.

3. Basic knowledge of home fitness

Multifunctional fitness equipment priced between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan per set is increasingly becoming a common household item. Would you like to add one of these to your home fitness equipment collection?

First and foremost, it's important to understand that if you aspire to become a true bodybuilder, like those seen on television, or even compete in bodybuilding competitions, you'll need professional coaching or at least a formal bodybuilding training course. Home gym equipment alone is insufficient. This isn't to say that home gym equipment is bad; with the right methods, it can perfectly meet your general exercise needs.

So, what exactly are the benefits of these home fitness machines? Before answering that question, let's discuss what you're trying to achieve. Generally speaking, the goals of bodybuilding can be summarized into three main aspects:

The first reason is to reduce fat (i.e., lose weight), which is the most direct reason why most people choose bodybuilding in modern society. The second reason is to increase strength, which is a relatively important reason for most men to pursue bodybuilding. The third reason is the desire for a well-built physique; a body honed through bodybuilding generally has prominent muscles and well-defined lines, which is often desired by young men.

Can all three goals mentioned above be achieved using a home gym machine? The answer is yes. So how? Or rather, how can we achieve different results using the same machine? The key lies in the choice of resistance. Home gym machines generally allow you to adjust the resistance level, which is the foundation for achieving these goals. Specifically, to reduce fat, the key is light load and high repetitions. When exercising, set the machine's resistance to a lower setting. The standard is that it should be easy to do, and you should be able to do many repetitions, generally at least 20. Do 3-5 sets each time. Note that the resistance shouldn't be too low; if you can only do 50 or more repetitions, it's too light and won't be effective. Weight loss is the most strenuous part of bodybuilding training. The concept of sets will be explained below.

To increase strength, the key is high load, low repetition. Strength training is the opposite of weight loss; it requires you to increase the strength of the gym equipment, ideally so that you can only complete 1-2 repetitions even with all your strength. Do 2-3 sets each workout. Note that to prevent injury, don't overexert yourself.

The key to building muscle is the right amount of load and repetitions. Many people believe that having muscle automatically means greater strength. While there is some correlation, it's not a direct correlation. The most obvious example is that a weightlifter's strength will certainly surpass that of a bodybuilder, but their muscles will certainly not look as large. The ideal strength level for muscle building lies between these two extremes. The standard is that you can only complete 8-12 repetitions before you can't do any more. That's correct. Perform 3-4 sets per workout.

Let's discuss other important considerations for bodybuilding:

Timing: We generally believe that exercising in the morning is most effective. Indeed, getting up early and exercising can make you feel energetic throughout the day. However, in terms of the actual effectiveness of the exercise, morning isn't the best time. The optimal time to exercise is between 3 PM and 5 PM. Of course, aside from professional athletes, this golden time for most people is also their busiest time for work and life, making it unlikely they'll have time for bodybuilding. In that case, exercising around 8 PM can also be quite effective.

Frequency: Is bodybuilding something you do every day? TV commercials say that doing it for a few minutes every day will bring you great results. Actually, bodybuilding doesn't need to be done every day, and doing it every day isn't very effective. The best results are achieved three times a week, every other day, with an extra day of rest on the weekend. If that's not possible, doing it twice a week is fine; but no less, otherwise it won't be effective. For those aiming to lose weight, you can do it one more time.

Breathing: Proper breathing is crucial during bodybuilding exercises and can significantly enhance your results. Specifically, inhale deeply when exerting force and exhale completely when relaxing.

Sets: Before explaining this concept, let's talk about the order of bodybuilding exercises. In bodybuilding itself, there's no set order. However, since we're all amateur trainees without a spotter, the correct order is crucial to protect you from injury. Specifically, do lower body exercises first, then chest and back exercises, then upper body exercises, and finally abdominal exercises. Performing these exercises in this order once constitutes one set.

Assistive Equipment: Home gym equipment has limitations; it can't target certain muscle groups. Therefore, it's best to purchase some auxiliary equipment, the most common being dumbbells. If your budget allows, buy a set of dumbbells of different weights; otherwise, a pair of adjustable dumbbells will suffice. Don't underestimate these small dumbbells; they can be used for a wide range of exercises. They can work your biceps, triceps, wrists, and chest muscles. Doing sit-ups with dumbbells under your neck is particularly effective.

In summary, bodybuilding is easier said than done; the key is perseverance. If you consistently follow the methods above, you'll see noticeable changes after three months, and you'll be amazed after a year. To test the effectiveness of your bodybuilding workouts, measure and record the dimensions of various body parts (waist, chest, arm circumference, etc.) before starting, and then measure again after three or six months. You'll definitely feel more confident after that.

4. Exercise prescription for aerobic exercise

According to the American College of Sports Medicine's statement and a synthesis of relevant research findings, exercise prescriptions for improving cardiorespiratory fitness should meet the following criteria:

Type of exercise: Any physical activity that uses large muscle groups, can be performed continuously for a long time, and is rhythmic and aerobic. Examples include running, walking, swimming, skating, cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, rope skipping, and various endurance sports.

Exercise intensity: Using pulse rate as an indicator, the appropriate exercise intensity is when the pulse rate during exercise reaches 70-90% of the maximum pulse rate (which can be predicted by subtracting an individual's age from 220). For example, a normal 40-year-old person has a predicted maximum pulse rate of 180 beats per minute, and their appropriate exercise intensity should be between 126 beats per minute (180 beats × 70%) and 162 beats per minute (180 beats × 90%). Exceeding this range indicates either insufficient or excessive exercise intensity.

Exercise duration: Continue at the aforementioned exercise intensity for 20-60 minutes. Generally, the duration should be adjusted to the exercise intensity; if the intensity is low, the duration should be longer; conversely, if the intensity is high, the duration can be shorter. However, adjustments must still be made within the specified upper and lower limits.

Exercise frequency: In principle, aerobic exercise should be performed once every two days. If using a weekly schedule, it should be at least three times a week, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. At most, it can be performed once a day, but this is not absolutely necessary. In particular, it is essential to avoid excessive fatigue caused by insufficient rest, or to prevent increasing the risk of sports injuries.