Installment 14...
Methods of exercise
Warm up and cool down
stretching
isometrics (static anaerobic)
aerobic (calisthenic)
anaerobic (dynamic)
plyometric
For younger weight loss pros, warmups before and cool downs after exercise are not as crucial although they would certainly be worthwhile. For older, and or more obese younger weight loss pros warmups and cool downs become more essential for avoiding injuries, and for avoiding other negative health effects. Two of the most effective warmup routines are stretching and walking.
Although stretching is not an exercise method in and of itself, it does have exercise benefits while stretching and limbering the body, and preparing it for exercise. Stretching will elevate the heart rate above your baseline non exertion levels, and it will increase your caloric output somewhat. Stretching the muscle groups and body parts you intend to exercise will greatly reduce the chance of injury to that area while exercising.
Warm up intervals vary with the amount and intensity of the exercise intended. For instance, a short run would best be served with a longer warmup. A long run would best be served with a shorter warmup. Walking as a warmup is best conducted after stretching of the associated soft tissues, and then begun at a slow pace increasing in pace as the body temperature rises. Once the body temperature has risen to it's optimum exercise level, full intensity exercise can much more safely be conducted.
A cool down period after a workout is recommended to keep the muscles from cramping or spasming, or otherwise tightening to the point where injury is more likely. For most workouts, continuing the workout but at a slower and slower pace for a minimum of 5 minutes is recommended.
Isometric exercise is static, and anaerobic in nature. It consists of isolating muscles, and muscle groups, and contracting them against an unmoving resistance. The advantage of this form of exercise is that it doesn't require any equipment, it is only limited by the imagination of the isometricist in finding ways to implement static resistance. The disadvantage is that muscle groups don't get their full range of motion stimulated.
Aerobic exercise is probably the best for calorie and fat burning. It elevates the heart rate to a target rate zone that is able to be sustained for long periods by the equilibrium of aerobic capacity on a cellular level. Aerobic exercise precludes debilitating buildups of lactic acid. Running is a good aerobic exercise. Swimming is a beautiful aerobic exercise, as the body not only burns calories to perform the exercise, the swim response causes more calories to be burned by the body's temperature regulating system. Also, many more muscle groups are exercised in swimming than other exercises.
Any aerobic exercise performed at a high enough intensity becomes anaerobic. At anaerobic levels of exercise, the cellular ability of oxygen to be delivered is exceeded. Also, lactic acid levels build to a point where the muscles involved become unable to further function. Aerobic ability can be increased to levels that were once anaerobic, and anaerobic levels can be increased to the point where direct fat burning processes take place, and the anaerobic period is extended. All this happens as the routine and intensity of your exercise regimen strengthen your aerobic, and anaerobic capacities.
Weightlifting is an example of a dynamic anaerobic exercise. Although at lower resistance levels, weightlifting can be conducted as an aerobic exercise.
Plyometrics combine elements of stretching, short periods of anaerobic, and longer periods of aerobics, even isometrics, and have become very popular after the eclipse of the jazzercise and aerobics crazes. Plyometrics have their roots in good old fashioned calisthenics.
For most people the daily minimum for health benefits from exercising is 30 minutes. If you have been in a long routine of exercising, and absolutely cannot get in 30 minutes of exercising one day, it can be added to the next day's exercise time with no adverse effects.
A curious aspect of exercising, to me, is that is additive. Any exercise you do in a day that elevates your heart rate above your normal exertion baseline levels, even for a minute or two, will have the same positive effects as if you were to do all 30 minutes together. So 2 minutes 15 times a day, or any combination that achieves a total time of 30 minutes is equally effective as the whole 30 at once.
To minimize the risk of injury, all exercise levels should be built up to gradually. Also the weight loss pro will learn to read the bodies exertions signals, and never overexert themselves. This is an open invitation to injury, or other health risks. Injuries are at least doubly unwanted, as they are often painful, but they also can completely derail what was otherwise a wonderfully orchestrated weight loss plan. While you are debilitated, this also greatly increase the risk that your now more sedentary routine will include diet detours, and psychological letdowns, all which conspire to sabotage your weight loss goals. I am at the age where I can get non debilitating (but almost) injuries, and have no idea how I sustained it. As for debilitating type injuries, I am at an age where they will take considerably longer to heal than in my youth. Once you are on a steady and gradual buildup of fitness levels, more and more will be possible for you and desired by you. Some examples are 5k races, 10k's, half marathons, marathons, biathlons, triathlons etc. But for one as for all, walk before you run.
A very advantageous short term effect of exercise, is that a post exercise period will elapse in which your body will have higher metabolism and higher calorie burning levels, for fairly long intervals after exercising ceases. The calorie loss rate won't be as high as during the actual exercise, but it will be proportional to the intensity, and time spent exercising. It's like a calorie burning bonus time.
The best exercise program is one that makes use of the most methods of exercise. Anaerobic exercise builds the muscle's strength, and size which will elevate metabolism. Aerobics will also increase the metabolism somewhat, but are better suited for calorie and fat burning. An excellent weekly exercise routine would be, weightlifting twice a week, and one day each of biking, running, and swimming, and a day of basketball, or tennis, or soccer. One day of the week can be taken off completely if 6 good workouts have taken place during the week. In any event, one day should be reserved for a light to no workout day. If you follow a regimen like this, you will derive all the benefits of all the methods of exercise, and you will stimulate if not all, just about all muscle groups.