According to a recent research study, 30 minutes of exercise a day is better for shedding excess weight than those putting in twice as much time. It pointed out that just 30 minutes of exercise burns as much weight as those working out for an hour. It was believed that 30 minutes of exercise daily was enough to avoid putting on extra weight and will actually result in weight loss.
The study published in the American Journal of Physiology discovered that 30 minutes of running, rowing or cycling over a period of three months lost an average of 8lbs. In actual fact it was discovered that those exercising for 60 minutes only burned 6lbs, 2lbs left than those working out for half that time.
The study monitored the progress of 60 men who were considered slightly overweight who wanted to shed some weight over a three month period. Half of the group were asked to exercise for 60 minutes, while the remainder only need to do half that. Bother groups wore heart-rate monitors to monitor the number of calories burned. It was deemed that 30 minutes of exercise capable of producing a sweat was enough to counteract an unhealthy body mass index.
All training sessions across both groups were required to do exercise that produced a light sweat, however all participants were to increase the intensity of the exercise three times a week. According to the researchers, the 30 minute participants actually burned more calories than they should have from the training program they were set. Further it was established that working out for the extra half an hour did not provide any additional loss in terms of either body weight or fat. Those who exercised the most, lost too little relative to the energy they burned during their 60 minute sessions.
The authors of the study admitted that they were unsure why exactly the participants doing half the exercise shed more weight than those going for the full 60 minutes. It could be down to those exercising for longer were eating more to recoup the energy they had lost or those training for a shorter period put more effort in as it didn’t last as long.
The Department of Health advise that adults should be getting two and a half hours of exercise every week at a moderate to vigorous level of activity. This could include anything from running, cycling, playing football and other sports, or even brisk walking. It is also recommended that some form of resistance / muscle strengthening exercise should also be introduced twice a week.
Gareth writes on health and fitness topics for a number of blogs including followhealth and also writes on behalf of healthcare provider health-on-Line.
It also keeps you in the right mindset to stick to your plan, since you won’t want to undo your hard work by eating the wrong foods. Walking is a total feel-good. It’s my preferred form of aerobic exercise because it’s low-impact (easy on your joints), doesn’t require any special equipment , and can be done almost anywhere.
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