Exercise for Fitness

Nutrition Guidelines:
o Ideally, you should eat six meals a day. Never skip any meal. Try to eat at least five times a day. It also helps improving digestion
o Remember skipping meals slows down metabolism and makes it even harder to lose fat later
o All your meal should be equal and moderately sized. Combine complex carbohydrates and complete protein at every meal.
o Eat till you are satisfied, not full.
o Avoid heavy meal at night.
o Sleep at least after 2 ½ hours after you night meal.
o Strictly avoid fried and sugar-containing foods like sweets, sweetened biscuits.
o Exercise after 2 ½ hours of eating your large meal. Also, eat one hr after exercise for increasing the residual fat-burning effects of exercise.
o Drink plenty of water during day (10 glasses). Body tells less of its water requirement.
o Body is 70% water. Don't confuse weight loss with water loss or muscle mass loss with products like herbal tea. Aim at losing fat, not weight
o Eat lots of boiled (can be spicy) vegetables and big green salad.

Cardio/Aerobic/Isotonic Exercise Guidelines (exercises that elevate your heart beat like fast walking, swimming, jogging etc.) o Only type of physical exercise activity that directly burns fat.
o Try to do at least for 20 min. However it should not be done for more than 60 minutes.
o Best way to begin: for 5 minutes walking slow (warm-up), then alternate walking fast (or jog) and slow. Try to increase duration of walking fast (or jog). Then at the end, do 2 -3 minutes of slow walking or stretching for cool-down.
o Best time for cardio training is in morning before breakfast.
o Don't get caught up in argument whether to do in morning or evening. If you can't do in morning, even at evening is also very good than doing nothing at all.
o Talking test: If you can carry conversation with an exercise partner or sing out to yourself with a small effort, then probably you are doing cardio training with proper intensity.
o One should drink water before, during and after workout in small amount. Take a sip, don't gulp!
o Abs exercises don't burn fat. Fat is stored throughout the body. You can't reduce fat from a particular area of body (spot reduce).

Weight/Strength/Resistance Training Guidelines : (they are roughly the same)

o Necessary to lose fat. Helps you burn more calories while you are sleeping (basal metabolic rate) and when not exercising. Necessary in a fat loss program to prevent muscle mass loss.
o Helps lowering stress, depression, stabilize BP and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
o Maintain a good form and lift in slow, controlled manner (2 sec to lift and 2 sec to lower) or else you are calling for injuries.
o Train both sides of body equally. Use same amt of weight in your left and right arms.
o Breathe out while lifting a weight, breathe in while lowering. Don't stop breathing while lifting (keeping you mouth open helps to avoid it)
o Warm up first with walking for 5 min (till you start sweating), then lift weights, and then do cool down with stretching.
o Here stretching is a must after workout to avoid stiffness, injury and fast recovery.
o Try to increase weight or sets or rep after every 2-3 workouts by some amount.
o When doing both weight training and cardio training same day, do in following order: Warm-up (for 5 min), weight training, cardio training, cool down with stretching.
o Don't exercise the same muscle groups two days in a row.
o One should drink water before, during and after workout in small amount. Take a sip, don't gulp!
o When you leave exercise, muscles don't turn into fat. They are two different tissues. Fat is gained only by improper diet and sedentary lifestyle.
o Weight strength training session should not last more than 45 minutes. If it so, reduce the resting time between sets.
o Add variety and change routine every 2 months. Focus on major compound exercises like squats, deadlift (all type-sumo, stiff legged, normal), pull-ups, push ups.

Stretching Guidelines : (static stretch)

o Helps reducing soreness, lessens recovery time between workouts.
o Never stretch cold muscles.
o Increase the range slowly and hold the final stretch for at least 20 sec. Do not bounce.
o Essential after weight training.

Read 'stretching faq' for good tips..google for it !!

NOTES:
o Take small steps. Many people start out full-throttle and end up injured or burned out.
o Maintain a log of exercise done. Before starting out you must know what you are going to do today to out time wastage.
o Know your goal. It is safe to lose weight up to 1 kg per week, though practically up to ¾ kg. If it is more than that, then it is water or muscle loss (not a good thing).
o Remember you deserve and can become healthy and fit.
o If you think you will start it from next week, month etc., probably you will never start it. Start eating good food from the next meal itself and exercise from same day or tomorrow, but no later.
o Even if you can't exercise for a day or two, don't give up. You CAN always start one more time. In fact, it happens with everyone.

>>>>Above material provided by Piyush Jain, he can be reached through piyush_cse at yahoo dot com