There is myth being spread around that aerobics tones and firms muscles. But the fact is that resistance training or weight training helps you get the toned, firm look. For fat loss, the ideal method is a combination of both aerobics and weight training. Your weight loss will go up by 56% if you follow the combination of these two methods of exercising.
When you put on more muscle, your weight might go up because muscles weigh more than fat. But in reality, your body burns more calories at rest due to higher metabolism. A pound of muscle consumes about 350-300 calories for survival while a pound of fat needs just about 14 calories a week. Besides, developing muscle increases your immunity to the diseases. Weight training has benefited people of all ages and sex. Muscle loss associated with old age comes when the muscle is wasted due to inactivity. But lifting weights or doing weight training even twice a week, can retain or increase your muscle mass.
Weight training with moderate weights with many sets of high number of repetitions will increase bone mass and metabolism, besides toning and firming the muscles. This make you look lean.
Aerobics is a form of exercise that raises your heart rate and breathing for a certain continuous period. It taxes the heart and lungs, making them work harder while exercising. In turn, your heart and lungs become strong, resulting in efficient utilization of the oxygen. When this happens, it assists strength training and improves your general fitness.
You can choose from bicycling, aerobic dance, swimming, walking, and stepping. Your choice will be decided by your physical condition, your history, your interests and your goals. Switch between 2 or more types of aerobic exercises for an excellent workout. You can also alternate between high impact and low impact aerobics. High impact aerobics are harsh on your body and can cause injury. But when you alternate between the two types of aerobics, your chances of injury and overuse of specific muscles decrease.
Do aerobics for 3-4 days in a week for a minimum of 20 minutes daily. You can increase the duration for 40-60 minutes a day for 5-6 days a week if you aim to shed fat or if you are very fit. Use moderate intensity. However, if you are obese, recovering from a health problem or injury or starting after a long time, use low intensity and then slowly raise it to moderate level.
Start your workout by warming up and cooling down. It will minimize the risk of injury. Start your warm up slowly and then increasing the tempo. At the end of the workout, cool down.
Follow the instructions given above to achieve the maximum fat loss without hurting yourself.