If there is one thing that you won’t be thankful for this holiday season, it’s the post-Thanksgiving weight-gain.But who can resist the creamy mashed potatoes, a big helping of turkey, casseroles, and a large slice of the seasonal favorite—pumpkin pie? For a holiday that consists of sitting around a food-filled table and chowing down on grub, it’s hard not to get lost in all the calories.
Add in the fact that the last thing you want to do when you feel stuffed is go for a jog. So to help keep your waistline slim during this time of food frenzy, we’ve complied some helpful background info on exercise!
Cardio – What You Need To Know
What do cardio workouts do besides exercise and increase the efficiency of your cardiovascular system? Burn baby burn. That’s right. The obvious answer is that it burns calories. After you pig out on potatoes and pie during the holiday, the next day your first thought may be to go for a 20-minute run and burn the calories.
However, there are a few other things to remember. Ryan Ross, assistant professor of health and exercise sciences here at TCNJ, says that cardio workouts depend on a lot of individual answers and facts, including a person’s fitness goals, their health status, and exercise levels.
But in determining how and the amount of time to workout, Ross suggests using the FITT principle.
The FITT principle acronym stands for the Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of exercise.
“Time and Intensity will be inverse of one another. The more intense the activity the shorter the duration will be and vice versa,” says Ross. “If the intensity is not adequate or the frequency is too sporadic, it is unlikely the individual will experience results,” he says.
So if you only want to work out for 15 minutes and really burn some calories—a walk in the park or on the treadmill isn’t going to cut it.
Make Some Muscle
It’s time to dislodge the myths of muscle. The minute many females here the word “weights” the image of a bodybuilder pops into their minds. Truth is, building muscle isn’t that easy and it’s almost impossible for women to bulk up.
“Females (compared to males) have greater difficulty increasing muscle mass mostly because they have very low levels of circulating testosterone in their bodies. Testosterone is a potent, muscle-building hormone that has been shown to induce large train effects,” says Dr. Nicholas Ratamess, associate professor of health and exercise science.
Dr. Ratamess suggests beginners start with light weights and seek guidance from trained fitness professionals before using weights on their own. He also notes that research has shown that females experience better results when weight training with others rather than alone.
The benefits of building muscle definitely outweigh the fear. “It appears that muscle is quite metabolically active as, even after exercise, muscle requires energy in order to be repaired, maintained, and built stronger,” says Ross.
Ross also notes that muscle helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis, a disease that women are more likely to develop than men.
“Females are able to build bone until about age 30 at which bone density begins to decrease. Thus, it is essential that young women incorporate strength/resistance training to their programs in order to build bones as strong as possible before age and hormone related declines begin,” says Ross.
So pick up a weight and analyze your workout plan, it will help you in the long run!
Create A Balance
It’s not always about the amount of calories consumed or how many times a week you finish an extreme workout, it should be a balance between a healthy diet and a workout regimen.
“The best example I could give would be buying a really fast, expensive car and putting regular or diesel fuel in it. If you are going to dedicate time and energy to an exercise program it’s important to complement it with the proper fuel,” says Ross.
In short, he notes that an unstable diet combined with intense workouts that require an extreme amount of exercise can be damaging.
So enjoy the holidays, consider the FITT principle and start building a healthier you!