Losing weight is never easy. Your diet plays a significant role in achieving your ideal physique but other elements can also affect your weight goals.
Exercise can be confusing with all the workouts you can possibly do. The same goes for other lifestyle changes you need to make to help you lose or maintain weight.
Fortunately, there has been a lot of research on how the human body responds to exercise and lifestyle changes. Science has much to say about what needs to be done to multiply the results of your efforts.
Check out these five tips on how to boost your metabolism and make your workouts more effective.
Don’t Stress Out About Upper and Lower Ab Workouts –Core Muscles Function as One
Core muscles or the abs are always an area of interest for anyone who works out.
Some fitness experts recommend isolating the upper and the lower abs separately but researchers just found something of interest.
Peter Francis, Ph.D. had eye-opening findings after comparing 13 ab workouts at San Diego State University’s Biomechanics lab. His findings suggest that there is no significant difference in the activity of the upper and the lower abs.
The ab muscles acted as a sheath and not as two separate units.
He noted that the folding of the skin had a significant effect on measuring the activity in different parts of the muscle and this could be why the upper and lower abs is believed to be two separate units.
Based on his research, the top three workouts for building tight abs are:
- Bicycle Maneuver
- Captain’s Chair
- Crunch on Exercise Ball
Drinking Water Boosts Metabolism by at Least 24 Percent
Drinking enough water is highly recommended for everyone. When you are trying to lose weight, water is even a better ally and science supports this claim.
In a research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, it was seen that drinking water increased energy expenditure by 24 percent in obese or overweight subjects.
A 500 ml water intake was compared to an isosmotic saline in 50 ml water, and the latter had no effect.
Another study on the effect of water on healthy individuals with normal weight revealed water improved metabolism by 30 percent. Results for both studies were taken 60 minutes after drinking water.
Given the definite results in both studies, anyone who is trying to maintain or lose weight should focus on increased water intake to improve their body’s metabolism.
Plus, water is also helpful in controlling hunger pangs.
Exercise Mends a “Broken” Metabolism
Dieting should be accompanied with exercise –this is what most fitness experts recommend. Why?
Yes, exercise helps prevent sagging and it keeps the body toned. Exercise plays an even larger role than that –it kickstarts your metabolism.
A research published in the American Journal of Physiology proves how exercise could help mend a broken metabolism. A study revealed that exercise altered the metabolic adaptation of the test group and helped them maintain their weight.
If you are inactive, your metabolism will also slow down. However, when you engage in exercise and other physical activities, your metabolism will pick up again.
In the study above, subjects lost up to 14 percent of their body weight by breaking their sedentary lifestyle through exercise. Regular workouts coupled with a low-fat diet yields the best results.
What other benefits can you enjoy from exercise and a faster metabolism?
You can actually have greater flexibility with your food choices. This means you could add more calories in your diet without gaining weight.
Simply put, when you exercise, you can eat a few bites of cake without losing weight. Since you burned calories while working out, you can give yourself a treat without putting on additional pounds.
Lose Visceral Fat with Aerobic Exercise
Staying fit is not just about looking good, it’s also about staying healthy. When fat accumulates under your skin, it could lead to health complications like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
A study published in the International Journal of Obesity revealed that visceral fat or the dangerous fat which wraps around the internal organs.
Results reveal light jogging, brisk walking, and stationary ergometer usage is all effective against reducing this dangerous type of fat.
Doing any of the aforementioned activities on a daily basis is good practice. Aim for doing some cardio for about 30 minutes a day.
Also, you can workout in a sauna suit to burn more fat
Risk of Obesity and Sleep Deprivation is Directly Correlated
Not getting enough sleep is unhealthy and science has much to say about the subject.
In a study conducted on both children and adults, one result was consistent –lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity.
The research involved 36 population samples with 634,511 participants. The findings reveal that children face a greater risk of obesity compared to adults when they do not get enough sleep.
A lifestyle with poor sleeping patterns could increase the risk of obesity in children by 89 percent. Meanwhile, adults face an increased risk of 55 percent.
With these things in mind, living a healthier life means getting enough sleep whether you are a child or an adult.
Children should have at least eight hours of sleep while adults should aim for getting at least seven hours of shut-eye.
Now It’s Your Turn
The first phase is always the hardest when you are working towards your ideal body. Doing anything drastic is not a good thing either. Check this cellulite body wrapping for more info.
Small lifestyle changes like staying hydrated, sleeping enough, and doing light exercise for at least half an hour would be a good first step.
Becoming healthier is a worthwhile goal, and science has much to say on how to improve your physique with just small lifestyle tweaks.
Little changes add up in the long-term. To make your efforts more effective, use these five science-backed tips.
Take out your planner now and incorporate each exercise or new habit above into your daily routines now.
See the effects yourself and feel free to let us know how you feel after practicing some of the techniques above.
Author Bio:
Kelly is the founder of RegularityFitness, where she and associates blog about the best fitness exercises, weight loss methods, diet, muscle building. That will help you get a good shape and healthy. You can also connect with Kelly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyregularit1