Exercising the right way

While everyone swears by his or her own training regime, there are many ways to lose weight effectively. Most gym-goers encourage a mix of cardio and free weights, alternated with rest days in between. Personally, I prefer straight out running (or swimming if you have easy access to pools) to lose weight fast. But of course, to do that, you need to prepare yourself to reduce the chance of injury. I have compiled some answers to questions that I normally hear asked, I hope these come in handy!

Q1: Why is stretching an important part of a workout?
A: Stretching is valuable in improving flexibility in the joints muscle and nerves. With regular stretching you get a larger range of motion before feeling pain - your nerves adapt to make a longer stretch before they give you a stop signal and the muscles start contracting - basically your risk of muscle pull injuries decreases.
• Stretching should be done 15-20 minutes before exercise, and 5-10 minutes after exercise.
• Holding period can be varying due to difference in viscoelasticity of different muscle at different temperature, difference in muscle architecture, and arrangement of connective tissue.
• Stretching exercise should be carried out throughout the season as well as off-season.Only long-term stretching program can improve overall flexibility.
• Balance in flexibility should be considered. Stretching should be done on both agonist and anti-gonist on both limbs.
• Care should be taken when implement stretching program with athletes whom processed hyperlaxity. There are 3 clinical tests which are recommended to assess athletes' hyperlaxity.
• As elasticity of slow-twist fiber is greater than fasttwist fiber, therefore the fast-twist fiber is more susceptible to injury. Athletes participate in high intensity sports such as splinting may require stretching more than an endurance runner.

Q2: I've heard so much about "Metabolism".
A: Metabolism is the process whereby our body converts food into energy or stores it as fat for future use. Simply put, if we have a faster/higher metabolism we burn calories more efficiently and store less fat. If we have a slower/lower metabolism we burn calories less efficiently and therefore store more calories as fat.

Q3: How do I raise my metabolism?
A: 1. Exercise regularly
Do more aerobic exercise as this makes you breathe more heavily.
2. Eat Regularly
Ensure that your body burns calories willingly, eat breakfast and then eat regularly throughout the day.
3. Balanced Diet
This maintains a good supply of nutrients which in turn keeps your metabolism working smoothly.

Point to Note:
The only safe and effective way to raise your metabolism is to exercise more. The harder you work, the higher your metabolic rate

Lastly, you have all read about my enthusiastiasm for running as exercise, as you may guess, I am a big fan of cardio exercises. When it comes to running, you have two choices: either you find a threadmill or you do it outdoors.

Q4: Which is Better? Running Outdoors or on a Treadmill?
A: Running is one of the best exercises for promoting weight loss. Most runners have a definite preference for exercising either outdoors or on a treadmill. Outdoor running burns about 5% more calories at a given speed than treadmill running.
• Running outdoors subjects runners to wind resistance and they receive no assistance from the treadmill belt.
• Outdoors, the runner must push against solid ground to move forward. On a treadmill, the belt moves continuously, so the runner doesn't have to push as hard against the surface.
• However, outdoor runners have a higher rate of musculoskeletal injury than treadmill runners and have 50% greater risk of stress fractures.
• Running outdoors burns more calories than on the treadmill but increases the risk of injury.

The contributor is a member of the Running Club who prefers to remain anonymous. Although a strong supporter, he was recently cajoled to join EnergyOne Gym by his "endearing" wife. Interested to get more fitness tips? Or have you been convinced to RUN. Be it indoors or outdoors, you may wish to check out our forum to see what others have to say.

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