Monday, July 20, 2009

Exercising Helps You Live A Healthier Life

By Austin Stern

Every year people across the world make New Year's resolutions. These resolutions range from going back to school to saving up and buying that expensive car they have been eying for the past few months. But one of the most common goals people make around that time of year is the decision to get their butts into gear, and get themselves back in shape.

If you are looking to get slimmer and to build lean muscle then working out is a great way to do it. You tear your muscles, which repair themselves and grow bigger and stronger, when you provide resistance or exert yourself. There are different ways, either with cardio or even lifting weights, that you can burn fat (and calories).

Different muscles will be exercised and used depending on the type of workout you choose. You'll be burning calories no matter which way you choose though. As long as you are working out and burning more calories than you are consuming by eating, then you will begin to see good changes in your body.

Cardio exercises stress the amount of oxygen the body can hold during strenuous activity, forcing the heart to pump faster and in turn forces the body to burn more calories. Some examples of cardio exercises are walking, running, swimming, and bicycling, just to name a few.Cardiovascular activity also boosts an individuals oxygen capacity, which allows them to run, swim, or overall be active longer with less stress on the lungs and heart as time moves forward.

When you do weight training (otherwise known as strength training) you lift weights which cause your muscles to tear, only to be built right back up again and stronger to boot! Because people can see the effects from strength training, it is one of the most popular forms of working out. Your body will become more attractive and toned, and hey, you'll get to burn quite a lot of calories while you are at it!

A great type of strength training is body resistance training. This is working out using only your body and gravity as resistance, rather than lifting dumbbells or free weights. Examples of body resistance training are push ups, jumping jacks and mountain climbers.

Strength training exercises are fantastic because they help to burn fat quickly. You may be worried because muscle weighs more than fat and you don't want to weigh more. But strength training helps to build lean muscle tissue, which burns away fat quickly, and helping you to look tone.

No matter the time it is, New Year's or not, it's always a great time to begin working out. You'll look more attractive, and you'll notice that you have more energy for working out and other daily activities. If you don't work hard you won't get results.

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