If you had to guess, do you think an overweight adult would lose more weight by exercising 30 minutes a day or an hour a day? Common sense would tell you that the longer you workout, the more weight you lose. A new study, however, has shown that this may not be the case. The study’s results show that just half an hour of exercise a day may be just as effective—if not more so than a whole hour of exercise each day.
If you’re overweight and are seeking to lose weight through diet and exercise, keep reading to see what the Yorba Linda personal training center, Fit Body Boot Camp, has to say on the matter. You might just save yourself a lot of time and lose yourself a lot of weight.
Study Results
When 60 overweight men were followed for three months as they sought to lose weight, researchers were surprised at their findings. During the study, 20 of the men performed moderate aerobic exercise each day for half an hour, 20 underwent a high-intensity exercise routine that included activities such as cycling or running for an entire hour each day, and another 20 men remained sedentary. The men all wore calorie counters and heart rate monitors.
What did this study show? After 13 weeks, the overweight men who did 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day lost, on average, 8 pounds. Those men who did high-intensity exercised for an hour only lost an average of 6 pounds.
Baffling results to say the least. Somehow those who exercised for less time burned more calories than would be expected for the type and amount of exercise they performed. The men who exercised longer and more vigorously lost less weight than expected for the number of calories they burned.
Why would this be the case? There are two theories. One possible explanation may be that the men who only exercised for half an hour had more desire and energy to do more physical activity throughout the rest of the day.
A second possible explanation could be that the men who exercised for longer periods of time were hungrier during the day since their bodies required more energy. They may have compensated by eating calories that countered the calories they burned.
Can You Trust It?
Interesting as this research may be, these are the findings of just one study. Other studies show different results. Obviously, more research is needed in this area, and you may not want to change your routine just yet.
Remember that each person loses weight at a different rate. To stay healthy and maintain your weight, aim to get 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise a week. Then remain active during the rest of the day.
The best exercise to help you lose weight is whatever exercise you’ll actually do on a regular basis. If your main method of exercise is running and you hate to run, then you probably won’t have much luck sticking with it. Your best bet is to find a few cardio exercises that you enjoy and then rotating them and varying the intensity.
If strength training is your exercise of choice, know that you burn more calories during cardio exercise, but they are both part of a well-balanced exercise routine. Also, take comfort knowing that by adding extra muscle, you’ll be burning more calories when you’re not working out.
Joining a fitness boot camp is one way to incorporate both types of training and meet the 30 minute daily exercise mark because typical boot camp workouts are designed to inlcude cardio and stregnth training to get you the results you’re after. Each session is lead by an experienced personal trainer who can help you determine how much exercise you need to reach and maintain your weight loss goal.
Always remember that your goal is attainable! Whether you exercise 30 minutes, an hour, or two hours a day, you can reach your goal.
There are 24 hours in a day, 168 in a week, and 61,320 in a year. How many are you spending in the gym?
This blog was submitted by a Yorba Linda Personal Trainer from Fit Body Boot Camp Yorba Linda.