Fitness in the fast lane
September 11, 2004
By Dave Larson
This is the third in a series of articles covering "becoming fit and staying fit" for a healthier life style. Our first article discussed diet, calories and ideal weight. Remember 2,000 calories/day for women and 2,500 calories/day for men is all that's necessary to maintain an active life style. The second article covered exercise. By now everyone should have started a program that best fits his or her personal needs.
This week we will discuss the term "low body fat" or acceptable amount of body fat. An individual's total body weight should contain a certain amount of fat. For males an acceptable level of fat should range in the 10 percent to 20 percent range. Twenty-five percent is acceptable for females. One simple way to determine if you're in an acceptable range is as follows: Measure the thickness of a fold of fat in the area of the stomach. If the fold of fat is thicker than one-inch (1") chances are you exceed the recommended levels. Most health clubs and doctors have special equipment to more accurately measure the fat content. The test is painless.
It's important to know your percent of body fat and is a good measure for setting personal goals. Two people may e of similar height and weight with one having 20 percent body fat and the other having 30 percent body fat. The difference is the person with 20 percent has more muscles in their body and less fat. So how do we turn fat into muscle? Setups, pushups, pull ups, knee bends and any exercise that works the muscles over and over for a certain amount of times or repetitions. Weight known as bar bells are great for changing the fat content to muscle. Another bonus to having less fat in the body is the fat burning process begins sooner when the person starts to exercise.
Like all exercise programs, the turning of fat to muscle by means of any exercise should start out with fewer repetitions or times performed initially. If doing push-ups is your exercise of choice to build muscle in the arms, start with only as many as the strength in your arms first allow. Don't push yourself or you will find the exercise too hard and will probably give up.
The different muscles in the body should not be exercised or worked every day. Your program should exercise different parts of the body on different days completing the total body workout within a weeks time. The local library has books and/or videos on this subject, which should help you get started. Like getting on the scales and counting calories, exercising the main muscle groups in the body is not a difficult task. The end results will be well worth the time spent.
You will notice that as you turn fat into muscle, your weight loss will be less or you may even gain some weight as muscle weighs more than fat or it takes more fat to weigh the same as muscle. One noticeable thing is that people with more muscle will normally have a smaller waistline. Great thing to have less of is "less waistline!"
One last comment, "fat burning pills" should only be considered if recommended by your physician.
A couple last things to consider.
1. In general a balanced diet should consist of less than 30 percent fats, 50 to 65 percent carbohydrates and 10 to 20 percent protein.
2. Total body fat for men is 20 percent or less and women is 25 percent or less.
3. All persons should consult a physician before starting any diet and exercise program.
Dave Larson is the owners of Dave's Fitness PLUS in McAlester and has been employed in the Physical Fitness business for over 20 years. He can be reached at 426-3725.
Source:www.mcalesternews.com
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