Get shredded with aerobe workout!

Putting away the winter coat, some of us just realises it now that good weather and beach season are going to be here in the twinkling of an eye, and well, it would be great to lose a few extra kilos put on during Christmas, Easter or throughout the laziness of the past autumn-winter.

Good news is that if you surely do not want to redeem the world within the following one-one and a half months, but you would rather lose a maximum of three-four kilos, you can do it with aerobe workout! And if you wish to maintain your already existing muscles while burning fat in the same time, it is also worthy for you to read our article analysing the basics of aerobe workout. It is the common feature of aerobe forms of motion, that they rev up the fat metabolism of our constitution, as well as they encourage our body to burn as much unwanted fat as possible — but it maintains the muscles.

Aerobe workout ≠ cardio workout!

In order to get to the definition of aerobe workout, it is important to clear up some false beliefs in connection with it:

• aerobe workout is unequal to aerobic,
• aerobe workout is unequal to cardio workout,
• aerobe workout cannot only be carried out on a treadmill, a stationary bicycle or other cardio machines, but any kind of motions that are monotonous, or that have steady intensity could be appropriate (you can read some examples too later on in the article),
• you do not have to suffer for hours in order to lose fat too,
• it does not have to be boring,
• it is partly a false belief that tempo is right if you are still able to speak: chose the grade next to which it is impossible to communicate without gasping or fragmentation,
• fat loss not only starts after 30-40 minutes, but almost instantly,
• “wobbling” on the treadmill (pushing the buttons of the mobile phone, throwing your hair, motion without one single bead of perspiration) is not an aerobe movement — in other words, too high and too low intensities are both inappropriate!

Then finally let’s see what is the secret of the aerobe workout…

The importance lies in the intensity of the workout mentioned in the last point: the heart rate needs to be kept within a given domain, this is what guarantees the body to not only use almost instantly the deposits of carbohydrates, or protein to resupply energy, but it reaches out to the fat deposit. Namely, due to the relatively low intensity, our body does not need instant extra energy — that it would gain from the carbohydrates stored in our muscles —, but fat, that can be gained throughout a longer term, is also sufficient enough.

The typical sign of starting fat loss is the acceleration of our breathing, heart beating, and the warming up of the areas of our stomach, waist and shoulder blades, as well as the first beads of perspiration appearing on our temple.

Why is it beneficial to do an aerobe workout?

As it is true for every motion types, naturally, fat and weight loss are not the only positive effects of the aerobe workout:

• it makes the blood circulation better of people suffering from low blood pressure,
• it has a favourable effect on fat metabolism and on digestion, too,
• the aerobe motion carried out for a long time (60-90 minutes) develops endurance,
• it does not decompose the hard-earned muscles we gained,
• it makes better the efficiency of our constitution’s oxygen consumption,
• it makes endurance, will, and tolerance of monotony better (and these are inevitable in other fields of life most of the times, like in terms of work).

It is needless to say, that proper progressivity (both in terms of term and intensity), and warmup are essential in order to avoid injuries. If we start the first occasion with a too hard and too long aerobe workout, not only failure can put ourselves conceit with our work, but also a sport injury (muscle strain, sprain, or dislocation).

If we exceed the aerobe domain, and end up in anaerobe (when the highest intensity of muscle concentration is reachable), it is not tragic, we can even plan our workout in a way, that the low/average and high intensities are happening in alternation (this is the so-called HIIT workout). This methodology prevents the muscles to be burnt. We do not have to be afraid of higher heart rate, we do not lose our muscles in a moment. However, it is a fact, that in case we are doing sprints for a long time and quite frequently, it will be visible within weeks, that we have not only lost fat but muscle too.

When should it be, and how much aerobe workout is recommended?

There is a simpler and a more complicated answer to the question of when, but we can also say, that there is one for the beginners and another one for the advanced. Here is the simple one: it’s all the same, just make it happen. But in case you would like to dig deeper into the subject, then you should consider the insulin tolerance of your constitution, and plan your shredding/weight losing aerobe workouts in a personalised way.

A little protein or BCAA Zero can go in before and during workout, you should only avoid carbohydrate and fat, because the glycogen storage of your liver contains a little from them even at early dawn. The other, most suitable point of time is the evening, before sleep.

If you do other types of workouts too, it is sufficient to include two-three times of it in your weekly workout plan, in this case one-one occasion should last for about 30-60 minutes. It is worthy to use aerobe as a complement, and to make workouts with weight-liftings, cross trainings, or anaerobe, more intensive motions permanent. It is popular to sprinkle the ends of weight-trainings with it, but the real pros divide it into two: for example they do a quick walk at dawn, and insert the workout of the body part(s) — relevant to the given day — with weight-lifting into the afternoon.

We cannot let us pass unnoticed the proper diet needed for successful weight loss. Although, we are not able to recommend diet principles especially for an aerobe workout, but the principles of a healthy diet rich of complex carbohydrates, and moderately containing calories is to be followed in terms of this motion form, too.

In case you decide to do a before meal aerobe, it should be followed by a substantial breakfast of full value, that is rich in “good” carbohydrates and fats, as well as in protein. For example, scrambled eggs made in grape pip oil with herbs, fresh vegetables and a slice of wholemeal bread. Whereas you do the workout late in the afternoon, you should close the evening with a light salad or protein milk shake in order to get the sufficient energy for the workouts.

Let’s see some aerobe workouts

1. Jogging:

If you would like to stick to a classic motion form (maybe you have already done it before), choose jogging. As we already mentioned, workout carried out in the aerobe zone depends on the intensity and heart rate of the given training, therefore, a forced march and a slow run would be the target that last for at least 30-40 minutes. You can practice it on a treadmill, or outside, in the gym, or, you can get a machine right into your home — you can obtain a used one on fairly reasonable prices.

Movement carried out in fresh air gives psychological replenishment too, but make sure to choose the proper running shoes and the material of the ground (concrete, tartan or forest track). Certainly it is possible to run “badly”, therefore, it is better you prepare for the first run.

2. Elliptical trainer:

For those who have bigger overweight, the elliptical trainer could be a perfect choice for fat burn. That is to say, this device helps to “imitate” the movement similar to running/cross-country skiing — if we would like to remain in the aerobe domain —, or fast walking without our soles knock against the ground, in other words, this machine discharges our joints. Nothing proves its gentleness better than the fact that it is used for physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and it has a perfect effect on the cardiovascular system too.

With the help of the preprogrammed workout plans you can simply get into the aerobe zone — choose the medium grade on the scale —, but in order to burn fat, the interval (alternation of intensive and less-intensive sections) or pyramid (first using heavier, then gradually lighter weights) structure training could also be useful. Make sure you stand erect (straight back), and arrange the proper liquid resupply! Before using the machine, make sure you carry out a full body warmup and increase the intensity gradually.

3. Deliberate walking:

One must not mix up the notions of a walk about and deliberate walking, because the latter does not worth a lot if you would get rid of a little surplus. Choose a beautiful environment, for example a forest track that is diversified by gentle slopes and steeper sections. Speed is determined by the previously mentioned physical signs: rapid heart beat, perspiration, and communication becoming less comfortable. You can do it by guessing with the help of your senses, but a heart rate measuring watch might be a useful helpmate, with the help of which you can set the tempo, and you can also precisely determine your aerobe zone.

They say half an hour of walk is enough in order to maintain good health, but in order to burn fat as well, start with a quarter of an hour and increase the length of time daily, until you reach a minimum of 45 minutes. The principle of progressivity is also true for speed. It is especially a good alternative, if you would come back to the world of active sports after an injury or a rehabilitation from a surgery. You may do as much from it as you wish so, but in case this is the only opportunity for you to do sports, set out at least five times a week!

As the aerobe workout is the summary name of steady, monotonous trainings carried out throughout relatively considerable time periods with moderate intensity, practically, it can mean any other movement forms in addition to the above mentioned that meet these criteria. For example breast-stroke swimming in slow tempo, riding a bicycle in the gym or outside, step-ups on machine or in the office building, dancing (zumba, salsa), or both the well-planned workout in the gym with lighter weights or doing aerobic could be carried out in the aerobe zone. It is important to make sure not only one muscle is working, but several (or all) of the body’s muscles participate in the relatively small effort, that is accompanied by the movement.

Anyone can carry out a kind of its variation! Either you would like to find (again) the joy of sports, or you are looking for an effective complement to your weight-lifting workouts, or you wish to lose fat while protecting your joints, you can do all this with the help of the workout carried out in the aerobe zone. The key of its effectiveness lies in the fact, that our system creates the energy essential to carry out our movements from fats, with the help of oxygen, thereby improving endurance too.

Panna Plézer

Sports trainer