Today we talk about my least favorite topic, because I don’t like to exercise.
But it’s also one of my favorite topics because I’ve found a way to do the least amount, for maximum fat burning.
Because I’m too lazy to exercise, I ended up being frustrated about it, and I wasn’t making any progress.
Between my wife and I, we’ve got VHS tapes from Billy Blanks and Cindy Crawford to DVDs like Windsor Pilates and Stott Pilates.
They’re all good, especially for non-hard core exercisers like me.
My breakthrough came, when I started to learn …
WHAT the heck does exercise actually do to my body, and how does it work to burn fat!?
So I did some homework at the library, and found out that there are two kinds of exercises:
- Aerobic, or cardio (because it which increases your heart rate) forces you to breathe more intensely to take in more oxygen.
- Anaerobic, or strength training, builds up your muscle mass and strengthens your bones.
Why Do You Need
AEROBIC Exercise?
The biggest purpose that I found about aerobic exercise is CIRCULATION – mainly of oxygen, and the blood.
Oxygen is so critical, yet so common that we take it for granted. I will cover that separately in the topic on breathing. I have a separate story about that.
Blood is the transport medium of all your fuel and nutritional requirements, including the oxygen.
Blood is also the transport medium of all your cell’s waste products, including the carbon dioxide that your breathe out.
When your heart stops, you die because the cells in your body do not receive oxygen, glucose, and all the other nutrients it needs to continue living.
So why do we have to do aerobic exercise when our heart and our lungs will actually do the work by itself, without any conscious decision on our part?
Aerobics is unnecessary … until you get to the point where I was a few years ago, when I discovered I had pre-hypertension or the beginnings of high blood pressure.
This is a breathing issue, so that’s where I’ll tell you my story.
Aerobics is really required to burn off the extra fat that you’ve got. You just need enough of it to increase your heart rate and get your blood flowing.
Because of other potential blockages, there could be restricted blood flow in certain parts of your body.
No blood means no oxygen, no nutrition. Therefore, no tissue growth or repair.
And that could lead to kidney malfunction, pancreas breakdown, blurred vision, whatever.
Do you suppose cancer could start this way?
What about autism, currently prevalent among children? Do you think that the bottom line might be malnutrition of the brain cells and nerves?
When is the best time for aerobic training?
First thing in the morning, before breakfast.
You see, you’ve got a fuel tank that stores glycogen. In the absence of food, the very first thing that you use up is this storage tank.
This is worth about 300 calories or 1/2 of your average aerobic exercise.
Upon waking up, your energy reserves, glycogen, is most likely depleted from your metabolic burning during the night.
If you exercise before breakfast, there is no other energy source but the fat storage that you have. This is the time when your spare tire is going to be targeted for burning.
Even as you eat breakfast, you’re still in burning mode, working hard to maintain your body temperature. Your heart is also working harder than normal to deliver oxygen.
Any carbs that you have for breakfast will be consumed and burned off right away, instead of being stored as fat.
Insulin production will likewise increase to keep up with the total energy requirements.
Prescription for Anti-Aging:
Strength Training
So why do we need strength training? Two reasons:
- Muscle atrophy – or the loss of muscle tissue
- Osteoporosis – the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density
Basically, without maintaining the strength of our skeletal frame, and the muscles that bind it together, we’re just going to literally fall apart.
Most especially as we age, our body stops growing by itself. Bone and muscle growth simply stops unless it is stimulated by exercise.
Exercise is actually a controlled form of destruction. We stress the bones and muscles to a point where tiny tears and fractures actually happen.
When we get proper nutrition, then new cells are built to repair those damages, allowing the muscles to expand and the bones to increase it’s density.
Thus, we become stronger.
One prevalent misconception is osteoporosis.
You’ve been bombarded by the food industry to drink your milk, and the drug companies to take a certain prescription drug once a month, to avoid this bone disease.
In reality, what you need is strength training to start challenging those bones.
Then you need to consume calcium, magnesium and vitamin D, which are the cooking ingredients to fill up those bone micro fractures.
We’ll cover the vitamins and minerals in the next few topics, but let me say a word about Vitamin D.
Healthy sunlight exposure is one of the best sources of vitamin D. Actually there is probably more to sunlight that we are not aware of.
Remember photosynthesis? The conversion of sunlight energy into the edible, organic structure of plants? Plants that give life to virtually every other living creature on the planet?
So there’s got to be more than just vitamin D.
Anyway, healthy exposure is about 30 minutes a day, without any sunblock; preferably the morning sun, not the harsh midday intensity and heat.
Well, I’m getting of track here, so let’s get back…
When is the best time for strength training?
My personal preference is in the evening before dinner.
This way, my food is used as soon as possible to repair my bones and muscles as I sleep through the night.
Because of all this repair maintenance, my metabolism continues to crank, use up more energy than usual, and it will gobble up my body fat all while I’m sleeping.
As long as I don’t get too hungry, I’ll continue sleeping, and not get tempted to snack on a candy bar (granted you’re not sleep walking).
Coaching Summary
TIMING is the easiest, most effective way to exercise is: just do it before your meal (preferably breakfast).
You’ll burn the most fat, with the least amount of effort.
What’s Next?
What’s next? We’ll go into the deeper world of the cells and other microorganisms.
For me, this is where it all starts – the basic building blocks of our life. This could be the most important topic that most people are simply unaware of.
Until then…
Have a naturally healthy day,
Health Coach Harry
P.S. I’ve been a Star Wars fan for quite sometime, and I’m fascinated by the robotics technology that they’ve used to enhance and extend human life.
Well, it’s not fiction anymore. Check out the Barbara Walters special that was aired , April 1st, 2008: “Live To Be 150“.
