Reduce holiday bacon Every step counts

Regular exercise: How to lose the holiday bacon

28/12/2014

The holiday season is not the best time of the year to pay attention to its line: Cookies, mulled wine, roast festive and other delicacies provide extra "hip gold". If you want to get rid of the extra pounds, you should set realistic goals. It is better to exercise regularly than to exercise extremely once a month.

Extra pounds during the Christmas season
Gingerbread, Christmas stollen, mulled wine, roast goose: For most people, Christmas time is also a time of feasting. Because of the days off, day-to-day life often looks like you eat a lot, sit a lot and then sit back a lot: a very unfavorable starting point to re-burn the large amount of calories you feed. The treats not only lead to acute symptoms such as heartburn, feeling of fullness and stomach pressure, but also quickly deposit a few kilos on the hips. Some people try to tackle the problem by putting them on low-calorie winter meals instead of heavy meals after the holidays, especially as the motivation to do sports is lower anyway in the cold, dark seasons. It is worthwhile, however, to overcome the inner bastard, at least because of the long-term effect.

Fast weight loss through exercise is difficult
Sport alone makes it difficult to lose weight fast. „But you burn too few calories“, Professor Ingo Froböse, director of the Center for Health through Sport and Physical Activity at the German Sport University in Cologne told the news agency dpa. There are around 9,000 calories to be lost to lose one kilo of fat. But an average man can do just about 600 calories by running one hour. It may even be that training initially does not affect the scale or even makes it harder.

„Of course, muscles also weigh something“
However, this is good weight: „In a power-focused workout, the muscles increase, and of course, muscles also weigh something“, explained Prof. Theodor Stemper, training director of the German Fitness and Aerobic Association (DFAV) and sports scientist at the University of Wuppertal. The muscles are also allies when it comes to reducing weight. „A trained body burns fat even when it's not doing any exercise“, so happy. This is because the muscles have to be perfused and kept warm. And for that the body needs energy.

Set realistic goals
In addition, regular endurance training increases the number of mitochondria, the power plants in the cells. This also stimulates combustion. Those who combine sport with diet should set realistic goals: „It takes about a month to lose one kilo of fat“, explained Stemper. The increase in condition and strength is more important than the weight loss. To accomplish this, some daily exercise is more effective than completing two hours of power training in the gym once a month. An exercise plan suitable for everyday use could look like this, according to Froböse: „Five to ten muscle sessions a week, for example in the form of squats, abdominal and back exercises and two to three times a week 30 to 45 minutes of endurance training.“ You do not necessarily have to jog, the condition is also trained by a brisk walk or on the way to work by bike. When the muscles start to burn, the muscle training is sufficiently intense: „That's the signal that the muscle is growing.“

Meet with friends for training
For people who work in the office, it is important to get up from the desk, to go to the printer or to telephone while standing. „This stimulates the metabolism“, so happy. Fun in sports is the best way to defeat the inner bastard and get active. „It's about finding a sport where I'm looking forward to training, where the joy of exercise is paramount and losing weight happens on its own“, said Bianca Hertlein, personal trainer and nutrition coach from Nuremberg to the agency. Anyone who forces themselves to lift weights will stop soon. Meanwhile, sports clubs and gyms offer a wide range of courses and so for most would be something suitable. „The trend is towards programs that mix different fitness elements“, Sun sports scientist Stemper, for example, boxes with Pilates. Providing additional motivation when you make an appointment with friends for training.

Every step counts
For some people, a personal trainer is an alternative. This puts together an individual training program. „The appointment with your own coach is finally reluctant“, so Hertlein. He also knows when the right time has come for a break in training and so the important rest breaks can be met. The trainer explained: „The body needs breaks in which the muscles can respond to the training stimuli.“ In fact, every step that sets the body in motion ultimately counts. In this context sports scientist Stemper likes to quote the slogan of a Scandinavian health campaign: „Go out with the dog every day - even if you do not have one. (Ad)