Best tips to start playing sports if you want to lose weight

When the body has a few extra pounds, physical activity must be chosen and planned more carefully.

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“Enough! I’ll stop eating sweets tomorrow and start running.”

How many times have we heard or said these words? And how many times, the program developed by your experienced trainer was trashed, and your physical activity has returned to the finger-sliding through the posts on Instagram?

With more kilos, it is more difficult. Those who are overweight must approach sport responsibly. The main obstacle is excessive effort, which results in almost immediate tiredness and shortness of breath.

“The overweight person is more difficult to instruct than the thin person because they burden all the systems assigned to the movement with the heavier weight,”

explains the medical director at the Center of Endocrinology and Obesity. «The volume of a breast affects mechanical breathing, and the roundnesses in the abdominal area limit the diaphragm, making it expand less. These conditions makes it difficult to reach an intensity useful for the proper exercise».

Moreover, overweight people frequently have an incorrect posture for years, which makes it more difficult to perform technical exercises correctly. Incorrect posture can also cause cellulite, wrinkles, and reflux.

So, here are some expert tips for those who want to get safe and healthy results.

Avoid the “Do-It-Yourself”

The best results are obtained by relying on professionals in the field of nutrition (nutritionist or dietician) and sport (instructor qualified in physical sciences or experts in physical activity). The training plan must be individual and gradual, with increases in load and intensity that make small goals possible, day after day.

Move as much as possible

To stay in shape, you must always be active. The gym hour is not enough if you have spent the rest of your time sitting in front of the computer or in the car. The increase in overweight is directly proportional to the time you spend resting: to get in shape, one must start with good everyday habits, such as avoiding taking the lift and climbing stairs instead, going to work on feet, riding to the supermarket with your best electric mountain bike, leaving the desk from time to time, etc.

Do not rush

Weight loss through movement is a long and complicated process, which, however, must not scare you — it is only a matter of will. During the first training sessions, there may be setbacks or problems with resistance and duration, and an increase in appetite could occur. But after a diligent work, the results will be beneficial: that is not only about the weight loss but developing a better and stronger body structure.

Strengthen your muscles

To lose weight, you must always associate a muscle toning job with an aerobic workout. For overweight people, at the beginning of their training period, it is very important to perform muscle toning exercises with light weights, which strengthens the body and increases the muscular mass.

Don’t forget about combining them with a workout and balance/proprioception exercises, which allow you to improve stability and allow you to increase the degree of safety in movements.

Consider time and intensity

Initially, the intensity of the training must be medium-low, up to 50-60 minutes, while at later stages, it will be possible to decrease the duration (30 minutes) and increase the intensity. The same applies to exercises with weights, dumbbells, or barbells. In the initial phase, it is recommended to keep the number of repetitions high, but with a low load — to minimize stress for the musculoskeletal system.

Monitor your heart rate

A good rule to keep in mind for the beginner is to monitor the heart rate, which must remain around 70% of the maximum heart rate in order not to incur risks for the cardiovascular system . HRmax can be calculated using the Karvonen formula, i.e., by subtracting the person’s age from the number 220. There are many simple and convenient devices that detect heartbeats per minute in real-time.

Prefer the early hours of the day

Carrying out physical activity early in the morning and before having breakfast helps the weight loss process better. The glycemic index after our awakening is low due to the energy expenditure incurred at night for maintaining the basal metabolic rate. Also, no sugars have been consumed yet.

Choose the right activities

The gym activity can be replaced or alternated with more fun training sessions. But be careful: not all sports are suitable for those who are overweight. Running, for example, is not recommended because of the high risk of trauma to the ankles and knees. As well as tennis, volleyball, football, basketball, skiing, boxing — because of the high cardiovascular effort and the repeated stresses on the joints. The safest activities, therefore, are those of aerobic type with low impacts: cycling on the plains, fast walking in the open air, and its Nordic walking variant. Excellent results are obtained with water activities, which offer many advantages. The joints are more sheltered from injuries due to Archimedes’ push, and the movements are easier to perform.

Don’t eat more to make up for your loss

It is true that with the sport, you burn a lot of calories, and the energy consumption is higher than when you are at rest, but this is not enough to have a slim silhouette without excessive roundness. In the long run, the negative effects of bad eating habits are seen through the body, especially on the hips and belly. So you shouldn’t eat more than usual with the excuse for physical activity, and you shouldn’t eat badly as well.

A proper diet is based on five portions a day consisting of multicolored fruit and vegetables, the right amount of carbohydrates(55%), fats (25%), and proteins (20%). Also, pay attention to what you drink, because physical activity makes you thirsty and requires a correct replenishment of liquids: it must be remembered that the water has zero calories and perfectly fulfills this task.y and requires a correct replenishment of liquids: it must be remembered that the water is zero calories and perfectly fulfills this task.