Cardio Exercise

• Jumping in place, jumping jacks, any other form of jumping jacks, marching in place with high knees and very quickly. There are many things you can do. Anything that gets you moving at a good pace is cardio. You can pretend jump rope or if you have enough room you can actually jump rope.

• Turn on music and dance to it and keep moving. Do some moves with your arms overhead (Y.M.C.A.!) Skip, jump, hop on one foot.

• Assuming you have enough space to lie down, stand up and move your arms and legs freely, you can have a great cardio workout in almost any space. The trick is to discipline yourself to not allow long periods of rest between exercises that will allow you heart rate to drop back down. Even actions as simple as sitting on the floor and standing quickly, safely though, can do the trick.

• Here are just some small space exercises that can be employed. Jumping Jacks Ski strides Torso twists Torso twist to toes Running in place High knees. Bend and Thrusts Push ups Mt. Climbers Leg Lifts Crunches Alt Crunches Bicycling on back Flutter kicks Flutter side kicks Dophin raises. Pick seven and do several reps, of each, very brief pauses, between, and focus on form and a steady pace.Just drink enough water.

• Jogging in place, ski master, cardio walking on a treadmill, gazell, or spar. There are a lot of things you can do in a small space.

• Brisk walking or jogging on a treadmill is excellent cardio exercise when done properly. For more information see the page links, further down this page, listed under Related Questions

Aerobic exercise is a style that developed over time. By definition it is any form of exercise that utilizes the large muscle groups, increases the heart rate and is sustained for a period of 20 minutes or more. Examples of aerobic exercises include jogging, biking, swimming, in-line skating and dancing. The goal is to improve cardiovascular function.

The Pilates Method is an anaerobic exercise that focuses on controlled precise movements that do not elevate the heart rate enough to be considered aerobic in the traditional sense. Pilates traditionally uses slow movements designed to improve the core, overall strength, tone and flexibiliy of the body. There are certain Pilates exercises that have aerobic qualities, but as a whole, the exercise method is anaerobic.

Depends upon how much weight you'd want to lose. You would have to exercise a lot, and cut down a lot on eating.

However, that is NOT a healthy method. Doctors and dieticians recommend losing weight gradually, allowing a whole month for every 4 to 8 pounds you want to lose.

Do not starve yourself, or skip meals, or try throwing up.

Here's a program for the period in which you want to lose weight:
Try to get plenty of moderate aerobic exercise (intense exercise may damage your joints). It isn't essential to join a gym; you can do sit-ups, pushups, dumbbell-lifting, jumping-jacks, and many other basic exercises at home. Walk as much as possible. Bicycling and swimming are good too. Even for people who are not trying to lose weight, being active helps your digestion, your circulation, and other body processes.

Even more important than exercise, is avoiding junk foods and sweetened drinks such as soda. Try to avoid refined flour and pasta, processed foods, fried foods, and fatty cuts of meat. Preferably consume no added sugar, and as little added salt as possible.

Our great-grandparents didn't have the epidemic of obesity we see today, because they had a less-sedentary lifestyle, a much more natural diet, and they ate reasonably-sized portions.

Eat 3 not-large-portioned meals per day; do not skip breakfast; and avoid sugary snacks. If you want a snack, try (for example) an apple or a handful of unsalted nuts.

Limit your calories (best to consult a doctor or nutritionist concerning the amount), and weigh yourself at the same time each day, 2-3 times per week. If you see your weight diminishing at a safe, reasonable rate (1-2 pounds/week), keep it up.

Once you've reached your goal, increase your calorie intake somewhat, so that you can maintain your present weight. And you can then have small amounts of sweetened foods or junk food on occasion (if at all), along with your regular healthy foods. But keep checking your weight 2-3 times/week.

Avoid crash-diets, fad diets, diet pills, etc. These may be harmful, and need not be considered by people who have adopted an otherwise healthy diet.

More guidelines:
Don't concentrate on specific foods so much as on a balanced, healthy diet plus exercise.

Healthy nutrition means eating what your body needs, while ingesting as few harmful things as possible. It has also been described as getting enough of each of the major food categories, in healthy forms (grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy, etc.; plus plenty of water).

In general, an example of a healthy starting point could be a menu of whole-grain foods and bread, a good amount of vegetables, legumes, some fruits and nuts, fish, lean meats in not-large amounts, and some dairy. However, this may need adjusting according to one's lifestyle, age, health, weight and other factors at the outset; and also later, as one sees what works for him/her in particular.

Also...whenever you feel queasy, nauseous, constipated or otherwise not completely well, try to remember what you've eaten over the last several hours or the last day. This is one factor in adjusting one's food habits.

See also:

Could you describe a balanced diet?

What features would a good weight-loss program have?

Some healthy snacks

Is it possible to slim down in just one area of the body?

Warming up before any exercise is important--it helps warm up the muscles and prevents injury--but it is especially important before weight training, a type of strength training workout. Although injuries are relatively low for weight trainers, provided they use good form and don't overdo any exercises, injuries can result if the muscles are not properly warmed up. Generally, a short, cardiovascular exercise can help get the blood pumping, but pre-exercise warm-ups can also reduce the rate of injury.

How to Warm Up

The main goal of a warm up is to increase blood flow. This helps "warm up" the muscles, preparing them for a hard workout. Not warming up before any exercise can increase your injury risk or make it harder to exercise.

Generally, most weight lifters opt for the easiest choice--using cardiovascular exercise to get the heart pumping. Here are some safe, simple ways to warm up:

• Use an elliptical machine. Keep the duration short, going no more than five minutes. Your goal is to get your heart rate into its target range.
• Jump rope. Do it continuously for a few minutes to get the heart pumping.
• A short walk or jog outside. If you don't have access to a gym, a short walk or jog outside can also increase your heart rate safely and effectively.

Remember to keep the duration short--your goal is to warm up, not completely deplete your energy. How long you warm up is your personal preference, but don't make it too long. Five or ten minutes should be enough; any longer than that and you risk depleting some of your energy, making it harder to lift weights.

Specific Warm Ups

If you're a heavy weight trainer, such as a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, doing short warm-ups before each individual exercise are recommended, especially if you're doing compound exercises. Compound exercises are exercises that target more than one major muscle group. For example, the squat is a compound exercise because it mainly targets the quadriceps, the hamstrings, the glutes and the abdominal muscles.

To warm up effectively before each exercise, use this method:

1. Complete the exercise using 25 percent of your working weight. For example, if you normally squat 100 pounds for five repetitions, begin by squatting 25 pounds for five repetitions. Make sure to rest for 30 seconds to a minute after completing it.

2. Next, complete the exercise using 50 percent of your working weight. If you normally squat 100 pounds, move up to 50 pounds.

3. After resting for a minute or so, move on to your working set. Your muscles should feel looser and more flexible.

But what if you only use the bar to exercise? In this instance, you can warm up by doing the exercise without the bar--just repeat it for a couple of sets. Regardless of which method you use to warm-up, remember to always do it. Getting injured is no laughing matter.