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Crystal Andrus: Optimize Your Exercise!

By on July 24, 2013
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Exercise is nature’s Prozac. A recent study showed that jogging three times a week was as effective for mild depression and other mood-altering disorders as taking antidepressants. Moving your body will have a profound effect on your temperament!

The best way to start is to go for at least three 20-minute brisk walks starting this week. If you prefer, find another form of aerobic exercise that you can keep up for at least 20 minutes: this could include martial arts, skiing, or racquetball. Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses large muscles and requires the presence of oxygen for sustained energy production. In simple terms, it’s any activity that makes you breathe heavily, raises your heart rate, and uses body fat for energy. But I highly recommend brisk walking or jogging as the number one way to burn fat.

Try to walk first thing in the morning.

If this isn’t possible, then exercise as early in the day as you can manage. If you go later in the day, try to do it on an empty stomach. (And make sure that you wear shoes that are designed for this exercise.) Head out for ten minutes, then turn around and take the same route home. This guarantees 20 minutes and prevents you from finding yourself stuck somewhere miles from home.

If you have a treadmill, program the timer for 20 minutes at a pace between 3.7 and 4.2 miles per hour. If you’re already doing cardio at this pace or higher, push yourself up to a level where you could talk if you had to, but it’s not really comfortable to do so.

Focus on how you feel as you walk.

Could you easily carry on a conversation, or is the activity requiring all your energy? For now I want you to try to walk at a pace as if you were late for an important appointment. Your heart should be beating quickly, and you should be breathing heavily and perspiring lightly. This higher intensity level is essential to taking the weight off and keeping it off.

I originally started exercising in the morning because with a four-month-old and a two-year-old, I could never fit it in once my day began. Every day I’d crawl out of bed, and before even brushing my hair or teeth I’d pull on my sweats, take a swig of water, and creep out the front door. By accident, I discovered a key to weight loss: exercising on an empty stomach. And the pounds started to drop off me!

You also want to get your metabolism elevated as soon as you climb out of bed. Your metabolic rates naturally begin to decline in the evening as you prepare for sleep; and by morning, they’re completely slowed right down. By exercising at this time, you’ll kick your metabolism into gear and burn more fat all day. (On the other hand, if you exercise in the evening, your body won’t be ready to slow down for a good night’s sleep—and there’s nothing worse than coming in from the gym at 10 P.M. . . . and lying awake until 3 A.M.)

 

Fat-Burning Secret :

By exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, your body will use stored fat for energy because you have no food or glycogen to give you the required fuel to exercise.

By the next morning, your metabolic rate will be returning to normal levels, but you’ll be ready to speed it up again. Think of your metabolism as an oil-burning furnace: When you turn up the thermostat in the cold winter months, you burn more oil; but when you turn it off in the summer, the oil in the tank just sits there until next fall. By exercising, you’re cranking your thermostat and burning your oil (your fat). You can’t possibly expect to burn fat when your furnace is turned off.

I also feel that morning is the optimal time of day to exercise because then it’s done and out of the way. You don’t have to re-shower or try to fit it in as your day gets busy. Once you get used to early-morning activity, it will become as normal as brushing your teeth, having coffee, and showering . . . I promise. You may have to get up a little earlier, but within a week or two your body will adapt to the new time and you won’t feel any more tired than getting up at your regular time. It’s the perfect way to start your day.

I know that I’m 99 percent more likely to miss a workout if I plan to do it later.

I also find that if I start my day with a run, I eat better for the rest of the day. Psychologically, I’m more motivated to stay on track.

If you really can’t exercise first thing in the morning, don’t worry: Doing it at any time of the day is going to make massive changes to your body and fitness level. This is a lifestyle, so it has to fit yours. Now, instead of thinking of exercise as a chore, try to think of what you’re doing for yourself. The point is that you need to burn calories and increase your metabolic rate.

You decide what works for you, but get started. I truly hope that you’ll take my advice and begin a walking/jogging program.. today!

In love,

Crystal

(Note: Always consult a physician before embarking on a new fitness program.)

P.S. Wellness inside and out … and much more is available in my 12 Week Total Transformation Program, Simply…Woman!

 

340006_10150311350648122_335684808_oCrystal Andrus is a bestselling author, international speaker, women’s advocate, host of “The Crystal Andrus Show” on CBS Radio, and Founder of “The S.W.A.T. Institute (Simply Woman Accredited Trainer)” ~ the world’s #1 online Personal Empowerment Certification Coaching School, exclusively for women. Connect with her at www.crystalandrus.com or www.swatinstitute.com.

 

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