What low-cost exercise can I do to lose weight?
The cheapest aerobic exercise is walking and it is also the simplest and easiest, so I would go for that. Cycling is also quite cost-conscious although obviously you have to buy the bike. If you have a music system, you could put on some upbeat music and dance away the calories.
Simply getting more active in your everyday life can burn plenty of calories without costing you anything - you could even save money. For instance, you could walk to work instead of taking a car or bus, which would save petrol or fare. You could sack the cleaner and do housework instead of watching TV three or four times a week.
If you have a garden, you could get out there and dig a patch to grow your own vegetables, thus saving money again.
You could also consider doing sponsored walking or cycling to raise money for charity - a great motivator.
I can spare 10 minutes a day and am reasonably fit. Which exercise will burn up the most calories in that time?
With just ten minutes you need something that you can do 'instantly' without having to travel or prepare, and yet you need something more intense than walking.
At home, you could skip (7 calories a minute), step (9 calories a minute) or rebound (7 calories a minute)- each have an inbuilt facility for warming up and cooling down - just do gently marching on the spot before and after skipping and stepping, and do gentle mini jumps on the rebounder at either end of your programme.
If you fancy more expensive equipment, a rower burns up about 8 calories a minute, a Stairmaster 9 calories a minute and an elliptical trainer 9 calories a minute. Most of these machines come with a built-in calorie readout but some experts say that these give optimistic views of how many calories you are actually burning. Even so, a ten minute session using any of the ideas here will be enough to burn around 100 calories and will keep you at a basic level of fitness.
Generally, any exercise that works both arms and legs at once will burn more calories than one that just works one or the other, so a rower is better than an exercise bike, for example. Also, anything that involves you standing rather than sitting is harder work (e.g. a treadmill rather than a bike). Lastly, any work on an uphill incline is harder than on the flat, and so will increase calorie burn (e.g. a stepper or a treadmill on incline is harder work than a flat treadmill).
Whatever you do, try to maximise your time by 'doubling up' - for example, when you step, carry hand weights or use wrist and ankle weights. If you can increase your muscle mass you will burn more calories as you workout (and indeed, all the time).
Long term, do try to make some small changes in your lifestyle so that you can afford to spend a bit more time on yourself. You should build in time for flexibility work three times a week and don't forget always to warm up and cool down to prevent injury, aches and pains.
Unfit people please note - these high intensity short burst exercises aren't suitable for you. You need to build up fitness gradually with a moderate intensity activity like walking, which will also burn calories, albeit more slowly.
Is there any exercise I should avoid if I am very fat?
If you are very fat and also very unfit, then you should avoid all intense, hard, strenuous exercise and begin a gentle regime, such as walking at a pace that gets your heart rate up slightly but which doesn't leave you feeling too 'puffed out' as you walk along, coupled with an easy body toning programme. Over time your fitness will improve and you can make the work you do harder and harder.
In theory, fatness in itself, if you are healthy and fit, doesn't stop you doing any exercise but in practice there are several activities that you would probably find uncomfortable - for example, jogging.
I would take your doctor's advice on what exercise to do other than that suggested above, and get a thorough health check up at the same time. No doubt you should try to lose some weight as diet and exercise do go together, and it makes little sense to get yourself fit if you are still carrying enough body fat to put your health at risk.
When is it unwise to exercise?
If you are ill you shouldn't exercise at all. If you are convalescing, you should take exercise on doctor's advice (perhaps gentle walking would be good but running would be bad, for example).
If you have done a lot of exercise in a short space of time, you should rest and give the body a chance to recuperate - overtraining damages the immune system and has other drawbacks.
Research at the University of Colorado found that rats who exercised when they wanted to, were healthier, with better immune systems, than the rats forced to exercise against their wills. So if you really aren't in the right frame of mind to exercise - perhaps it may be wise to leave it until later or tomorrow.
You should also take exercise at a pace and intensity to match your current level of fitness - so attempting too hard an exercise is unwise. If you feel unusually tired after a workout, or have seriously aching muscles, then you have been over-exercising. It is also unwise to do any high-intensity exercise infrequently - e.g. going to the gym after a month's abscence and doing a hard workout on the Stairmaster. Research shows that you may be putting yourself at risk of a heart attack.
People who haven't exercised in a long time, are elderly, have long-term health problems, such as angina, or who are pregnant, should ask their doctor's advice before exercising.
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