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Lose Weight - Practical Cross Training Tips

By Gustaf Eriksson

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 03Mar2010 Word count: 436 Viewed: 225 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

“Cross Training” simply means to do work-outs that emphasise different muscle groups and different functions of your body.

Cross training addresses the three elements necessary to lose fat, build muscle and improve endurance:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to induce relaxation.

These begin with a careful planned walking and jogging regimen, depending on fitness level.

Even “just walking” can be enough - if you go for a reasonably brisk walk for about 30 minutes every day you will give yourself a chance to revitalise yourself, give your heart a work -out and exercise all your major muscle groups.

After all, your body is actually made for walking - not so much for sitting! You can use a jump rope - skipping is quite hard work .. .try it ...

Another great way to build endurance is by swimming. Not only do you build muscle - it is quite hard to make your way through the water since it is more dense than air - you also put less strain on joints, for example. If you are overweight and out of shape swimming is a very good way to start!

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good posture.

These can include some activities that are selected to encourage people who are already burnt out with a particular routine.

Think of the muscles that hold your tummy and back, they need more work than they will get if you sit all day. Resistance training - that means lifting weights, for example dumb bell, is an important part of this.

Many of the evil looking machines you find in a gym are designed to let you push or pull against resistance, which will make your muscles stronger.

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and effective for most of the people who wish to try to lose some fat.

Pilates is one well known method, as is yoga (maybe it is not a coincidence that most so-called celebrities practise yoga?)

Maybe you have seen videos of crowds in parks in China, where people do stretches and "shadow boxing"? These gentle yet effective exercises can be performed by young and old, and are surprisingly effective.

Indeed, cross training is a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities. In fact, the idea of exercising is to like what you are doing, hence, if you engage into cross training, you will enjoy working your body beyond the usual limits.

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