In accordance with weight loss, diet and exercise are intertwined with each other. However, despite the vast benefits of regular exercise, 1 in 4 adults and 80% of adolescents do not partake in an active lifestyle. For the most part, it is self-reported that it's due to the inadequacies of spare time. Not only that insufficient self-control is the biggest obstacle and barrier in losing weight but also the lack of dedication and time. Thus, to elevate exercise participation it is important to have time efficient routines for desirable results.
Calorie Consumption
It is recommended by health experts that individuals must be attentive to their calorie intake and consumption. Weight management is a key self-administered treatment for most individuals. Although the assessment of calorie consumption remains toilsome in recent years. However, nowadays, we could calculate how many calories an individual consumes during physical activities within simple clicks and applications.
Calorie Calculator
The Calorie Calculator is used to estimate the number of calories an individual needs to consume daily. This application can also provide basic guidelines for gaining or losing weight.
Food Energy Converter
This Food Energy Converter is based on the following equations to calculate basal
metabolic rate (BMR):
Mifflin-St Jeor Equation:
For men: BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A + 5
For women: BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A - 161
Revised Harris-Benedict Equation:
For men: BMR = 13.397W + 4.799H - 5.677A + 88.362
For women: BMR = 9.247W + 3.098H - 4.330A + 447.593
Katch-McArdle Formula:
BMR = 370 + 21.6(1 - F)W
Variables:
W = body weight in kilogram
H = body height in centimetre
A = age
F = body fat in percentage
A debate about the most effective exercise for weight loss divides opinion and is still apolarizing topic around gym-junkies. But the answer to the initial question is — the most effificient exercise for losing weight is the one that you will actually do and dedicate your time to. A lot of people will not likely nurture an activity from which they acquire no gratifification and pleasure. There are incremental incentives for losing weight but the human condition is not linear when reward is at stake. The optimal approach is to merge a variety of exercises to receive the benefifits of each. Alongside this, biological, genetic and behavioural factors must be considered in exercise-induced approaches.
High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
The most obvious choice is high-intensity interval training or HIIT. Exercise is done at a moderate intensity with the intervals of high-intensity short bouts. Research shows that this type of exercise could prompt rapid benefificial change in metabolism and even elicit body fat reductions. It is also recommended to be a more time-effificient approach for its shorter time commitment but superior performance improvements. However, there's prevalence that HIIT is intolerable and insufferable for beginners due to its high-intensity, gruelling and explosive nature.
Indoor Cycling
Instructor-led cycling classes/ indoor cycling is a prominent approach to integrate HIIT in group sessions. Indoor cycling includes mixed workouts from interval training, aerobic training and other intensity training. Modifying and sequencing intensity level may alter physiological patterns and behavioral responses to exercises. An interactive and engaging class structure promotes exercise participation.
Research about indoor cycling courses conducted by Bielefeld University in Germany showed that pedaling movement combined with the simultaneous announcement of the foot to pedal constitutes an offer for coordination that can have a motivational impact on the participants. Research on the topic of "reward" and "motivation" is undertaken by experts and psychologists as an individual aspect, but motivation is also a collective experience and an interactive phenomenon, especially in fifitness courses.
Which muscles do the work?
Indoor cycling is a type of exercise with classes focusing on strength, endurance and high intensity that involves the usage of stationary exercise bicycles with a weighted flflywheel.Glutes, hip flflexors, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves are engaged.
Core Exercises to Improve your Strength on Stationary Bikes
Core Exercises to Improve your Strength on Stationary Bikes
Power Bridge - engages hip flexors, lower back and glutes.
Forearm Plank - targets transverse abdominis, upper and lower back.
Boat Pose - works transverse abdominis and lower back.
Scissor Kick - engages hip flexors, transverse abdominis, inner and outer thighs.
Hip Extension - works hamstrings, lower back, and glutes.
Side Plank - engages obliques and transverse abdominis.
Catapult Crunch - it targets the entire core.
Equipment Selections for Effective Results
Fundamental factors to consider in purchasing a stationary bike:
- Comfortable Backrest and Adjustable Seats
It's important to find a bike made of high-density sponges and ergonomically designed which supports your back during workouts and provides comfort with its adjustable seat height.
- Tension Rope Design and LCD Monitor
It's important to have an arm tension straps feature to increase the muscle exercises of the back and the arm while engaging the legs. With the LCD Monitor, you could monitor calories burnt, speed time and distance.
- Adjustable Resistance
It is recommended to find a bike with a customized 16 adjustable resistance levels for building endurance.
- Foldable
Of course, for a more cluttered space, it's important to fifind a stationary bike designed with foldable capabilities and features to be stored neatly.
Health Benefits of Indoor Cycling
- Improve balance and body's equilibrium.
- Reduces likelihood of cardiovascular diseases.
- Enhances coordination skills and postures. It targets back pain, waistline and joints—stimulating fat metabolism and reducing the likelihood of arthrosis.
- Activates muscular system up to 50% and body strength.
- Stabilizes mental and emotional health. Reducing psychological problems.
Tips and Advice:
- Don't cling on too tightly to the handlebars.
- Get loose and don't tense up. Relax your shoulders and bend in your elbows.
- Do not slack on resistance, keep the momentum and do the work instead of the bike itself.
- Complete a rotation by driving your knee up and down and as much as possible, downsize the pause at the bottom of your pedal strokes.
- Give your future self a favor by always making sure to stretch AFTER each routine or else you will have whimpering calves.