Do We Lose Weight by Alternating Exercises?

Alternating your exercises is an extremely effective technique to encourage your body to shed those extra pounds, to break through a weight-loss plateau and to keep your workouts enjoyable. There are numerous ways to alternate exercises, so choosing techniques that blast the most calories and increase your metabolism will quickly get you to your weight-loss goals.

  1. Adaptation

    • Your body has an extraordinary ability to adapt to the stress of an exercise. When you perform an exercise for the first time, you are not only using your muscles, but you are also requiring your brain to form new neurological pathways. The number of calories you burn during an exercise is at its highest when it is new. You spend a tremendous amount of physical and mental energy learning the new movements, but once you have performed the exercise a few times, your body will be much more efficient, which requires fewer calories.

    Intensity

    • One way to alter your exercise routine for increased weight loss is by upping your intensity level. The National Strength and Conditioning Association says you should participate in cardiovascular exercise at 60 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you normally hover near the 60-percent mark, then kick up your intensity. If this is difficult at first, up the intensity for one minute, then lower it for three. Continue throughout the duration of your workout to greatly increase your calorie expenditure. If you can read a magazine or have a conversation, you're not working hard enough.

    Duration

    • Increasing the duration of your exercise is another simple way to boost your weight loss. A 15-minute increase in the duration of your cardiovascular or strength-training session will result in pounds lost within a few months time. Increasing the intensity and duration of workouts at the same time will speed up your weight loss even more and give you the added benefit of increasing your fitness level. It is easy to overestimate your time spent exercising; if you have a smartphone or tablet, there are apps available to log workouts.

    Frequency

    • Upping the frequency of your workouts is one more surefire way to increase weight loss. The American Heart Association recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five times per week. That number is just the minimum for healthy heart and lungs. If you are striving for a fit, toned and strong physique, you need 90 minutes four times per week or 60 minutes six days a week. When you consider that there are 168 hours in a week and you are active for six of them, that leaves you with 162 inactive hours.