What is the best exercise for weight loss?

Weight loss and exercise.

If you are reading this, you most likely typed the title of this post into google in the hope of finding a magic exercise formula that will help shed the pounds in no time at all and with little effort on your part. Well I have to tell you that I have been in the fitness business for over 30 years and I haven’t seen one to date! Sorry.

The more you search, the more confused you get. “Should I join a class? If so, which class is best? Should I join a gym? Ok, maybe I will go jogging. What trainers shall I get? Do I get a personal trainer? There are hundreds to choose from these days so how do I know they are any good and will I be wasting my money? I know, I will ditch the workout and do Zumba. Actually no, I think I will just stay home and get a workout DVD, they all look so fit and trim on those so it must work right? I feel a headache coming on!”

I have been teaching since the Jane Fonda days. I have seen trends and fads come and go, some lasting longer than others but the point here is;

There are no new revolutionary fitness methods out there just new revolutionary marketing!! It’s not called the fitness industry for nothing!

We are talking here about the best way to lose weight through exercise. None of the above options consider the most important element in ANY training regime and that is THE MIND. It doesn’t matter which method you choose to fight the flab, if your mind is not on your side then you are doomed to failure. It is your mind that puts your trainers on in the first place after all. So the first thing to do is ‘focus on your head and the rest will follow.’

We offer a number of mind training solutions here at slimthinkers based on our years of working with our clients. These are based on neuro linguistic programming combined with hypnosis. The top sports players in the world are fit and skillful in their chosen area yes, but again if their head is not in the right place their skills and fitness sometimes go out the window. Now, whilst we would love you to take advantage of our expertise, there are lots of people out there that can help you in this area, just be careful who or what you choose. But then again you are back to the search mode again which can lead to that “oh I can’t be bothered” feeling when presented with a million searches on google.

So lets talk exercise. One thing is for sure, if you are not doing anything but are still eating cakes, it is a few inches on the butt waiting to happen. My advise to you to start with is focus on ‘mindful movement’. By that I mean everything you do, do it with purpose. The more active you are throughout the day, the more your metabolism is stimulated. The better your metabolism the better equipped you are to burn calories. Moving with purpose is also linked to the mind. Want to do it, understand why you want to do it, then do it.

So what is mindful movement?

Getting your heart rate up and being slightly out of breath as many times in the day as you can, just doing the things you are doing anyway. Getting a physiological benefit from normal everyday activities. All it takes is 5 minutes repeated a few times a day. Here’s an example:

You get up and put the kettle on. While waiting for the kettle to boil you do pushups on the work surface, a few squats and side bends and walk up and down stairs a couple of times. You just did a circuit training session. You sit in your car, sit up straight and focus on your posture. Every time you breath out, gently pull in your belly button and tighten your abs. You just did a pilates workout on your way to work. You walk to the shops. Pick a lamppost a few yards down the road and power walk to it. Then walk on to the next one. Repeat this a few times and you just did an interval training session. Get the idea? It’s just being mindful of what and how you are doing things for 5 minutes 5 times a day.

So to conclude; what is the best exercise to help you lose weight?

Anything that is going to get you out of breath and raise your heart rate as often as you can. Something you are doing now or something you choose to do that you will enjoy. Something that is going to stimulate your muscles and take them through a range of movement. Something that is going to get your body to do what it is designed for – MOVE

More on exercise and how to get yourself in to shape coming soon

Paul Knight

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