Get Started with Exercise Fitness Focus Fitness FAQs

Which exercise is best?
The cliche fits: "Use it or lose it". Any exercise or regular physical activity that you will DO is the best. The goal of exercise is to increase your movement, because lifestyles today do not provide enough opportunities for our bodies to move. Without movement we not only tend to gain weight, but our physical abilities begin to decline. Muscle size shrinks without enough muscular challenge. Heart and lung capacity decline if we do not use these systems. And, of course, flexibility or our range of motion will suffer if we don't stretch regularly.

Bottom Line: Now and forever, do whatever you like but keep on moving.

What kind of calories are burned during exercise?
Exercise burns all 3 types of calories: carbohydrate, protein and fat. But there are stages of fuel utilization that will occur as you start, and then maintain an exercise. The duration (time) and intensity (challenge) of an exercise will influence your calorie utilization. So will your last meal, which effects what fuel mix is circulating in your blood.

Bottom line: Long duration, lower intensity exercises burn more fat. (Target Heart Rate 60-70% of maximum.)

Stage 1	First 10 minutes of an exercise	Carbohydrate (sugar) is the main fuel for the muscle working. Carbohydrate is stored right in the muscle, so the demand to mobilize fat or sugar from storage sites in other parts of the body is not high yet.
Stage 2	Second 10 minutes of an exercise	Carbohydrate (sugar) in the exercising muscle is running low. Fat and carbohydrate from storage areas in the body begin to be released into the blood. Exercising muscle will increasingly pick up these circulating fuels as a supplemental fuel. Breathing and heart rate have increased, supplying more oxygen to the exercising muscle.
Stage 3	About 20 minutes after starting the exercise	Fat mobilization from storage increases. Carbohydrate stores from the liver are mobilized. Blood is rich with circulating fat, sugar and oxygen. Exercising muscles switches to an aerobic fuel system, which is required to burn fat.
Stage 4	Beyond 20 minutes after starting the exercise	Exercising muscle is primarily using the aerobic fuel system. As long as oxygen supply is adequate for the muscle's workload, fat will be the primary fuel. If intensity (heart rate or difficulty level) increases, carbohydrate will be the prefered fuel. Protein will be used to supply carbohydrate if exercise is to too long (more than 2 hours) or too difficult (Heart Rate above 85% of maximum or Perceived Exertion above 8)

Why should I develop muscles?
Weight training does not burn much fat as a fuel source, but it does stimulate muscle growth. More mass will increase calorie demand of the muscles 24 hours a day. This is a great assist for those struggling to increase their metabolism.

Weight training is also very effective for bone mass maintenance and helps prevent osteoporosis in both men and women as we get older. It is especially helpful for the spinal bones, which are not always stimulated well with exercise. These bones are the most susceptible to osteoporosis.

Bottom Line: Weight training builds muscle and helps preserve bone mass.

Do I have to sweat?
Sweating during exercise is an indirect indicator that you are working hard, but it is not directly related to the benefits of your workout. Sweating is your body's cooling system at work. When sweat evaporates it cools you off. As you heat up nternally, with or without exercise, you will sweat. Sweat begins at different levels for different people. Some people heat up quickly, others do not. Body surface area (skin) relative to internal mass (both muscle mass and fat stores) relates to this. The more skin to body mass, the more cooling you can do.

Factors which influence sweating include work intensity (strenuousness), environmental conditions (heat, wind, humidity), your body water content (hydration) and clothing. The combination of high heat, high humidity, no breeze, clothing that does not "breath" and a strenuous workout will cause the most sweating.

Remember, water is lost when you sweat. The more water you lose, the less cooling you can do. Overheating is a common reason for fatique with exercise. Be sure to drink plenty of water if you sweat alot during exercise. A little salt on food (not much) is also suggested to replace the salt lost in sweat.

Bottom Line: No, but if you do drink more water.

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