I chose the treadmill as the form of cardio to start on. The use of the exercise bike and the elliptical would come later. I started out walking the treadmill at a 2.5 speed. This meant that if I walked an hour, I would walk 2.5 miles. I needed to start out at a low speed and then gradually work my way up to an average walking speed. My husband told me that 3.5 was a good average walking speed to work towards as a goal.
The progress I was making also helped me see that a good physical fitness program was worthwhile. The small steps of progress I was making meant a lot to me. It was reassuring to know that I was on the right track.
It was important for me to keep in mind that this is a lifelong commitment that I made. This would allow my body to adjust to the many changes I would have to make as I went along. I found that this is a major mistake people tend to make when trying to lose weight, and this is why eventually the weight is put back on over a period of time. I had to remember that this commitment has to be taken seriously, and then I could successfully keep the weight off and enjoy the many benefits that come from a healthy lifestyle. You really have to be in it for the long haul
I set a goal that I wanted to go above and beyond the speed of 3.5. I set a goal to have a maximum speed of 4.0. After walking the 3.5 speed for 6 months, I increased my speed by smaller increments. I next increased my walking speed to 3.7. I stayed at this speed for about a month. Then I increased my speed from 3.7 to 3.9. I stayed at this speed for about 2 months. I found the higher the speed, the more time my heart and lungs needed to adapt before going to the next speed. Finally, I increased my walking speed from 3.9 to 4.0. It felt so good when I increased to this walking speed. It was like graduating to the next level of walking and this was indeed very encouraging to me.
After giving myself time to adjust to the walking speed of 4.0, I decided it was time to explore walking on an incline. The incline on the treadmill starts at 1.0 and goes all the way to 15.0. I would notice other people walking the treadmill on an incline and this works up a sweat. I learned that there are several benefits of walking on an incline, so I started including this aspect of cardio in my work-out routine. Walking on an incline helped my progress on the treadmill tremendously, because it takes fat burning to a higher level. A person can burn 2 to 3 times the calories walking on an incline, depending on how high the degree of the incline is and their walking speed.
The elliptical is a very unique way to get your cardio. I remember when I first started on the elliptical, the galloping motion was smooth and easy. Being obese at the time, the elliptical made me feel as if I were light weight, even though in reality I was heavy. The elliptical tested my heart and lung function once again. When I first did the elliptical, I could only do around 10 to 15 minutes. As time passed, I progressed to 30 minutes, then an hour and then even an hour and a half.
As I watched step aerobics for the first time, it reminded me of a sophisticated type of dancing. The many types of moves you make in this class are so unique, just like dancing. So, I thought that this class would have to be an enjoyable way to have fun and, at the same time, get a good cardio work-out. I decided to include these classes in my cardio work-out routine.
After I started the classes, I learned a lot about the benefits. Some exercises you do burn more calories, and some exercises you do burn more fat. It was very interesting to learn that step aerobics burns more body fat. This was just what I needed, since I was obese at the time. With my body fat content being so high, this would greatly increase my fat burning. Having this knowledge about step aerobics made me eager to utilize this class in every possible way so I could continue on the road to better health.
When I consider all the times I would walk 5, 7 or 8 miles, I was surprised to see that step aerobics tested my heart and lung function in a different way. With step aerobics, your whole body, from your feet, hips, waist, shoulders and arms, performs a lot of constant movement. The twists and turns, the ups and the downs were constant for the 45 to 50 minutes of the class.
I never knew how much the mental state gets involved until I got back into health and physical fitness. It was very informative for me to learn how cardio exercises not only help the body physically, but also mentally. It was good to see the efforts of my hard work giving me good results. This is something I share with people in their weight loss journey. I tell them that consistency over time is what will bring them good results. It also takes patience; if a person is willing to be patient and not give up, the rewards are many when it comes to weight loss, better health and good quality of life.
AUNT BEE 2 BARBEE FITNESS CONSULTING
HEALTH AND FITNESS 7