by Nadia Sinclair

Consistent exercise is the key to maintain a robust health but it is disheartening when the results you seek evade you, even after sticking religiously to your routine. This could be because your once challenging regime no longer pushes your limits or due to a surplus of unconsumed calories. It might also be that your exercise routine lacks the required frequency or intensity.

No woman desires to dedicate time and effort into a routine that yields no benefits such as weight loss or toning. Here’s how to make your exercise regime work for you.

Regulating Exercise Frequency for Optimum Health

If you are looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle, experts at the Society for Physical Wellness (SPW) suggest you engage in moderate-intensity cardio for 30 minutes daily for five days a week or opt for vigorous cardio for 20 minutes three times a week. Complement this with eight to ten strength-based exercises, like burpees, weight lifting or fitness classes. Aim for two sets of eight to twelve reps for each exercise weekly. Moderate-intensity activities should raise your heart rate and make you sweat, while still allowing you to maintain a casual conversation.

Focused Exercises for Weight Loss

If your goal is weight reduction, strive for high-intensity cardio for 30 minutes or moderate-intensity cardio for 45 minutes five times a week. Consider options like jogging, cycling, power-walking, circuit training, aerobics or kickboxing.

Why and How to Incorporate Interval Training in Your Routine

Maximizing the effectiveness of your workouts involves alternating between low (about 50% MHR), moderate (about 70% MHR), and high (about 80% MHR) intensity workouts. This is known as interval training. Use the formulas below to determine your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and get the most out of your workouts. The guide below is an age-relevant scale to calculate your MHR:

• Regular Fitness Level: 206 – 88% of your age
• Advanced Fitness Level: 205 – 50% of your age

Beginners should alternate between low and moderate intensities, and as their fitness levels improve, the intensity should be amped up to high-level heart rates.

Choosing the Ideal Cardio Exercise

Cardio exercises engaging large muscle groups, like running, cycling or swimming, yield the best results. However, do keep in mind that the body tends to adapt to a routine within six weeks, after which alterations in frequency, intensity, duration, or type of exercises become necessary for continuous improvement.

The Wisest Choice- Split or Continuous Sessions?

If time permits, focus on one form of exercise per session for maximum benefits. But if you’re looking for a shorter session to burn calories and tone up, combining weights and cardio in one session can achieve that. One set of weight lifting exercises can be followed by a set on a different machine without stopping and then repeated.

To give you an understanding of the calories you could burn during 30 minutes of exercise, see the guideline below:

• Slow-paced walking, 2mph: 85 calories
• Uphill walking, 3-5mph: 204 calories
• Running a 10-minute mile, 6mph: 340 calories
• Cycling, 10-12mph: 204 calories
• Low-impact aerobics: 169 calories
• High-impact aerobics: 238 calories
• Moderate effort swimming: 271 calories
• Vigorous effort swimming: 340 calories

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