We reveal all the answers to the questions you might have if your goal is to burn calories and get a fitness body
Let’s face it, most of us go to the gym with a common goal: lose those extra pounds to keep using the same dress size we did 10 years ago. We’d like the six-pack and a toned body, but we have to go step by step, so better start at the beginning.
In today’s post, we want to answer the main questions most of us have when we try to burn calories and lose weight, but for one reason or another we end up stagnating: Is it better to do cardio or lift weights? Is HIIT for me? What type of workouts burn more calories? Is it true that you burn more calories in the morning? Don’t worry, we’ll answer all these questions and more with the invaluable help of our DiR personal trainers and coaches.
In order to lose weight, is cardio the most effective exercise?
While it is true that cardiovascular exercise –running, swimming, elliptical, bicycle, etc.– can burn a large number of calories –up to 750 in an hour– the best option to burn calories is to combine this type of exercise with weight lifting or other types of loads to help burn fat and to increase basal metabolism.
“Lift weights for the first half hour and then do cardio for another half hour,” explains Ignasi J., Technical Director at DiR Tres Torres, adding that “it’s better to follow this order because during cardio training you’ll burn fat after emptying glycogen supplies during the first half hour.”
Don’t let your body get used to the same intensity
Jonathan F., DiR Diagonal’s personal trainer, explains the reason why many of us stagnate and don’t see changes in our physical condition: “If we work at the same intensity or if we don’t vary the exercises we do for a long time, the body ends up adapting”. That’s why it’s important to change the stimuli every now and again to see an improvement, “for example, if your physical condition is 6 out of 10 and you always train at this level, you’ll never notice an improvement” concludes Jonathan.
Is HIIT training the one that burns more calories?
High-intensity interval training –or HIIT– can burn more calories per session, simply because the body has to do a huge effort. For example, a Total HIIT session, high intensity training that combines cardio and muscle work, can help you burn up to 800 calories in one go, in addition to the energy you use for hours after training due to the increase in basal metabolism.
Some examples of high intensity training, in addition to Total HiiT, are Cross Training, Body Pump and the JAMBOX sessions, the boxing studio at DiR Claris or BDiR Studio Les Corts.
Can the time of day influence how many calories you burn?
Training during the first hours of the day helps you lose more weight for one simple reason: if you exercise shortly after eating, you usually burn the calories you have eaten, especially carbohydrates, but in the early hours of the day there are fewer carbohydrates to burn and, therefore, the body burns the energy reserves that is fat you’ve stored.
But be careful, strenuous workouts aren’t recommended as you could faint or get dizzy because your sugar levels will be low.
What activities burn more calories?
Apart from the activities mentioned above –boxing, Total Hiit, Body Pump or Cross Training that can burn up to 800 calories per session–, at DiR Clubs we have different supervised sessions that can also help you burn many calories and have a great time.
SpinDiR
The most popular sessions at DiR Clubs can help you lose up to 500 calories in an hour, pedalling to the beat of the music with intensity changes.
Zumba
Zumba is one of the most complete activities to improve physical fitness, tone the body and improve resistance. In each session you can also burn between 400 and 600 calories moving your body to the beat of the music.
Swimming
At DiR Clubs we have different supervised water activities of greater and lesser intensity that are adaptable to any person. From swimming courses to high intensity training like Aqua Hit. In any case, an hour swimming can help you burn more than 400 calories and up to 600 calories during supervised sessions.
Pilates
In addition to improving your posture, strengthening your deep muscles and reducing joint pain, during an hour session of Pilates you can burn around 425 calories.
Running
Running is one of the sports that burns most calories, about 750 an hour. If you want to get involved in this sport and improve day by day, discover Run With Us club, the runner community at DiR.
What do you think?