WEB EXTRA

Optimizing your weight-loss program
Q&A with Doc Wilson, Ph.D.

Learn the basics for a successful cardiovascular and strength training regimen.

Q: What is the best kind of exercise program for losing excess body fat?
A: Literally thousands of exercise programs have been proposed for optimum weight loss in recent years. However, the best exercise program is one in which a person's basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is boosted for five to 20 hours after completion. It's even more preferable for the BMR to be boosted for 10 to 20 hours because burning calories after the exercise is completely the key.

When your BMR is elevated, your breathing, heart rate and body temperature go up. Most people are only aware of the elevated breathing, heart rate and body temperature while completing the exercises and are aware less (if at all) over the later hours.

As a side note, because aqua aerobics and swimming prevent a rise in body temperature, they are totally ineffective for weight loss. The high heat capacity of water prevents any significant rise in body temperature, which in turn prevents an increase in BMR.

The optimum weight-loss program includes both exercise and nutrition components. On the exercise front, what is needed is a great cardiovascular program of interval training, plus a sufficiently demanding strength training program.

Cardiovascular training

Interval training is cardiovascular training in which the level of difficulty is alternately increased to raise the heart rate and the breathing rate and then decreased for a partial "recovery period." The increased level of difficulty can be effected by increased speed, resistance or some other parameter, such as degree of incline on a treadmill. The period of increased level of difficulty usually will fall in the range of half a minute to two minutes. The recovery period might be two minutes or so initially and only needs to be one minute once a good level of conditioning is attained.

The best choice for cardio exercises depends on a combination of personal preference and a person's health issues, if any. For example, if there are back or joint issues (especially for the knees, hips, ankles or feet), then the cardio exercises should be limited to bikes and elliptical (or elliptical-like) machines — with no walking or running (including no use of treadmills).

Note that there is a major myth that walking on a level surface (no incline) at a relatively slow pace is great for weight loss and overall health. This kind of pace does not boost a person's heart rate to levels that are highly effective for weight loss for the average person. However, if there are "significant" hills, then a person can walk very fast up the hills and slowly down the hills, which is a form of good interval training if the person's heart rate is boosted sufficiently high.

Strength training

The strength training should include a good range of exercises to "hit" most of the major muscle groups of the body. The key is to determine what weights (or levels of resistance) are sufficiently demanding to optimally benefit health in general, as well as the specific goal of losing excess weight. Here are the definitions for "sufficiently demanding" for selecting weight/resistance for each exercise (note that this is for a moderate workout). Muscle failure is reached when a person struggles on the last one or two repetitions and absolutely cannot do any more.

Number of repetitions to achieve sufficiently demanding strength training
Upper body (chest, arms, upper back): Eight to 10 repetitions to muscle failure
Legs: 12 to 15 repetitions to muscle failure
Lower back and abs (i.e. core muscles): Eight to 15 or 20 repetitions to muscle failure

The best way to get started is to first talk with your physician to rule out any adverse health issues that could limit your amount or level of exercise (a relatively rare situation), followed by consulting a knowledgeable personal trainer or physical therapist to develop an exercise program that will meet your goals.

For more information about personal training at CA, click here.

Always check with your physician before starting any exercise regimen or change in diet.

About Doc Wilson
Doc Wilson is a physiologist, biochemist, nutritionist and personal trainer who does personal training and nutritional counseling at Columbia Association. He earned a Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Master of Arts in physiology from SUNY at Buffalo, and he conducted a post-doctoral fellowship in biochemistry and physical chemistry at Duke University. He is a past faculty member of the University of Maryland Schools of Medicine (Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology) and Dentistry (Department of Physiology).

Wilson's areas of specialization include weight loss and weight control, preventing and reversing type 2 diabetes, preventing and reversing high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, and exercise and nutrition for optimum overall health. His first book, "Total Health in a Nutshell," is slated for publication in the near future.

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