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Individuals at Fitness Level 2 have been exercising on a regular basis (about 3 times per week) but are not achieving their weight loss goals. There is a set point at which your weight loss will stop. This will occur when the amount of calories you eat equals what you expend. When you reach that point, you either need to exercise more,or eat less. As long as you are expending more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. (As with any new fitness program, you should consult your doctor prior to making any changes.)
Many people believe that cutting calories is the answer. If you are eating a high calorie, high fat diet, cutting calories and fat grams will help. However, you do have to eat - do NOT starve yourself on a diet that is less than 1,000 calories per day. If you do this, your body will go into a survival mode- basically it will store what you do eat as fat. A healthier, better approach is to lengthen your aerobic workouts to 30-40 minutes and to exercise 4 times per week. By lengthening your workouts, you will burn more calories and your body will go to the fat cells for energy after the glycogen(carbohydrate) stores have been depleted. (Glycogen stores are usually depleted after 20 minutes of aerobic exercise.)
In addition to aerobic exercise, you should also do some form of strength training.
Strength training can be floor work (such as abdominals, push ups, tricep dips etc...) or
it can be work with hand weights, weight machines, rubber bands, tubing etc... At this
fitness level, you should try to train 3 times per week for 20 minutes each session.
The last thing you should do while exercising is some form of stretching. In addition
to relieving muscle aches/pains it will reduce your chance of injuring muscles. You should
stretch before you start exercising and after you are done. If you are exercising
aerobically 4 times per week, stretch 4 times per week (5 minutes before and 5 minutes
after should be adequate). You should try to stretch major muscle groups such as:
Quadriceps (front of the upper thigh), Hamstrings (back of the upper thigh), Calves
(Gastrocnemius(upper) and Soleus(lower)), Gluteus Maximus and Shoulders/Chest. When
stretching, try to hold the stretch for at least 20 seconds.
If you begin this program and stick with it, over time you'll notice that it isn't hard enough for you anymore. Maybe your weight loss has leveled out or you don't feel challenged. When this happens, you are ready for Fitness Level 3. Good luck and happy exercising!!
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