If you’ve seen The Biggest Loser, you’ll observe overweight individuals slogging it out in order to shed phenomenal amounts of body weight. There is no doubt that they experience weight loss results, often in the order of multiple kilograms per week. Though this approach is generally considered to be an unhealthy and unrealistic approach to weight loss amongst many fitness professionals, such a television show does imply that high intensity exercise is a necessary practice to lose significant amounts of weight. This assumption is simply incorrect.
If you’ve been following our articles over the past few years, you’ll be well aware of our stance on the intensity of your workout. In a general sense, the higher the intensity of your workout, the greater the physical, mental and emotional benefits you will obtain. Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone will result in greater personal development both on the outside and on in the inside, for it requires great inner strength, determination and focus to consistently undertake high intensity workouts.
However if you fall within the wider general population who do not enjoy testing their physical and mental limits through high intensity exercise, a demanding exercise regime can pose a significant hindrance to obtaining long-term sustainable results. Personally, I have seen this happen a number of times in the past through my professional experience in the industry. A classic example is where a client has been pushed too far outside of their comfort zone resulting in them feeling nauseous or even vomiting. Such an experience puts somewhat of dampener on the whole “exercise experience”. So rather than exercise being associated with the great feelings of endorphin release and self-achievement, it is instead regarded as uncomfortable and nauseating.
Ask any person who has achieved an amazing health/fitness feat what a key ingredient to their success was. One important factor is likely to be consistency – for anything that is worth accomplishing requires a continual and dedicated approach toward the ultimate goal. This would be true for anyone whether they have lost a large amount of weight, competed in a bodybuilding competition, won a transformation competition, competed as an athlete at an elite level and so on. A repeated approach toward a particular goal over the long-term will almost ensure success (with the right approach of course).
Therefore, if you are someone who loathes high intensity exercise, a lower intensity approach may be suitable if this will enhance your likelihood to exercise on an on-going basis. It is far more beneficial for your health to exercise at a low to moderate intensity for a few times a week than to engage in exercise at a high intensity sporadically. Though the results may be greater from a high intensity session relative to a low intensity session, the long-term results will only be greater if you are consistent in adhering to an appropriate routine.
To lose weight, you require an energy deficit by consuming less calories than what is expended. While this can be accomplished through diet alone, it is of much greater benefit to incorporate an exercise routine to accompany an appropriate approach to nutrition. This will aid in boosting your immune system, avoiding muscle atrophy (or breakdown), improving self-confidence and self-esteem, enhancing your cardiovascular fitness, improving brain function and so on. Of course, since energy is expended during exercise, undertaking a workout will also facilitate weight loss by encouraging an energy deficit.
The take home point – no, high intensity exercise is not a requirement for weight loss. So if you do not particularly enjoy working out, try something that you feel more comfortable with in order to develop a routine. Some movement is better than none at all and this will form a foundational routine from which you can build upon in the future.
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