If your goal is getting in shape, you need more than
aerobic exercise. Although aerobics are an important part of the overall
fitness program; however, you also need to integrate muscle building workouts
several times a week to achieve a well-balanced exercise program.
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| Photo: Aerobic Exercise | InStyleHealth |
When you exercise aerobically, you strengthen your
heart muscle as well as your entire cardiovascular system. The muscle building
workouts will fine tune the body and make it better allowing it to function and
burn away excess fats in the body.
Working out alone doesn’t necessarily translate to
building additional muscle tissues. We are born with the highest number of muscle
fibers we will ever have and that will never change. What you are trying to
change through muscle building workouts is the appearance of the muscle tissue,
bulking it up and making the fibers larger and more defined.
There are two types of muscle building routine that
will either allow you to gain muscle mass or tone your existing muscle.
Low Reps/High Weight – The goal of the low repetition,
high weight muscle building workout is to increase muscle mass, or plump up the
muscle to its greatest volume. Lifting heavy weight causes the muscle fibers to
swell and you will notice a significant increase in the mass of muscle under
your skin.
High Reps/Low Weight – The goal of the high
repetition, low weight muscle building workout is to tone the muscle and make
it stronger without a significant noticeable change in mass. Women often
perform workout in order to sculpt their muscles and make them appear more
defined and bodybuilders select programs that allow them to increase muscle
mass.
When people start new muscle building workout program,
they expect results immediately. This is fine if your body is lean to start
with. However, if you have a high ratio of body fat to lean muscle, you will
have to do aerobic cardiovascular exercises to burn those excess fats off in
combination with the muscle building workout. This will allow you to build
muscle in order to see the desired results.
Consuming a low-fat diet composed of lean proteins and low carbohydrates is also a helpful and effective way in building muscle and in reducing body fats.
Even when you are not exercising, your muscles
continue to burn fat more effectively when you perform a regular fitness
program that includes muscle building workouts. You will get to increase your
body’s ability to burn the body fats, as one of the benefits of muscle building
workouts.
Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and improves
the functions of the cardiovascular system which is really important in
delivering blood to your muscles. To continuously burn body fats, you need a
combination of both the aerobic training and muscle building in order to
achieve your desired results.