When you hit your 40s, it's high time to prepare for one of the greatest changes to happen to your body: menopause. To help you get through the effects of menopause, it's best to start integrating fat burning exercises into your lifestyle.
During middle age, your menstrual cycle naturally stops because of the decline of reproductive hormones and primary ovarian insufficiency. This natural phenomenon called menopause is not a sign of ill health. Rather, during this time, your body will experience different changes that make it harder to retain a healthy lifestyle.
One of the problems you will encounter during menopause is increased fat gain. According to a study, women in their menopausal stage burn less overall body fat than younger women even while doing the same exercises. The study found that postmenstrual women have 33% less whole-body fat oxidation than premenopausal women. They also have 19% less energy expenditure; meaning, they also burn fewer calories. Postmenstrual women also have less lean body mass than younger women.
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Aside from an increase in fat gain, menopause can also change your body fat distribution primarily because of the decreasing levels of estrogen in your body. Naturally, women store excess fat in the hips and thighs. But after menopause, you may start to gain fat in areas similar to men. Stubborn abdominal fat may also increase, which can heighten your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
To lessen the effect of these changes on your lifestyle, it helps to follow a regular fitness regimen that can help you burn fat fast. Among the different regimens around, burst training simply fits the bill.
Burst training is exercising at 90 to 100 percent of your maximum effort for a short period of time like 30 to 60 seconds, followed by another 30 to 60 seconds or more of low impact activity for recovery. For the high-intensity portion of the workout, perform demanding fat burning exercises like burpees and skier hops. Then follow them with exercises that focus on specific muscles.
This kind of work out is more effective at burning fat compared to performing at a slower pace like jogging for 45 minutes. Many studies support that burst training actually burns more fat cells since it creates the right hormonal responses for real fat loss and lean muscle development. Not only that, burst training will also prevent overtraining, which can make you susceptible to injuries.
Aside from burning fat, burst training can also help prevent bone loss, which is very common after menopause. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, women lose the most bone density during and after menopause. When you hit 35, you'll lose one percent of your bone density; and you'll lose as much as four percent when you reach your 40s. As you lose more bone density, you'll increase your chances of osteoporosis. This also makes your bones more vulnerable to fracture from falls.
Burst training can involve intense weight bearing exercises that can prevent bone loss. Performing these exercises regularly helps maintain your balance and coordination to prevent osteoporosis-related problems.
Another type of exercise to add to your burst training regimen for bone loss prevention is resistance training. In these exercises, the muscle contracts against an external resistance to help you become stronger and increase your bone density. Lifting weights and using resistance bands are some forms of resistance training.
Doing cardio every morning is not the only way to get your heart pumping and body moving to control fat. If you're looking for a more intensive regimen to help you prepare for menopause, burst training is the exercise program you need to follow. More than that, since these fat burning exercises are performed for only a short time, you can easily fit them to any busy schedule.
