How to reduce your weight by scootering? Let an experienced trainer advise you
| Vendula KosíkováPersonal trainer and world scootering champion Michal Kulka, who helps people improve their fitness daily and achieve the figure they dream of, reveals his tips for losing weight in a healthy way.
Stretch
Racers are not the only ones, who need stretching. Stretching before and after physical exertion is as important as the physical activity itself. Especially if you intend to lose weight. If you only work out but do not stretch, your muscles will shorten and they will become bulky.
Take professional sportsmen and racers as your example. Depending on the type of sport, they usually spend 60 minutes before a race and at least 30 minutes after it on stretching.
For you, too, the 10 minutes extra will pay off. Not only will you be slimmer, but also more flexible and more relaxed and you will react more readily. By stretching, you will also prevent injuries and muscle pain.
Get sweaty! Get puffed out!
Resting muscles consume much more energy than fatty tissue. It is therefore good to increase the percentage of muscle mass in your body by exercising, in order for you to have higher basal metabolic rate** and to burn more energy even while just sitting in the chair and resting.
**The basal metabolic rate is the energy we need to sustain vital functions.
How to calculate your heart rate for weight loss
You can estimate your heart rate approximately by subtracting your age from the number 220. Sixty percent of the result is then the desired heart rate.
In order to reduce the build-up of subcutaneous fat, we need an aerobic activity in an interval reaching 60-70 percent of our maximum heart rate. To put it simply, get sweaty and puffed out, at least three times a week.
Nevertheless, intensive anaerobic training at around 70 % of your maximum heart rate is also important. It will help you build your fitness and muscle mass, which requires more energy for its activity than for example fatty tissue does. In addition, due to the Afterburn effect, muscles will be burning energy “for free” for several more hours after training.
It is therefore ideal to alternate between aerobic and anaerobic activities. We will talk about what such a training plan may look like in a minute.
Keep your diet and movement varied
For movement, same as for the diet, the key is keeping it varied. This is because the body has an amazing ability to adjust and to optimise energy output.
A recent scientific survey focusing on child obesity has confirmed this. In the survey, scientists found out that children in the South-American rural areas, who move for most of the day, basically burn the same number of calories as children in the cities, who spend far more time sitting at the TV, computer or mobile phone.
While the old ways and paths are fast and well-tested, they close our access to new experiences, people and adventures that enrich our life.
Therefore, do not ride along the same route over and over again and include something that will surprise your body in your weekly programme in addition to the scooter, for example dancing, swimming, climbing, yoga, or try something completely new.
Unknown things will keep you in youthful setup and will not allow you to age. But if you cannot help it or you do not have time to ponder change, try to at least liven up your scootering with one of the following activities:
- Breathe only through your nose
- Prolong the inhale and the exhale
- Switch legs after a longer interval, for example after ten or twenty push-offs, depending on your fitness
After two days of exercise, give yourself a day off
Aerobic vs anaerobic movement activities
An aerobic movement activity or endurance training takes place with low intensity and sufficient supply of air for a longer period of time. It may even last for several hours before fatigue appears, it is suitable for reducing weight and building fitness.
An anaerobic training takes place at high intensity for a short time. You will exert all of your strength and your muscles will soon begin to stiffen. Muscle pain is caused by lactate, which is created by burning glycogen in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic training is mainly used for building strength, speed and performance.
It will help your body as well as your peace of mind, if you have a day or two off after two days of physical activity. Together with alternating the aerobic and anaerobic exercise, your weekly plan may look for example like this:
Monday*: A gentle beginning: 3-4 km of walking or 30 minutes running
Tuesday: Endurance training: 15-20 km (1 to 1.5 hours) of scootering at a brisker pace of approximately 15 km/h.
5 things that will support you
- Fixed plan
Create a weekly plan for yourself and stick to it, without any subversive ideas about why you cannot do it on any given day. In the first days, you will need to arm yourself with strong will, but after some time, you will begin to look forward to moving and you will not need to be persuading yourself. - Support group
Do sport with someone else, attend challenges or find yourself a personal trainer. - Supply of healthy food
Stock up on healthy food at home and give away unhealthy snacks rich in calories to someone, to whom they will bring joy, for example to people without a home. - Toothbrushing
After every meal, especially after dinner, brush your teeth immediately, in order to chase away appetite for sweets.
Wednesday: a day off
Thursday: Intensive training: 6 rounds of riding up a 200-metre-long hill, or 4 rounds of fast riding on flat ground for 800 metres + 10–15 minutes of free ride at the end.
Friday: a day off
The plan is compiled for an individual with an average fitness level, who is used to moving regularly.Saturday: Volume training: a longer scootering trip of approximately 30 km, or physical work in the garden, a wild dance in the living room etc.
Sunday: a day off
*For most people, Monday is the most stressful day of the week, therefore plan on something that will not take up much of your time but that will help you get started in the new week.
How to begin with movement from zero?
If you are only just preparing for a change of lifestyle, start slowly and do not plunge into big venture without thinking and preparing. Introduce one new habit at a time into your life, and only after you have consolidated it, add another.
Start with a substantial breakfast
5 things to beware of
- Food as reward
We think that having worked out a lot, we can treat ourselves to a bigger portion of food. But if we are trying to lose weight, it would be better to reward ourselves in a different way. Take a hot bath, get a massage, etc. - Excess of fruit and saccharides
Fruit is healthy, but if you are trying to lose a few kilos, do not overdo it. Eat fruit in the morning hours mainly, and in the afternoon switch to vegetables. Also, keep in mind that while a wholemeal bread roll is healthier, it has the same number of calories. - Eating after seven thirty in the evening
Do not eat after seven thirty in the evening anymore. If you are used to nibbling on nuts in front of the television, swap them for vegetables. Carrots, kohlrabi or celery stalks etc. are excellent. Instead of wine, pour yourself some delicious herbal tea. - Ravenous hunger
-
We all know it, how fatigue and ravenous hunger can thwart even the best resolutions. Therefore, before returning home from training or from work, have something small on the way - a protein stick, chopped up vegetables etc. This will give you the time and strength to prepare a healthy meal and not overeat while preparing it already.
Start for example by giving yourself a substantial breakfast rich in protein and getting off one stop earlier than usual on your way to work. Protein will fill you up and will give you the strength to go on. Once you feel strengthened, prolong the route or add another activity.
Over time, after you get used to moving regularly, you can begin experimenting some more. Perhaps morning activity on an empty stomach will suit you, where you will use the low level of blood sugar and thus make the body burn fat efficiently. There are many options and nutritional styles, one needs to try some, to find, which one will suit him.
Appreciate every small success you achieve
Even the slightest success, regardless of how big it is, will give you strength for the next move. Therefore, do it differently than we were taught to at school. Instead of the mistakes, look closely at the successes and immediately after having performed an activity, praise yourselves or pat yourselves on the back.
Infantile as it may seem to you, somewhere deep inside you will be pleased. Your brain will release happy hormones, which will help you continue and achieve the figure you are dreaming of.
Do not underestimate preparation
Whether you are about to start walking to work or riding a scooter after work, prepare everything you need in the previous evening already. With your sports shoes waiting for you in the hall, you will be more likely to put them on than if you have to look for them in your morning haste.
