Health and fitness expert, Dr Garry Egger, says that weight resistance training will help you to win the battle of the bulge.
We’re moving less
Modern lifestyles, with all their automated comforts, are making many of us fatter. The biggest change is in just how much we move during the course of an ordinary day. Researchers estimate that this could be as much as 1000 kilocalories less than two to three generations ago (the equivalent of walking about 16km a day).
Modern technology has also led to a decline in lifting and strength-based activities in our lifestyle. Human muscle works best when regularly contracted, so it’s little wonder that the second largest cause of visits to the doctor in older Australians is musculo-skeletal problems.
Increase your muscle strength
Many people take up activities such as jogging or aerobics to compensate for the decline in day-to-day activity. Garry says that in most cases, this is not enough. If you’re losing the battle of the bulge, your movement levels are still not matching your food intake levels. However, exercising does not have to cost money.
You can work out at home with exercises that involve both movement and muscle contraction to help satisfy both your body’s aerobic and muscular needs. Cheap household devices can double as exercise equipment for increasing your muscle strength (see below).
Home remedies
Rice bags: 500g or 1kg rice bags can be used like dumbbells, one bag for each hand. These add resistance to exercise-to-music at home or can simply be used like weights with any exercise.
Your own body: callisthenics is the form of exercise made popular in the 1960s through such programs as 5BX and 10BX. The body is used as its own form of resistance, for doing a range of simple exercises such as push-ups, dips and squats.
PVC bottles: empty PVC bottles such as milk or fruit juice containers can be filled with water or sand and either used singly, as dumbbells, or in pairs, connected by a broomstick to make a barbell.
Inner tubes or exercise bands: bicycle or car inner tubes cut to length can add resistance to just about any exercise that might otherwise require some weights. Large elastic bands, or ‘exercise bands’ can be used in the same way. They are available from sports stores for around $10 each. Exercise bands are great when you’re travelling because they’re light and won’t take up much room in your suitcase.
A backpack: adding weight by strapping on a backpack while you are walking increases the effort required and therefore uses up more energy and fat to increase the value of the exercise.
A chair: a solid chair is a great device for stepping up and down on, or as a base to increase the resistance experienced when doing callisthenic exercises.
A partner: doing exercises with a partner can provide as much increased resistance as the partner is prepared to put into it. A partner can also add to the benefits of stretching exercises.
A mattress: provided you don’t mind a slightly messy or lumpy bed, or better still if you have an old spare that’s not being used, mattresses can be used like a mini-trampoline for jogging or other exercises.
