[LifeStyle] Do you want to lose weight and get back into shape from scratch? Start now with 30 minutes of daily walking

[YaKuZa--BoSs]

 

"How will we get out of this? Will we be better? More supportive and empathetic?" We asked ourselves in the media and on social media during these months of confinement. Difficult to answer (even afterwards). What is clear is that, except for a minority of disciplined home athletes who have kept their workouts up to date and kept their diet clean (especially pastries and alcohol), we have come out fatter and infinitely more 'rusty' anatomically.

Those hiits (high intensity interval training), yoga practices and zumba sessions 'online' that we have been able to follow through various platforms have helped a lot, no doubt, but they have not been enough to compensate for the absence of the 'natural' movement. which involves carrying out all daily activities (whose caloric expenditure is known as NEAT) and our organism has entered a kind of 'pause' mode from which we now have to leave little by little, with good professional advice and without strange experiments .

 

 

ONE MORE GRAM OF BODY FAT
"Previous studies and their first data are talking that the general po[CENSORED]tion has increased an average of 5% of body weight (according to the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity- SEEDO), which represents a possible increase of around 1kg of body fat, "says César Bustos, a graduate in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences (Collegiate No. 12,215) and university expert in personal training and metabolic pathologies with distinction and founder of Pronaf.

Although our head pushes us to get going again, our body is still dormant. Is it normal for us to feel so tired and stiff? "Yes. The muscles have remained 'asleep' during this time unless we have been doing some type of physical activity regularly. Now is the time to reactivate them so that they can develop their function again," explains Bustos.

What's more, he adds, "the feeling of tiredness can also be derived from a modification (for the worse) of our diet, since in many cases we have eaten more caloric and lower nutritional quality foods, which makes us feel heavier and without force. "

RECOVERY
In the absence of verifying that the coronavirus has made us more generous and committed beings, what is very clear is that we have come out of confinement with the resistance (unless we have given the 'roller' or the 'hiit' as madmen) , strength, mobility and flexibility (except those who have worked properly) under minimum.

What do we do now to recover? "If during confinement we have not been active, we should consider returning to routine as if it were a return to activity after a summer vacation," advises César Bustos.

"The ideal," he continues, "would be to start setting realistic goals for ourselves and adapted to the time we are going to be able to dedicate to our health (something that we should value as necessary on a regular basis)."

If we start from scratch, the best option would be "to start walking regularly between 20 and 30 minutes a day, maintaining the highest pace that we are capable of carrying".

If we have an hour, we can dedicate "30 minutes to walking at a fast pace and the other 30 to perform compensatory exercises and core strengthening, such as isometric abs, work to strengthen the lower back and exercises of flexibility and muscular elasticity."

 

 

 

After achieving a solid base, "we would increase the time of this walk 10 minutes each week to 45-50 minutes."

From there, "so-called 'CaCos' (walking and running) could be introduced, with routines, for example, 3-1, that is, three minutes walking and one running; starting with 10-15 minutes in total and gradually go up to 30 to start jogging, as long as that is the activity we did before confinement. "

RISK OF INJURY
So far, what should be done, but what should we not do? "We should not try to perform the same routines that we had just before confinement. The risk of injury is going to be really high and, if we are sensible, in a short time we can be almost at the same level that we had before the declaration of the State of Alarm" he points out.

Our physical form also needs a phase de-escalation and it is essential "to avoid strenuous exercises or that take us to the limit of our current possibilities and for a very long time. We must acclimatize the body to return to normality".

Bustos recalls that different studies, such as the one published in 'The New England Journal of Medicine', have determined that, after age, "obesity was one of the greatest risk factors for Covid-19; those people who suffer from obesity severe they are up to six times more likely to have a serious episode and have to be hospitalized. "

In this new global scenario marked by the pandemic, maintaining "a healthy, active and adequate lifestyle is, if possible, more important than ever," he concludes.

WARNING: It is essential to consult a professional about the convenience of starting a training program. Also listen to the calls of our body and stop before any symptoms of discomfort, dizziness or pain.