Fit Or Fat: Nutrition and Exercise

The Great Outdoors: Which Exercise Is Right For You?

Posting Date: 07/02/2001

Cycling is the exercise you fall in love with! But, because It uses fewer muscles than running and because it is not weight-bearing, you'll have to cycle about forty minutes to equal twenty minutes of jogging. Bicycling is usually a joyful pastime rather than an exercise drudgery, so most people don?t mind the extra time.

Cycling does have drawbacks. A good bicycle can be expensive. It may not be easy to find nonstop routes so you can maintain a steady exercise pulse. Cycling requires some balance if you're new at it, and it's tricky learning to change gears so you can go smoothly up and down hills. Try to maintain a steady pace of about 70 revolutions a minute instead of bursts of pushing and coasting.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Long-term fat-burning potential: High
Injury risk: Low to moderate (cycling itself poses little risk, but injury due to falling increases risk of injury)
Special applications: Young, active and fit people. Less fit people will want to stick to the easy trails to start

Mountain biking combines the rustic pleasures of the backwoods with a strenuous workout while avoiding the dangers of not-so-watchful automobile drivers. It can be a wonderful total body workout if you take it to the extreme ? zigging and zagging through the woods, jumping over rocks and grinding up hills.

SWIMMING

Long-term fat-burning potential: Low
Injury risk: Very low
Special applications: People with arthritis or other joint problems, pregnant women, people recovering from injury, older people

Swimming is the most injury-free sport around. It gives excellent cardiovascular benefits and is great for toning practically all the muscles of the body. But if you're overfat, I don't recommend it as your only exercise. Of the thousands of people I've tested for body fat, swimmers consistently carry more fat than runners or cyclists. A swimmer's muscles are probably every bit as lean and fit as a runner's; it's just that their bodies adapt to a cold liquid environment by carrying fat under the skin. So, you can get very fit with swimming, but you probably won't lose much fat. Please note that I have not said swimming makes you fat. But, you will lose fat more slowly with swimming than with land sports.

Despite this drawback, swimming is a good starting program for overweight people who are unused to exercise. They can learn body coordination and gain fitness without feeling clumsy or risking injury to already overburdened joints. Once they've built up a certain amount of coordination and fitness, they can venture on to exercises that burn more fat.

WATER AEROBICS

Long-term fat-burning potential: Low to moderate
Injury risk: Very low
Special applications: People with arthritis or other joint problems, pregnant women, people recovering from injury, older people

Water aerobics is a fun alternative to swimming. Exercising against the water's resistance strengthens muscles without bumping and jarring. The buoyancy of the water buffers fast, jerky, potentially injury-inducing motions. Since many classes take place in the shallow end, even non-swimmers can join in.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

Long-term fat-burning potential: Very high
Injury risk: Low
Special applications: People who are already moderately fit

The king of aerobic exercises! Cross-country skiing is the fastest fat burner, is more strenuous than running, yet has a low risk of injury because its movements are gliding rather than bouncing. The start-up costs are fairly low (compared to downhill skiing), or you can experiment with rental equipment. I recommend cross-country skiing for people who are already in pretty good shape. It's a deceptive exercise in that it requires skill and balance along with good arm and leg coordination. You'll be surprised how tiring it can be, even though your pace is usually slower than your jogging/running pace.

INLINE SKATING

Long-term fat-burning potential: High
Injury risk: Low (aside from injury due to falling)
Special applications: People who are already moderately fit and people who need a non-impact aerobic exercise.

Inline skating is fast becoming a popular aerobic sport. Great for entertainment as well as for fitness. Its worth buying a good pair of skates so they are comfortable and sturdy. Its also smart to have protective knee pads, wrist pads and a helmet when you first get started.

Once you get the hang of inline skating is is a great aerobic exercise, but it may take a while to get to the point where you can go steady and fast enough to get aerobic benefits.

Which aerobic exercise do you feel gives you the best workout? Share your ideas with others in the Fit or Fat Communities.

Adapted from The Ultimate Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey and Lea Bishop. Copyright 1999 by Covert Bailey, published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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