Lose the fat! The golden period for weight loss one month after the Lantern Festival

The result of overindulgence during the Chinese New Year holiday is that I eat and drink non-stop. Snacks and biscuits are readily available. The most common dinners are hot pot and meat. Then on the Lantern Festival, I eat a lot of rice dumplings. When I stood on the scale, I found that I had gained 1 to 2 kilograms. At work, I was even mistaken for a new colleague! Fortunately, as long as you seize the golden period of weight loss one month after the New Year, eat less and exercise more, you can effectively lose the fat gained during the New Year holiday.

Eat a lot and exercise less during Chinese New Year. Start a plan to develop a slim physique after the New Year! Image: Courtesy of Curves

Muscle training is the only way to develop a lean physique, but many women mistakenly believe that it takes a lot of effort and time, and continuous training to achieve the goal of losing fat and gaining muscle. Professional fitness coach Chen Wanlong pointed out that modern people are busy with their lives and it is difficult to set aside much time for exercise, but in fact, just 30 minutes of efficient muscle training can achieve the goal of weight loss.

In addition, for women who are born with less muscle mass, increasing muscle mass can increase the basal metabolic rate, and physical strength and body shape will be significantly improved, but how to start muscle training? Coach Wanlong made the following suggestions:

1. Set your own exercise goals

First, understand why you want to exercise. Do you want to train your muscle endurance, cardiopulmonary function, or flexibility? Only after you clearly know your exercise goals can you plan the type of exercise you want to engage in and the appropriate exercise frequency.

2. Choose a sports environment with coaching

Many women watch fitness videos online and follow along, but without the guidance of a coach, some of their movements may be incorrect without them realizing it, or there may be a big gap between their physical fitness and that of the demonstration coach, so they force themselves to do the exercises and end up causing sports injuries. Therefore, not only is there a need for coaching guidance in the exercise environment, but you also need to inform the coach of your own health status and medical history in advance so that the coach can arrange appropriate exercise types and amounts according to your situation to avoid sports injuries.

A sports environment with a coach can better avoid sports injuries. (Photo: Courtesy of Curves)

3. Use the right equipment

Compared to the bar-type exercise equipment in traditional fitness centers, hydraulic equipment can not only directly adjust the weight through the speed of one's own movements; the specially designed dual-positive equipment can also exercise more than two muscle groups at the same time, improving exercise efficiency.

Hydraulic equipment can easily adjust the weight to improve exercise efficiency. (Photo: Courtesy of Curves)

4. High-efficiency exercises such as circular exercises are suitable for busy modern people

Modern people pursue efficiency, and many women are busy with both family and work. Efficient exercise is a better choice. It only takes 30 minutes of circular exercise combined with aerobic exercise and muscle training to achieve the required amount of exercise for a day. In addition, the feature of being able to join the exercise circle at any time no matter when you arrive allows busy office workers to use their time more flexibly and easily maintain their exercise habits.

This circular exercise can be completed in 30 minutes and is suitable for busy office workers who pursue efficiency. (Photo: Courtesy of Curves)

5. Warm up before exercise and stretch after exercise

Many women worry that they will feel sore all over when they go to work the next day after muscle training. Coaches remind them to warm up before exercise and stretch after exercise to allow muscles to fully stretch and reduce soreness. In addition to reducing the occurrence of sports injuries, it can also improve exercise effectiveness.

6. Get your body measured regularly every month

Exercise needs to continue for a period of time before changes can be seen. Therefore, regular body measurement can not only urge yourself to maintain exercise habits, but also make you more aware of the impact of exercise on the body, increase motivation for exercise, and encourage yourself to move towards your goals.

Measuring your body regularly can help you maintain your exercise habits. (Photo: Courtesy of Curves)

7. Choose a sports environment that is exclusive to women

It is recommended to choose a female-only exercise environment, because there is no opposite sex present, there is no need to worry about appearance or dress up, you can exercise freely and focus on improving exercise efficiency.

8. Use various methods to motivate yourself to keep exercising

Exercise requires perseverance, but there will always be times when you don’t feel like exercising. Coaches suggest that there are many ways to boost your motivation, including exercising with friends and family to encourage each other; announcing your exercise goals to family or social media to strengthen your resolve to continue exercising; signing up for sports competitions, such as jogging or brisk walking, to motivate yourself to practice hard before the competition; or agreeing on goals with a coach, who will take on the role of supervision and encouragement to improve exercise effectiveness.

Coach Chen Wanlong suggests that girls should do muscle training to improve their basal metabolism, which will significantly improve their physical strength and body shape. (Photo: Courtesy of Curves)