Trying to lose weight by dieting can be a slow and sometimes frustrating experience.
Working out will definitely speed up the process and help you control your weight.
There are two main types of exercise (aerobic and anaerobic) you can do, but which one provides the best way to get in shape?   Anaerobic This is the type of exercise mostly associated with weight lifting and strength training.
This is a very effective way of burning body fat.
The normal routine consists of doing a selected number of exercises using either free weights or exercise machines.
The idea is to select each exercise to work on a specific muscle group like shoulders and biceps.
  You would do a planned number of repetitions of the exercise, then take a short break and repeat.
Typically three sets are sufficient.
By this time your muscles are beginning to feel quite tired.
It is important to reach the 'tired' stage because this indicates that your muscles have reached the point where they have been strained.
This is a necessary part of the muscle breakdown - rebuilding process.
  What happens during anaerobic exercising is that as calories are burned, energy is obtained from glycogen stores in the muscles.
Studies have shown that this type of anaerobic workout causes an increase in oxygen consumption and metabolism of fat.
This happens not only during the exercise period, but afterwards as well resulting in extra calories being burnt even while your body is at rest.
  As you might have guessed this a good way to decrease the amount of fat stored in your body.
Is it the best way to lose weight though? Let's compare it to aerobic exercise like running or walking.
  Aerobic Exercise Aerobic exercise is performed continuously over relatively long periods of time compared to say strength training, which uses short bursts of energy followed by a brief rest period.
The aerobic type of exercise is more moderate and uses oxygen in the muscles' energy-generating process.
Typical aerobic exercises include running, fast walking, cycling and swimming.
  When you exercise aerobically you are primarily burning energy from stored carbohydrates, which is why marathon runners often go on a high carbohydrate diet (referred to as carbo' loading) the week before the race.
When the carbohydrate stores in your body become depleted then more energy is obtained from fat.
  Which is best? One minute of anaerobic exercise will burn more calories than one minute of aerobic exercise.
This is because the anaerobic form is more intense.
However, since the aerobic type of exercise is usually done over longer periods, you will end up burning more calories this way.
  Conclusion Although anaerobic exercise burns more calories and fat it cannot be performed for extended periods like running or walking.
Also your muscles need recovery time, so strength training is often done on alternate days.
The aerobic type is a really good way to burn calories for weight control.
Anaerobic exercise is an efficient way to burn fat.
To get the most benefit from your exercise program you should mix both aerobic and anaerobic workouts into your training.
For example you could run or walk one day, and then the next day visit the gym for a weight lifting workout.
Following this routine regularly will give you the best way to lose weight and get in shape.
  The bottom line for controlling or reducing your weight is to use up more calories than you consume, and obtain energy from the fat stored in your body.