Now before you go crazy with me … listen to me.

I’ve been in the health and fitness industry (more specifically health clubs) for a while and I really have to say that if I were to start a club from scratch … it wouldn’t include an aerobic program at all.

Why?

Because I’ve never REALLY seen these programs work.

Sure, I’ve seen people start to lose weight with aerobics, but they tend to stabilize extremely quickly and plateaus lead to frustration. Frustration leads to doubt and doubt leads to failure.

Studies have shown that aerobic activities can burn valuable muscles AND have contraction effects on the heart and lungs. Now, of course, I’m not talking about aggressive cardio routines that really challenge the body.

No, what I mean are activities that try to “put” you on a certain target rate … you know … the much vaunted “fat burning” zone.

Listen to this:

Yes, it is true that your body burns more calories from fat when it is operating at a certain level of exertion, as is the experience when most people participate in activities such as step aerobics.

However, what is really lost are the “afterburner” effects that other types of exercises can provide. Most people lose each and every benefit of a fast metabolism within 30 minutes of completing a step aerobic workout. Compare that to the 72-hour boost in metabolism that interval training and weight training can provide and now you can begin to understand why many of the people who are actually on the training floor undergoing more strenuous workouts look and they feel better than their “step”. aerobic counterparts “.

I’m sure you’ve seen all the step aerobics DVDs and tapes that go on sale at places like Walmart or even on television …

Don’t waste your money.

Most people only make these tapes for a short period of time and then stop.

Why?

Without results … it is too convenient … it becomes obsolete … etc.

Remember, your body is an AMAZING assembly of systems and its ability to adapt to any given stimulus is quite remarkable. That said, the other downside to aerobics is that you always do the same routines over and over again and adapt.

Adaptation = NO RESULTS

However, there is one good thing about step aerobics …

Most step aerobics classes are VERY SOCIAL and this social atmosphere really helps people continue their training programs.

I like social programs and exercising … the right social program in the right format will give you incredible results.

Unfortunately, step aerobics doesn’t really fit into what I would consider “proper format.”