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When you follow your Total Health eating program and commit to a regular exercise routine, your body becomes a fat-burning machine. Thanks to your body's hormonal response to a protein-rich, favorable- carbohydrate way of eating, your high glucagon levels are already mobiliz ing stored fat to be burned as energy. Burning body fat gives you more than twice the amount of energy as burning sugars does. The result is more en- ergy for your workout. The complete opposite is true when you "carbo-load" before a workout. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin and inhibit the release of glucagon. Your workout is fueled by sugar, not by stored body fat. There is another benefit of having high glucagon levels prior to exercise. Glucagon helps widen blood vessels, allowing your muscles access to more oxygen and nutrients. The result is a better workout and a faster recovery. There are two basic types of active exercise: aerobic and resistance. If you want to lose unwanted body fat and gain lean, fat-burning muscle mass, you need to do both. Aerobic Exercise Aerobic exercise works your heart and lungs, improving your body's ability to use oxygen as an energy source, stimulating the release of glucagon-the fat-burning hormone-and inhibiting the release of insulin-the fat stor- age hormone. The goal is to increase your stamina by training your body to work more efficiently and use less energy to do the same amount of work. The sooner your heart rate and breathing return to resting levels after a workout, the better your conditioning. Aerobic activities are continuous and rhythmic, such as walking, hik- ing, jogging, bicycling, and swimming. To benefit from aerobic exercise, you need to exercise at 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for 20 to 30 minutes at least three times a week. To figure your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Example: If you're 60 years old, you would subtract 60 from 220 for a "maximum heart rate" of 160. So you would want to keep your heart rate in the 60 to 80 percent range of 96 to 128 beats per minute. Caution: Always consult with your physician before embarking on any form of aerobic exercise. There are two ways to measure your heartbeats per minute. One way is to count your pulse beats for 15 seconds, then multiply that number by four. The other is to invest in a heart rate monitor. Models vary in sophistica- tion, from about $75 to more than $200. Note: Refer to Appendix C, "Exercise Resources," heart rate monitor rec- ommendations. Resistance Exercise Pumping iron may seem like a mindless activity, but your body gains tremendous benefits from it. Resistance exercise or weight training builds your muscular strength, endurance, definition, and tone. In the process, it also develops stronger bones and improves your posture. Most important, lifting weights accelerates your metabolism.