The main thing is the pleasure

Cécile Jeanson, sports coach: "The main driver of regular physical activity is pleasure. Being aware of the misdeeds of a sedentary lifestyle does not provide sufficient motivation. Especially if you have a priori negative on the sport. To put your body in motion easily, you must not live it as a constraint. It must be exactly the opposite: a privileged moment that you grant yourself, a parenthesis to take care of yourself. You fear to hurt? Do you dread sweating? Whatever. Setting a theoretical sporting goal (of the type "in three months, I will be able to participate in a half-marathon") does not make any sense if one already has difficulties to put on one's sneakers. And throwing himself into the Swedish gym to stop three weeks later, disgusted and punctured by pain, is equally counterproductive.

Find your "crossover point"

"There is absolutely no point in being brutalized. From a physiological point of view, the softest physical activity is the most effective, especially to lose weight, provided you practice it with diligence and in an intelligent way. Several scientific studies have indeed shown that the proportion of lipids in caloric consumption is even higher than the intensity of activity is low. To be satisfied with walking (or cycling) is ample and easy to integrate into one's daily life, even with an overloaded schedule. All, to get a real health benefit, is to adopt the right rate, that to which one burns body fat without exhausting too quickly its reserves of glucose, otherwise one tired, one demotics and one is rushed right after on the food.

"It's called the crossover point. This tempo is specific to each of us. It varies by age, stature, overweight, level of training, etc. It corresponds to a moderate intensity effort, which generally does not solicit more than 65% to 75% of the maximum heart rate in the majority of individuals. Finding your cross over point is not complicated. Just walk (or pedal) with a friend while chatting. After a few steps, you gradually accelerate the pace until you reach the edge of breathlessness. By slowing down the pace a little, you reach the right balance, the fastest frequency at which you can move forward while still maintaining conversation (4 to 5 km / h for walking). This comfortable rhythm allows you to refine your figure, reduce your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease gently, but also stimulate the secretion of pleasure hormones. To keep it half an hour a day (at least) will never be a chore. "