We can read them on the scales and feel them under our jeans button: that couple of kilos that the holidays left us with, which made us run to the gym.

But what shall we choose in the gym to get rid of the memory of the lavish dinner from our waist?

First of all we must remember our goal is, and it’s better to have just one goal at a time.

Gym is not a magic wand: if we want too many things all together, we risk being disappointed.

Leave the sculptured triceps for another time of the year and let’s concentrate on the current priority: getting rid of excess fat.

Even when deciding “how much”, choose a realistic goal: even if you could reach your ideal weight by next month, but for the moment, let’s concentrate on going back to the pre-Christmas weight.

To motivate ourselves to stick to our resolution and avoid falling into the comfortable temptation of laziness, let’s be serious with ourselves and fix a time during which we would like to succeed – but it has to reasonable!

This way, our vague “I will move more” has already become “within one month starting from today, I will get rid of those two kilos of fat accumulated during the holidays”: It’s all more realistic, and we are on the right track!

Of course, first of all, we must think about food: we cannot reach our new goal with just physical activity!

Once we have chosen a reasonable diet, now it’s time to choose from the many options available at the gym.

First of all, we should look for aerobic activities in this phase – without totally forgetting strength workouts, since from time to time they are necessary to burn fat.

Here’s some good news: to burn more fat, the intensity of physical effort should be low-moderate – an Olympic performance is not required!

On the other hand, an effort that’s too light is unlikely to bring the expected results.

The most common example is fast walking, but then the question is: how fast? How can we know when the intensity is right?

One very practical way, which doesn’t need any tool, is trying to chat – isn’t the gym meant for this as well?

If we manage to talk without problems, then we are not working out hard enough. If we manage to talk but with some difficulties (but without being out of breath) then the effort is just right.

Will we manage to burn fat without excessive physical efforts? Where’s the trick?

There is a trick and it is the length of the exercise. To be effective on fat mass, aerobic activity should last for at least 40 minutes – one hour per session.

Therefore, consistency is needed more than the effort and it will allow us to exercise with an appropriate frequency (approximately 3 times a week), reaching an adequate training level, which is also important to maximize the consumption of fat mass.

To help with this, we can vary among the alternatives that we find at the gym, like aerobic activity at a moderate intensity: from the traditional treadmill and exercise bicycle, to some aerobic group class or dance!

Don’t forget water activity: the swimming pool is a great tool to improve our physical fitness, and complements our other exercise perfectly.

For guidance to choose the best physical activity in accordance with your goals, it’s always advisable to ask qualified professionals.