During your journey of weight loss, proper diet and exercise are the key features for burning calories. But which activities are the best to kick your calorie-burning to the maximum level to help you reach your results faster?
Studies show different results, but most experts have concluded that both aerobic and anaerobic exercises need to be implemented in a workout routine to help you burn calories to the maximum of your ability.
What You Need to Know
Now before we begin, it’s important to remember a few things.
- In order to lose weight, your body needs to reach a certain amount of calorie deficit (burn more calories than you consume in a day). Experts suggest aiming for a calorie deficit of 3000-7500 a week to lose 1-2 pounds a week.
- Cardio and aerobic exercises burn more calories while training. However, lifting weights and weight training, in general, can increase your post-workout calorie burn even after you’re done exercising.
This is because the more weight training you do, the more muscles you have. Muscle is the most metabolically active tissue so that calorie-burning can go on all day long after an intense weight training period.
- Your weight plays a huge role in how many calories you burn during your exercises. People who weigh more can lose calories faster than those with less weight compared. But the percentage of weight loss in both groups is generally similar.
- No matter how quickly you want to lose weight, there’s a threshold to stick to when it comes to shedding pounds. Experts suggest losing about 1% of your body weight (1-3 pounds) a week to stay within the healthy margin.
Anything more than that, and you can risk damaging your body and increasing chances of chronic illnesses.
With the fundamentals out of the way, here are the top 7 best exercises to implement in your workout routine to lose weight effectively.
Walking
As part of modern civilization, people tend to use cars or other transportation methods to get where they need to get. Now, walking from point A to B isn’t the fastest or most intelligent way to travel anywhere. On top of this, sitting desk jobs and long hours only add to sedentary lifestyle habits and give us fewer opportunities to get up and walk anywhere for any reason.
Research shows that inactive lifestyles are important factors that increase heart disease risks, diabetes, obesity, and depression.
So, in addition to helping prevent chronic diseases, experts recommend walking as a means to burn calories and aid in weight loss.
Studies have shown that a person weighing 150 pounds can burn up to 300 calories in 60 minutes.
Benefits of walking
- It can help reduce knee, hip, and joint pain.
- Improves the respiratory system, decreasing the risks of respiratory diseases.
- It doesn’t require fancy equipment and can be done pretty much anywhere, anytime.
Running
It’s evident that if walking briskly can burn calories, running can shed even more. That’s why many choose running as an option for slimming down.
Your weight, pace of running, and your run’s duration all affect the number of calories you will lose while running. However, generally speaking, experts estimate that 1 mile of running burns about 100 calories on average.
Depending on your training level and lifestyle, you can aim and complete your goals each week if you stick to your plan. It’s important to remember that overworking yourself can result in injuries, and staying healthy is more important than losing weight fast. Slow and steady wins the race.
The two types of running workouts can give different results:
- High-intensity runs
These workouts are faster and, as seen by the name, are more intense. That’s why your body uses carbs during high-intensity runs to keep up your energy.
- Low-intensity runs
Running with lower intensity and for longer intervals, your body will rely more on burning fat as an energy source than carbs. While burning fats is more sustainable, it can’t necessarily mean that the more low-intensity runs you do, the more calories you’ll burn. High-intensity runs will generally burn more calories.
Biking
You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered how many calories does biking burn and whether it’s effective enough to implement it in your training habits.
The answer is that yes, biking does, in fact, burn calories at a steady pace so that it can help you reach your weight loss goals; plus, it’s fun!
Biking is an excellent cardiorespiratory and muscular workout that doesn’t require too much pressure on the joints and knees.
Experts have suggested biking for decreasing stress levels and over-all well-being. It also promotes muscle building, and as mentioned, the more muscle mass you have, the more your body can burn calories.
Benefits of biking
- There are plenty of types of biking methods you can choose from, including mountain biking, road biking, and indoor biking. All these exercises burn calories differently.
- You can implement high-intensity intervals in your biking program to help increase and lower your heartbeat, which will then promote weight loss even more.
- You can bike to commute to work, so even if you don’t have time, you can still include a workout in your routine.
HIIT
If you’re looking to find the best workout that can get you results, High-Intensity Interval Training or HIIT workouts can be the answer.
It’s essential to know how to perform HIIT workouts for maximum weight loss correctly. And you don’t even have to bring a coach on-board. With some research, you can find what works best for you.
HIIT Dos & Don’ts
First thing’s first, you need to ensure that you’re generally healthy to partake in vigorous activities, as HIIT workouts can become intense. So do check in with your doctor to make sure.
Never do HIIT workouts back-to-back. It’s important to take recovery days to ensure that you’re rested and ready to go into the next day of training.
Intervals should be short and intense. HIIT workouts usually consist of 2 minutes of hard work and 3 minutes of light workload for five cycles.
However, you can alter the intervals depending on your training levels. Remember that you don’t want to go slower and steadier; intensity is critical.
Jump Rope
Jump roping is considered a full-body workout, so it’s no surprise that many choose this method for losing weight.
You can burn higher numbers of calories in a shorter amount of time. Weightloss through jumping rope depends on various factors like age, gender, weight, genetics, activity levels, and more. But on average, a woman weighing 150 pounds jump roping for 20 minutes can burn up to 200 calories.
Remember to use the proper training shoes and have a soft matt on the ground to make jumping easier. Be careful with your ankles as you don’t want to land the wrong way and injure yourself. Start slow, and as you go on, you’ll find your pace.
Benefits of jump rope
- Builds stamina and balance
- Increases lung capacity
- Reduces belly fat
- Tones the calves
Strength Training
As we’ve already talked about, weight and resistance training is slowly becoming more and famous for weight loss. Cardio workouts might the answer to higher heart rates and more burned calories, but weight lifting and resistance workouts are what will give you that extra boost.
While doing cardio exercises strictly to lose weight, you’ll notice that you’re losing muscle and fat. If resistance training isn’t implemented in your workout, you can’t expect to build lean muscle mass, which will, in turn, slow down your metabolism.
The more muscle you have, the more energy you’ll need to maintain that muscle. So even if you’re lying down on the couch binging series all day, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn.
You can add bursts of cardio exercises in between your weight lifting sessions to boost this even more.
Swimming
Another great exercise that promotes weight loss in all ages is swimming. No matter your physical shape, age, or overall strength, you can hop into the pool, have fun, and burn calories with it!
It’s perfect for elders with weak joints, as the water supports most of the body’s weight.
Swimming is beneficial from both a cardio and strength training perspective. While you swim, your heart rate increases, burning calories, and therefore, helps you lose weight.
On the other hand, pushing the water with your arms and legs is a great resistance exercise that strengthens the muscles and increases overall lean muscle mass.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, remember that weight loss, in general, isn’t the answer for everyone.
Please consult with your doctor to see whether it’s a good option for you or not. Realistic goals and expectations and healthily pursuing weight loss are of the most significant importance.
There is always the easy way of doing things and the right way of doing things.
Keep up with your schedule, and with proper and healthy diets, you can reach your goal.