When you’re trying to lose weight, you need a regular routine that provides strong results. Fortunately, you don’t have to become a gym rat to achieve this; studies show that shorter periods of exercise are more effective for fat loss. However, what kind of exercise burns the most calories? These exercises for weight loss will guide you in the right direction.
A routine that includes both cardio and strength exercises is the best way to lose weight.
You may not be seeing the results you want from your walking or running if you're not also building muscle. This is because muscles are constantly burning calories, even when you're not exercising. Interval training, which alternates periods of high and low intensity exercise, is one of the best ways to burn fat according to experts.
The benefits of interval training
Interval workouts, which alternate between periods of intense and lower effort, help maximize calorie burn and provide other benefits, according to a 2017 study. Interval workouts reset your metabolism to a higher rate, meaning you continue to burn calories long after you finish your workout.
Chris Ryan, one of MIRROR's founding trainers, believes that intervals are a great way to not only promote weight loss through the EPOC effect, but also to help with mental motivation. Intervals offer a way to focus on individual accomplishments after each repetition or set, rather than looking at the entire workout as a whole.
We've gathered up the best exercises for weight loss so that you can pick the ones that fit your lifestyle and goals. If you're doing intervals, do the exercise for 30 seconds every minute and rest for the other 30 seconds. As you get better, you can up your time to 45 seconds of activity and 15 seconds of rest. Always push yourself to your max so that you're out of breath at the end of the interval.
Running
Or, try this 30-minute treadmill workout. You don't need a treadmill to run, you can just put on some running shoes and go. Running in intervals, where you alternate between running fast and slow, will help make the time go by quickly. You can also do something called fartleks, which is where you pick up the pace every other street lamp or water hydrant you pass, then slow down after you pass the next one. Or you can try this 30-minute treadmill workout.
If you want to burn the most calories while running, you should mix up your workouts, says Natalie Dorset, a running coach in New York. If you do the same thing week after week, your body will get used to it and stop adapting. Try changing the pace during your run, adding some bursts of speed, and running different types of routes. This will keep your body guessing and help you burn more calories.
Jump Rope
The last time you held a jump rope was most likely in grade school, but it's time to get back into the swing of things. This workout can burn up to 318 calories (for a 140-pound woman) every 30 minutes—and your heart isn't the only muscle that's working hard.
Jumping rope is a great workout for your whole body. It gets your legs muscles going to help you jump high, and uses your stomach muscles to keep you balanced as you land. Jumping rope also uses your arms and shoulders a bit, as you keep them tight while the rope moves just using your wrists.
Strength Training
Regular strength training can help you build lean muscle mass and improve your metabolism. “The more muscle you have, the less fat you have, because your metabolism runs higher,” Ryan explains. “A higher metabolism means more calories burned and more fat lost.”
Regular resistance training can help to prevent osteoporosis by increasing the strength of bones. This occurs because, according to Wolff's law, bones grow in response to the forces that are placed on them. So, if you lift weights that are progressively heavier, your bones will grow stronger in response. Additionally, resistance training helps to maintain the strength of the shoulder, hip, and spine, which can lead to a healthier life as you age.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is an excellent way to lose weight, tone your muscles, and relieve stress! It is a full body workout because it uses your legs for power which in turn allows your arms to throw punches. It also requires coordination and endurance, which are essential for being a successful athlete.
Kickboxing is a great workout for your whole body, especially your core and legs. It also helps improve balance, coordination, and proprioception.
Spinning
Ryan notes that spinning is a great way to lose weight because it is low impact and builds endurance while targeting some of the body's biggest muscles. He says it also sets off hormones that help burn fat all over the body, similar to strength training.
Regular exercise is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but it doesn't have to be running. If you don't like running, there are other activities you can do to get your heart rate up, like spinning.
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
HIIT workouts help you burn calories and boost your metabolism in a short amount of time. The key to a successful HIIT workout is pushing your body to its limits with all-out energy. HIIT can also help you burn belly fat.
It is important to maintain good form while exercising, in order to avoid injury. According to Ryan, you should focus less on how much weight you are lifting, and more on completing the reps and sets correctly.
Rowing
If you haven't tried out your gym's rowing machine, you're missing out on a great opportunity to improve your cardio and strength. This machine works out your quads, glutes, hamstrings, core, arms, and back, and you'll be sweating in no time. Most people think that the power to row comes from your arms, but it's actually mostly from your legs. You use your quads and glutes to drive your legs back and pull the handle towards your chest.
Ryan explains that rowing is an excellent weight-loss tool because it provides a workout that blends the best aspects of both cardio and strength-training, with an emphasis on movements that work the back and shoulders and loosen up the hips. According to Ryan, desk jobs often lead to rounded back and shoulders, but rowing can help to fix this by stretching out the spine, hips, and shoulders.
Elliptical
Although the elliptical might seem like an easy machine to use, it is actually very effective at burning calories. “Riding the elliptical at an easy clip will not do much, but magic happens when the lungs start working and the blood starts pumping,” Ryan says. Be sure to stand up straight to lengthen your abs and engage your upper-body muscles. Making use of the handles and swinging your arms will help you burn more calories.
Dorset states that the elliptical machine is a good way to lose weight while also protecting your body from extra stress. He adds that the elliptical is especially helpful in preventing injury and aiding in the recovery process after an injury has occurred.
StairMaster
Climbing up a flight of stairs is always a challenge, even if you're in good shape, because steps are designed to be short. This means you have to use extra muscles, like your glutes, quads, and calves, to raise your whole body.
“The StairMaster is a great way to work the biggest, strongest muscles in your body, like the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. This will help keep your metabolism high, and your body strong and toned,” Ryan says.
Battle Ropes
Battle ropes are a great way to get a full-body workout that combines strength training and cardio. Working with battle ropes at a high intensity will get your heart rate up in no time. Ryan says that there is something satisfying and fun about repeatedly slamming heavy ropes. Not only does it provide an excellent workout for your lungs and muscles, but it also can help you to relieve stress and feel accomplished.
Swimming
Ryan says that swimming is a great workout because it is low impact and combines cardio and strength training. He also says that being in water around 78 degrees can help you burn even more calories than if you were on land.
Low-intensity cardio
According to certified group fitness instructor, cycle coach, and personal trainer Jennifer Blackburn, low-intensity cardio workouts are safe and effective for people of all fitness levels. These workouts can help you burn calories and lose weight. Some examples of low-intensity cardio workouts include jogging, cycling, power walking, or a fun cardio dance class. Blackburn says that, as you get stronger, you can try adding light weights to a cycle class, power walking on a treadmill taking your incline all the way up, or adding intense bursts of work for 30 seconds with a 30-second rest. She recommends aiming to do these four to five days a week for 45 to 60 minutes.
Strength workouts
“While cardio is great for burning calories in the moment, strength-training is what you want to focus on if your goal is to increase your metabolism and burn more calories over time,” says Jonathan Tylicki, a master trainer and director of education for AKT. He explains that when you add muscle tissue through strength-training, your body requires more energy to maintain that muscle, resulting in a higher calorie burn. “You truly want to feel the burn to burn more calories,” he proclaims. This, he says, can help you sustain fat loss over time. He suggests incorporating a low-impact strength workout that works large and small muscle groups into your weekly routine. “Strength workouts can be done a couple of times a week but just be cautious of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that might make you feel extremely sore and not wanting to work out for a couple of days,” says Tylicki.
Yoga
Yoga may not be seen as an effective workout for burning fat, but it is a great addition to anyone's workout routine, according to Chris Pabon, a trainer with FlexIt.Fit. Pabon says that yoga teaches people how to control their bodies, breathing, and minds, skills which are beneficial in other types of workouts and in everyday life. Additionally, Pabon says that yoga can help with recovery after other types of workouts.
Boxing
According to Tommy Dibernardo, a retired professional MMA fighter and personal trainer, boxing is a great way to lose weight due to the high number of calories it burns. Even a short session of boxing can result in a significant calorie burn, and shadowboxing with dumbbells can burn even more calories.
Cycling
Do you love Peloton? If so, you're in luck! Lindsey Lauten, a certified personal trainer and WW D360 Coach, says that cycling can help you burn calories long after your workout is complete. She notes that, like running, a more intense ride will burn more calories than a less intense one. When riding, you should feel like you're working at a level 7, where you're breathing deeply but not completely out of breath.
