Are you one of those American adults who are trying to lose weight?
One of the most common strategies, aside from dieting, employed by weight watchers is exercising.
Through exercise, you are able to burn calories, which plays a major role in weight loss. Moreover, exercising has been associated with several other health benefits, including reduced risk of many chronic diseases, stronger bones, and improved mood.
So here are 9 best exercises for weight loss.
1. Walking
Walking is the most convenient and easiest way for beginners to start exercising. It is absolutely one of the best exercises for weight loss for good reasons: you need not purchase any equipment or feel overwhelmed. Moreover, you need not stress your joints while walking because it’s a lower-impact exercise.
Harvard Health found that a 155-pound person burns ~ 167 calories for every moderate-pace (6.4 km/h), 30-minute walk.
In addition, a 12-week study in 20 obese women demonstrated that a 50–70 minute walk, thrice a week, reduced waist circumference and body fat by an average of 1.1 inches and 1.5%, respectively.
You can easily fit this exercise into your everyday routine. Maybe you can take your dog for extra walks or try walking during your lunch break or try taking the stairs at work; just simply add more steps to your day or aim to walk for 30 minutes thrice a week. You can always level up the frequency or duration of your walks once you become more fit.
2. Cycling
Cycling can absolutely help you lose weight and improve your fitness.
This popular exercise can be done either outdoors or in many fitness centers and gyms that have stationary bikes.
According to Harvard Health, it’s estimated that a 155-pound person burns 298 calories for every 30-min cycling using a bicycle at a moderate pace of 12–13.9 mph or around 260 calories for every 30 minutes of cycling at a moderate pace using a stationary bike.
Aside from its weight loss benefits, cycling has also been found to lower risk of cancer and heart disease, improve insulin sensitivity, and improve overall fitness to those who cycle regularly.
Cycling is a low-impact and non-weight-bearing exercise that is great for people of all fitness levels, whether a beginner or an athlete. This exercise does not place much stress to the joints.
3. Running or Jogging
Running and jogging are great exercises for your weight loss goals.
Running and jogging are quite different from each other: the former’s pace is faster than 9.7 km/h, while the former’s pace is generally between 6.4 and 9.7 km/h.
According to Harvard Health, it’s estimated that a 155-pound person burns 372 calories for every 30-minute run at a 9.7-km/h pace or approximately 298 calories for every 30-minute jog at a 8-km/h pace.
In addition, both running and jogging have been found to help burn harmful visceral fat, commonly known as belly fat, which has been linked to various chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.
Running or jogging can be done anywhere, which makes it a great exercise that can be easily incorporated into your weekly routine.
If you’re just starting out, you can aim to achieve a 20- to 30-minute jog or run 3–4 times per week.
4. Swimming
Swimming also helps you shed extra pounds and get in shape.
Harvard Health estimates that for every half-hour swimming, a 155-pound person burns ~ 233 calories.
The number of calories you burn depends on how you swim. For every 30 minutes, a 155-pound person burns 372 calories treading water, 409 calories doing butterfly, 298 calories doing backstroke, and 372 calories doing breaststroke.
A 12-week study in middle-aged women found that swimming for one hour thrice a week significantly improved flexibility, reduced body fat, and reduced various heart disease risk factors.
Aside from its weight loss benefits, swimming is easier in your joints because of its low-impact nature, making it a great option for people who have joint pain or injuries.
5. Weight Training
Another great option for people looking to lose weight is weight training. It helps you build strength and promote muscle growth.
According to Harvard Health, a 155-pound person may burn roughly 112 calories for every 30-minute weight training.
A 6-month study found that simply doing strength-based exercises for 11 minutes thrice a week caused an average of 7.4% increase in metabolic rate, which is equivalent to burning an additional 125 calories every day.
Another study has shown that a 24-week weight training resulted in a 9% increase in metabolic rate among men, which is equivalent to burning ~ 140 more calories every day, and nearly 4% increase among women, which is equivalent to 50 more calories per day.
What’s more, the body has been found to continually burn calories several hours after a weight-training workout compared with aerobic exercise.
6. Interval Training or High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Interval training or high-intensity interval training involves short bursts of intense exercise that alternate with less intense periods of recovery. It typically lasts for 10–30 minutes, allowing you to burn enough calories.
HIIT has been found to burn 25–30% more calories per minute in active men, compared to other types of exercises, including running on a treadmill, cycling, or weight training. This simply implies that interval training helps you burn more calories even with less time exercising.
In addition, several studies have found HIIT to be particularly effective at burning belly fat, which is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as metabolic disturbances.
Incorporating interval training into your exercise routine doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to choose a type of exercise—whether that be cycling or running—and your exercise and rest times.
For example, run as hard as you can for 30 seconds and then slow down for probably a minute or two, and repeat this pattern for up to 30 minutes.
7. Yoga
Yoga works not only for stress management but also for weight loss.
Yes, you read it right—weight loss.
Yoga also burns a fair amount of calories and provides several health benefits that may promote weight loss.
According to the estimates of Harvard Health, a 155-pound person burns around 149 calories for every 30-minute yoga.
Moreover, a 12-week study in 60 obese women found greater reductions in waist circumference in participants who joined two 90-minute yoga sessions every week than those in the control group. What’s more, the yoga group’s mental and physical well-being also improved.
Furthermore, yoga has been shown to teach mindfulness, which can help you better understand your body’s hunger signals, resist unhealthy foods, and control overeating.
Although most gyms offer yoga sessions, you can practice it anywhere since there are several guided tutorials online. You can practice yoga at home.
8. Jump Rope
Jump rope is a fun calorie-blasting workout that allows a 140-pound woman to burn up to 318 calories for every 30 minutes.
This full-body workout involves a little arm and shoulder action.
9. Pilates
Pilates is a great exercise for beginners who are trying to lose weight.
A study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise found that a 140-pound person would burn 168 calories for every 30 minutes of advanced Pilates class, or 108 calories for a beginner’s Pilates class of the same duration.
Although it may not burn as many calories as other exercises like swimming, Pilates is a fun exercise, making people stick to it over time.
In addition to weight loss, Pilates has also been linked to reduced lower back pain and improved flexibility, endurance, strength, balance, and overall fitness level.
You can incorporate Pilates into your weekly routine. This exercise can be done inside the gym offering Pilates classes or at your home.
Pilates is best combined with a healthy diet focused on weight loss-friendly foods or other types of exercise, including cardio or weight training, to further boost its weight loss effects.
Conclusion
There are several exercises to lose belly fat and boost your weight loss efforts, and this includes walking, cycling, jogging or running, swimming, weight training, interval training, yoga, jump rope, and Pilates.
Choosing an exercise that you enjoy doing is very important so you can stick to it in the long term and be able to see the results.
