Best exercises to lose weight and get fit
You want to lose weight and have no idea what are the best workouts for weight loss? Well, if you are here you expect to find out what is the best weight loss workout plan and how to implement it in your busy life.
Let’s be honest from the start. If you want to lose fat fast, working out isn’t enough on its own to make weight loss happen. If you want to lose weight, and yes we are sure that you want, because you are here reading this – number one thing that you should adopt is a healthy eating habit.
You need to create a calorie deficit. This means using more calories in a day than you consume.
Sleep and stress management are other important lifestyle habits that have a big influence on weight loss.
You must be aware that losing weight is a complicated and personal journey that doesn’t work the same way from one person to the next. Before you start with any weight loss plan it is good to consult with your doctor.
If you have some health issues or a history of disordered eating you should talk to your doctor before doing big changes in your way of life.
Before you start with workouts for weight loss here are some basic things that you should know:
1. Your food choices are more important than workout choices: As we mentioned above healthy eating habits are number one, they are more important than exercise.
2. Exercise should become part of your daily routine: If you want to see results you must be disciplined and dedicated to your goal.
Holly Rilinger a Nike master trainer says, aim for three workouts if you are just implementing a routine, or five to six sessions if you’ve been at it for a while.
“And keep in mind that rest is key to reset mentally, physically, and emotionally, so make sure to build in at least one full rest day“.
3. You’ll need to be dedicated in every workout you do: “I’d rather see you do balls-to-the-wall workouts three times a week than see you give 50 percent for five days,” says Rilinger.
“Decide when you walk through that door you are going to give it 100 percent the entire time and check-in throughout your workout with one simple question: Can I give more?”
4. Finding a workout that makes you happy is important: When you enjoy doing it chances that you will stick to that are bigger.
The Best Exercises for Weight Loss
These workouts that we will present here have something common: They are high intensity and burn a lot of calories in a short period.
These exercises are recommended by trainers and you can do them at the gym, home, park…
1. Jump Rope
It is time to get back to the basics when you were a kid. This workout can burn up to 318 calories ( for a 140-pound woman) every 30 minutes. Jumping rope is a full-body workout and your heart isn’t the only muscle that is working hard.
Fire up your quads and glutes to help you explode from the ground, and engage your core to keep you upright and stable as you land back down.
Jumping rope also involves a little arm and shoulder action, as they remain tight while the rope movement comes from the wrists.
The best thing about this exercise is that this tool (jumping rope) is cheap, portable and you can use it anywhere.
Here is a speedy routine to try:
- 1. Warm-up with a light 3-minute skip with the rope
- 2. Do 100 traditional jumps (both feet leave the floor at the same time and no extra hops in between)
- 3. Once you finish, immediately do 100 jump rope sprints (think regular jumping rope but at an even quicker pace)
- 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, but follow this format: 50/50, 21/21, 15/15, 9/9
- 5. If you want more, work your way back up the ladder until you reach 100/100 again
2. Spinning
Whether it is on a stationary bike or an actual bike, spinning is one of the best weight loss workouts. It is great because it targets the biggest and strongest muscles in the body.
When you engage your biggest muscles you set off hormones to produce more muscles which help to burn fat across your whole body. If you are not a fan of running, spinning is the best alternative. It can be a full-body workout.
Whether you’re doing a heavy climb in the first position or sprinting in the second, your core is the key to spinning efficiently and quickly. And as you drive your foot down with each stroke, it’s all about squeezing your inner thighs.
Try this spinning interval routine:
- Warm-up on the bike for 10 minutes.
- Go as hard as you can for 30 seconds; pedal easy for 60 seconds.
- Repeat four times except after the fourth work interval, pedal easy for four minutes.
- Repeat the whole cycle three more times for a total of 37 minutes of exercise.
3. Interval Training
What is this? Why is the number one training method for weight loss?
Definition for interval training is “Any form of exercise where your heart rate spikes and then comes down repeatedly”. In other words, it means going hard for a set interval of time (hence the time), followed by active rest, then going hard again. That active recovery portion is the key.
HIIT- High-Intensity Interval Training is a cardio session arranged as short bursts of very hard work. The whole point of HIIT is to kick up the intensity of your cardio.
Rob Sulaver a fitness expert and celebrity trainer says: “All exercise helps burn fat by burning calories, the more intense exercise burns even more fat,” and that’s part of the reason HIIT is so popular.
A good place to start for beginners is with a 1:2 ratio of work to rest. So basically go all out on a chosen activity for, say, 30, 60, or 90 seconds, rest for twice as long, then start on the next set. (As you get better you can transition to a 1:1 ratio.)
“Within those confines the possibilities are endless,” Sulaver says. “You can sprint. You can use the assault bike. You can run the stairs. It’s all technically HIIT, as long as it’s intense,” Sulaver says.
4. Weight Training
Weight training or as Rilinger says – “the mother of all weight loss techniques“.
Resistance training no matter if it is with your bodyweight alone or with added weight is an effective method to burn fat and build up muscles.
When you lift weights you are increasing your resting metabolic rate. This means that your body burns more calories even if you are not working out.
Building muscle means more muscle mass and more muscle mass means you can go harder next time increasing your weight, and getting more of each workout.
If you are lifting at a high intensity you get the “afterburn effect“, which is when you’ve put down the weight but your body is still using up extra energy. Rilinger suggests adding weight training to your routine at least three times a week.
And since your body adjusts to workouts after being exposed to the same moves at the same intensity, becoming less effective over time, she says to mix it up about every three weeks to keep your body guessing.
Here is a full-body strength workout for you:
1. Goblet Squats – 20 Reps
- Hold the weight at your chest in both hands and stand with your feet hip-width to shoulder-width apart.
- Drop your butt back and down as you keep your chest lifted.
- Drive through your heels to come back up to standing and squeeze your glutes at the top.
- Do 20 reps.
2. Reverse Woodchop — 15 reps
- Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, one dumbbell in both hands. Lower the weight toward your left foot and bend your knees.
- Stand as you rotate your torso to the right and lift your right heel, bringing the weight across your body diagonally.
- Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
- Do 15 reps, then repeat on the opposite side.
3. Burpee With Strict Push-Up — 10 reps
- Start standing with your feet hip-distance apart and bring your palms to the floor.
- Jump your feet back so that you are in high plank, keeping your core tight and your hips lifted.
- Bend your elbows and lower yourself into a push-up, then push back up into high plank.
- Now jump your feet to the outside of your hands. As you stand up, explode up and jump as high as you can, bringing your arms overhead.
- Do 10 reps.
5. Stair Master
Climbing up a flight of stairs is always a challenge no matter how fit you are. This is so difficult because steps are short and you have to engage additional muscles, like quads, glutes, and calves.
Working the biggest strongest muscles in the body keeps your metabolic rate high and your body strong and toned.
You can try this HIIT Stair Master workout that will seriously tone yours but.
6. Swimming
We think that you like this if you are not a fan of running this is the best choice for your workout for weight loss.
Swimming is an excellent workout that will combine cardio with strength training. Water adds an element of resistance, forcing you to recruit more muscles to move efficiently and use oxygen wisely.
In the water, around 78 degrees helps to burn more calories than on land.
The reason for this is that your body temperature is 98.6 degrees. Your body fights in the water to keep the temperature and keep itself warm by burning calories and fat.
To float you must use your legs, arms, and core and this is a great total body exercise for building endurance and strength.
7. CrossFit
CrossFit is another thing that we must mention when we talk about workouts for weight loss.
When you start with CrossFit ( slang for “gym”) the most important thing is that you find a well-informed coach that will explain to you the moves and make sure that you don’t push yourself to the point of injury.
Workouts are varied and you can do anything from rope climbs, kettlebell swings and box jumps to front squats.
If you want to know more here is what to do before you start with CrossFit.
8. Yoga
Well, you now think what is yoga doing here. It is not an intensive workout. But yoga can be a secret weapon for your weight loss arsenal.
It keeps you healthy and flexible for other more intensive workouts.
Try practicing at least once a week because Yoga requires balance and stability which promotes functional strength and it helps our mental health.
9. Tabata
If you are too busy and you have no time for a workout Tabata is the right choice for you.
This type of workout for weight loss is designed to be four minutes of a high-intensity interval that consists of 20 seconds of all-out effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times.
You can use this protocol with any kind of exercise. It helps to spike your metabolism and heart rate in 4 minutes.
The trick is that you should increase the volume of intensity over time to get the wanted results. Your body will adapt to the interval and you won’t see results until you increase it.
To do that extending your session to 20 minutes and following the same format. Simply pick four exercises—think jump rope, squats, mountain climbers, and squat jumps—then do each for 20 seconds as hard and fast as you can (while maintaining proper form, of course), then recovering for 10 seconds and 10 seconds only.
Repeat for eight rounds on that one move (so, four minutes of work) before resting for one minute and moving on to the next exercise.
Here is a 4 minute Tabata fat burning workout:
- Jumping jacks (20 sec)
Rest (10 secs)
- Burpees (20 secs)
Rest (10 secs)
- Ice skaters (20 secs)
Rest (10 secs)
- Jump squats (20 secs)
Rest (10 secs)
(Repeat)
10. Battle Ropes
An excellent way to get a full-body strength training and cardio workout. Working at a high intensity, battle ropes will increase your heart rate in seconds.
To use them properly: Hold one end of the rope with each hand and stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart. Bend your knees slightly and keep your chest up as you alternate whipping your arms to send waves down to the rope anchor.
Experiment with different tempos and movements, whipping faster with one arm while slamming the rope hard with the other.
15 minutes of battle ropes exercise:
Start with making alternating waves with each arm. For the next 5 minutes, try to maintain these waves. Don’t worry about speed or intensity. Just try to endure. Try this for another 2 rounds. Rest 1 minute in between rounds.
Summary of weight loss workouts
These workouts for weight loss mentioned above are extremely efficient. According to your weight and form pick one of them or try all of them for some time and see which one gives you the best results.
A lot of times people start to work out but they are giving up shortly after that. It is important to pick an exercise that is interesting and brings excitement to you.
Motivation is the key to start with workouts for weight loss and discipline is what will bring you the results.
Nothing is easy at the beginning just stay motivated and keep going.
Further reading for workouts for weight loss
Stretching Exercises for Total Body Flexibility