The best gym equipment for weight loss is a combination of equipment. Cardio equipment will burn calories and take weight off, but strength training equipment will increase muscle mass and raise the metabolism. A higher metabolism will burn more calories overall, even at rest.
Treadmill
Running gets the heart rate up, and with a treadmill you can vary speed and incline to increase the difficulty as your body adapts to running. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) sponsored a study that compared running on a treadmill with other cardio equipment--Cardioglice, E-Force and the HealthRider. The study showed running on a treadmill burns more calories than the other cardio equipment tested.
As with any piece of gym equipment, once the body adapts the workout will plateau. Once this happens, change to another piece of cardio equipment (such as the stationary bike), then return to the treadmill after the body adapts to the new cardio equipment.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells are one of the best pieces of gym equipment for weight loss because they not only target the major muscle groups, but they include secondary and stabilizer muscles. Dumbbells used in muscle building or strength training will increase the body's metabolism and in turn, the body will burn more calories.
Another way to burn calories using dumbbells is to use a moderate repetition range with progressively heavier weights to accelerate fat loss with a toning effect, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are weights with handles that allow for a fluid movement with the weights. According to the American Council on Exercise, "the use of kettlebells provides a much higher-intensity workout than standard weightlifting. Most kettlebell workouts are full body high impact workouts that can burn up to 400 calories during a 20-minute workout." Kettlebells were traditionally used by Soviet soldiers and introduced into America by Pavel Tsatsouline (Kettlebell trainer and former instructor for Russian special forces), according to Katie Zezima of the New York Times.
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