While you can lose weight without exercising, you will be missing out on one of the most powerful tools you have to help you reach your goals. Exercising about 250 minutes--or a little more than four hours--a week is enough to help you lose weight and stay fit, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. When you consider examples of weight loss exercises, select the activities you enjoy. This will help you exercise consistently.
Aerobic Exercises
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines aerobic exercises as activities that "get you breathing harder and your heart beating faster." Any physical activity you perform for a minimum of 10 minutes counts as exercise, from walking your dog to working out at your gym.
Depending on your weight, the following aerobic exercises will burn between 180 and 500 calories every 30 minutes, with walking burning the fewest and riding your bicycle the most. Try a step aerobics class or DVD; work out on an elliptical trainer, walk, run, swim or play racquet sports. Go rock climbing, cross-country skiing or rowing.
High Intensity Interval Training
High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is when you perform a training exercise at an intense level for short bursts of time, taking a quick break between each exercise. It effectively burns calories and promotes weight loss. Any aerobic exercise session can include HIIT.
While running or walking, sprint for a minute, then jog or walk slowly for four minutes, repeating this several times during a 30-minute session. If you swim, cycle or ski, try to incorporate HIIT into your routine several times a week. You must push yourself during those intense intervals to gain the maximum weight loss benefit. A 2010 study by "The Journal of Physiology" found that HIIT is a "practical, time-efficient strategy" when you're trying to lose weight and improve your fitness.
Strength Training
In addition to aerobic exercises, incorporate strength training or resistance exercises into your routine three times a week, for 15 to 20 minutes a session. The benefits of resistance training include greater strength of muscles and tendons, better flexibility, increased muscle mass, and improved balance, according to Georgia State University.
Focus each of your strength training sessions on a different area of your body. For example, include push-ups for your chest muscles, pull-ups for your back, seated rows for your shoulders, crunches for your abs, lunges for your quadriceps and leg curls for your hamstrings. Choose three to five different exercises each session, and perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions per exercise. Perform these exercises in a gym or at home with your own equipment.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: How Much Physical Activity Do Adults Need?
- ShapeFit: Cardio Exercises to Burn Major Calories!
- The Journal of Physiology: A Practical Model of Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Training Induces Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Human Skeletal Muscle: Potential Mechanisms
- Georgia State University: Strength Training Main Page
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