If your goal is purely to lose weight, exercising by strengthening your muscles and performing regular cardio will help you to lose weight quickly and keep it off. Forget diet pills and liquid diets and go buy running shoes and a sweat band. Turning up the heat with high intensity interval training and explosive, full-body resistance will drastically increase your weight-loss efficiency. You'll lose weight at dietitian Joanne Larsen’s recommended one to two pounds a week.
Step 1
Do high intensity interval training (HIIT). Tabata is a form of HIIT that was developed by Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata. Tabata found that his test subjects had an increase in the rate of calories burned for up to 48 hours after they stopped exercising. His 14 minute protocol starts with five minutes of warm-up at a brisk walk or slow jogging pace. After the body has warmed, sprint as hard as you can for two seconds, followed by 10 seconds of slow jog. Repeat this cycle eight times and cool-down for five minutes. To get maximum benefit, the sprinting portion must an absolute, no holding back, 100 percent maximal effort sprint.
Step 2
Run regularly. To lose weight, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends performing cardiovascular exercise such as running for an hour, five days a week. Warm-up and cool down for five minutes before and after exercise, respectively, with a brisk walk or slow jog.
Step 3
Use kettlebells. Kettlebell workouts involve a series of explosive, full-body exercises that burn off an incredible number of calories. According to a study done by the American Counsel on Exercise, kettlebell workouts can burn the equivalent of running a six-minute mile pace. An example of one of these workouts starts with double-arm kettle bell swings, moving to single-arm swings and finishing with figure eights. Kettlebell exercises are so effective because they work the core muscles as well as the arms.
Step 4
Strengthen your muscles. A strength-training program that involves three sets of 15 repetitions with 30 second of rest in between sets will help burn fat and increase your metabolism, says the National Academy of Sports Medicine. An example of one of these exercise sessions begins with seated rows and incline dumb bell bench presses, then moves to chest flies, shoulder presses, leg presses and hamstring curls.
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